* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] NOW YOU GOT IT. GOOD EVENING [1. Meeting opened by Mayor Odham. Prayer Coordinated by Alderman Bryant. Pledge of Allegiance.] EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO THE JANUARY 13TH, 2026 NEW NEWBORN, BORN OF ALDERMAN ME. THE PRAYER TONIGHT WILL BE COORDINATED BY ALDERMAN BRYANT. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. LET US PRAY. GRACIOUS GOD, WE THANK YOU FOR THE BEGINNING OF A NEW YEAR AND FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY RENEWED PURPOSE. AS WE GATHER TO CONDUCT THE WORK OF THIS BOARD, WE ASK FOR WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING. BLESS THE MAYOR, BLESS THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN CITY, STAFF, AND ALL WHO SERVE. MAY WE LEAVE WITH RESPECT, LISTEN WITH UNDERSTANDING, AND WORK TOGETHER FOR ALL GOOD OF ALL. LET OUR DECISION BE FAIR, THOUGHTFUL, AND INFORMED, BUT OUR DESIRE TO STRENGTHEN AND SERVE OUR CITY. WE ASK THIS BLESSING IN YOUR NAME, AMEN. AMEN. IF YOU'RE ABLE TO STAND, PLEASE DO SO. TO PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF OUR COUNTRY, I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE. HONOR, MADAM CLERK, IF YOU WOULD PLEASE CALL ROLL ALDERMAN FERGUSON. HERE. ALDERMAN BRYANT. HERE. ALDERMAN NASTER. HERE. MAYOR ODOM. HERE. ALDERMAN WHITE. HERE. ALDERMAN DESK. PRESENT. ALDERMAN OUTLAW. YES. HERE. OKAY. NEXT UP IS [3. Approve Agenda.] TO APPROVE THE AGENDA. WHAT'S THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD? ON ITEM NUMBER THREE, UH, MR. MAYOR, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO REMOVE ITEM 17, UH, AND THEN APPROVE THE AGENDA AS WITH THAT AMENDMENT. SECOND. OKAY. I'LL HAVE A MOTION. A SECOND TO APPROVE THE AGENDA. LES. ITEM NUMBER 17. IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? OKAY. AGENDA IS APPROVED. NEXT UP IS THE REQUEST [4. Request and Petition of Citizens.] AND PETITION OF CITIZEN. MADAM CLERK. THANK YOU. FIRST UP IS DAVID FRENCH. I AM DAVID FRENCH, 1 0 4 JOHNSON 1,481. THE NUMBER OF DAYS OF FROM HURRICANE FLORENCE IN 2018 TO WHEN COUSIN MARYANNE PASSED AWAY IN 2022, NEVER BEING ABLE TO RETURN HOME. DUE TO THE ABSOLUTE FAILURE OF COOPER AND INCOR REBUILD NC HUD AND THEIR COHORTS. 2,678. NUMBER OF DAYS THAT I HAVE BEEN OUTTA MY HOME, 11,654 NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO APPLIED FOR REBUILD NC HELP. ACCORDING TO THE NC STATE AUDITOR, 3,522 NUMBER OF PEOPLE SUPPOSEDLY HELPED. ABOUT 30% HAVE ISSUES WITH THE QUALITY OF WORK. 8,132. NUMBER OF PEOPLE NOT HELPED, OF WHICH I AM ONE ZERO NUMBER OF NORTH CAROLINA ELECTED OFFICIALS AT THE LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL LEVELS WHO ARE HELPING US ZERO, ARE HELPING US. WE, THE HURRICANE SURVIVORS HAVE NO ONE REPRESENTING US. COOPER, ABSOLUTE FAILURE. HE WAS THE EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE STEIN. SADLY, HE LIED TO US. BUFFALO MISSING IN ACTION. HOGSHEAD FORMER REBUILD DIRECTOR, UH, WHAT DOES SHE HAVE ON COOPER GIBSON? CURRENT REBUILD DIRECTOR A DO NOTHING BOSS HOG TYPE. THERE SEEMS TO BE A RECURRING PORK THEME, DOESN'T IT? ARLAN HOGSHEADS HENCHMAN. TRUMPER REBUILD. NCS TWO-FACE, LIAR. RUE, DIRECTOR OF ER. DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES HELD SECRET MEETINGS ABOUT MY LIFE AND PROPERTY, AND NEVER IN INVITED, NOR INFORMED ME. SHE MET WITH TRUMPER AND OTHERS. AND, AND THE GIST OF ONE MEETING WAS FOR REBUILD. TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO KICK ME OUT OF THE PROGRAM. TYSON REFUSED TO FIGHT. BRINSON REFUSED TO FIGHT. COLLETTI NC LEGISLATURE ATTORNEY SEEMS TO CONTROL TYSON AND OTHERS. BULLOCK NC STATE AUDITOR LIED TO US. BOOKER CRAVEN COUNTY COMMISSIONER. IT'S NOT HIS JOB. REFUSE TO CONTACT TILLIS AND BUD. ODOM. REFUSE TO CONTACT STEIN GIBSON AND MURPHY DIRECTLY BY TELEPHONE TO ADVOCATE FOR ME. OUTLAW. COWARD REFUSES TO MEET WITH ME, HAS BEEN PAID OVER $50,000 FOR OUR STORAGE, PART OF WHICH ARE STATE AND FEDERAL TAXPAYER FUNDS, OUR STORAGE. AND THAT OF ANOTHER COUSIN HAS BEEN BROKEN INTO MULTIPLE TIMES. OUTLAW REFUSES TO CHANGE THE GATE CODE. REFUSED TO PUT IN CAMERAS YEARS AGO UNTIL RECENTLY HIDES BEHIND HIS STORAGE MANAGEMENT COMPANY. WITH ALL THAT'S GOING ON NOW IN WARHEAD CITY, ABOUT THEM TRYING TO SELL OFF THEIR PARKS. IT REMINDED ME OF THE 2022 UNION POINT PARK DEBACLE. I WROTE THE LETTER TO THE BOARD AND THE MEDIA ABOUT IT, ABOUT IT THAT HELPED CREATE THE GROUNDSWELL OF SUPPORT [00:05:01] TO SAVE UNION POINT PARK. MAYOR OUTLAW CALLED ME, BEGGING ME TO CALL OFF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE ATTACKING HIM WHEN HE WAS MAYOR. HE WORKED WITH ME WHEN HE WAS OUT OF OFFICE. HE REFUSED TO DO SO. I'M ASKING HIM AGAIN TO SHOW ME CHRISTIAN MERCY AND GRACE. WILL HE? ODE AND MAYOR ODOM AND OUTLAW HAVE ANOTHER CONNECTION UNDER BOTH. AS MAYOR, THE EXECUTIVES IN CHARGE. THERE WAS, AND IS A PERSON WORKING FOR THE CITY OF NEWBURG WHO HAS BEEN CHARGED AND CONVICTED AS A CHILD PREDATOR. WAS THIS PERSON'S BACKGROUND PROPERLY VETTED? WHY WOULD THE CITY HIRE SUCH A PERSON? THIS NEEDS TO BE INDEPENDENTLY INVESTIGATED. SO THEY ALLOW A CONVICTED CHILD PREDATOR TO WORK FOR THE CITY OF NEW BERN, BUT WILL NOT ADVOCATE FOR A RESIDENT WHO HAS BEEN DEFRAUDED, ARE ODOM AND OUTLAW THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO BE IN CHARGE OF OUR BELOVED CITY BECAUSE OF THE FAILURE OF THE MANY PEOPLE MENTIONED. I'M FACING LOSING MY HURRICANE FLOODED, UNINHABITABLE HOME, MY TEMPORARY APARTMENT, AND MY BELONGINGS AND OUTLAW STORAGE. MAYOR ODOM, I'M ASKING YOU YET AGAIN TO PLEASE ADVOCATE FOR ME WITHOUT BIAS. I'M ASKING YOU TO SET UP A MEETING WITH STEIN GIBSON, MURPHY TILLIS, BUD, AND OTHERS, SO THAT I, I CAN GO BACK. UH, WE CAN GO BACK TO OUR HOMES. WILL YOU PLEASE DO THIS? REPRESENTATIVE MURPHY, PLEASE HELP US. SENATOR TILLIS, PLEASE HELP US. SENATOR BUD. PLEASE HELP US. SENATOR TURNER. SECRETARY TURNER, PLEASE HELP US. SECRETARY MCMAHAN. NEW . PLEASE HELP US. LAURA TRUMP, PLEASE HELP US. PRESIDENT TRUMP, PLEASE HELP US OVER. 1 BILLION TAXPAYER BUCKS WASTED. THANK YOU, MR. FRENCH. SOUNDS LIKE MINNESOTA, DOESN'T IT STOP SENDING TAXPAYER BUCKS TO FOREIGN NATIONS? THERE ARE OVER 8,000, THE SOUTH US WHO ARE STILL NOT BACK HOME. HERE IN ENC. WE ARE HURTING AND HOMELESS. DOES ANYONE CARE? WILL ANYONE STAND UP FOR US? MY PRAYERS ARE FOR ENC AND WNCI WILL NOT YIELD. SO I WANNA, I WANT, I WANT Y'ALL TO RESPOND. I'M FINISHED. I WANT YOU TO RESPOND. THE CONSTITUTION SAYS I, MR. FRENCH, YOUR TIME IS UP. YOU NEED TO LEAVE THE, THE PODIUM, PLEASE. I HAVE A RIGHT TO REDRESS. LET IT BE KNOWN THAT YOU'VE NOT DONE YOUR JOB. I CALL FOR YOUR REMOVAL AND FOR OUTLAWS REMOVAL. OKAY. YOUR JOB. NEXT UP IS SARIAH BLISS. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS SARA BLISS. I LIVE IN WARD ONE AND I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE HPC, AS YOU PROBABLY GUESSED. UM, IT SEEMS AS IF IT WOULD BE IRRESPONSIBLE TO TASK AN ARSONIST WITH LOOKING INTO THE CAUSES OF THE FIRES THEY SET AND THEN ASK THEM TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON FIRE PREVENTION. THE SAME LOGIC APPLIES TO ASKING DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND THE HPC STAFF TO AVAILABLE TO EVALUATE THEIR CHALLENGES. DESPITE OVER A YEAR OF FOCUSED ATTENTION ON THE HPC, NO DESIGN STANDARDS HAVE BEEN UPDATED, INCLUDING NONSENSE RULES LIKE THE REQUIREMENT TO PAINT OUTDOOR APPLIANCES, EVEN THOUGH IT VOIDS WARRANTIES. IN FACT, HP THREE HPC TRANSPARENCY HAS ACTUALLY DECLINED AND OWNER FRUSTRATION CONTINUES. AND A RECENT SURVEY OF 270 PEOPLE CONDUCTED BY THE CITY, ONLY 17% OF RESPONDENTS SAID THAT THEY FOUND THE DECISIONS OF THE HPC TO BE CONSISTENT. AND WHEN ONLY OWNERS ARE INCLUDED, THAT NUMBER DROPPED TO 12%. LESS THAN 23% FOUND THE HPC PROCESSES AND DECISIONS TO BE TRANSPARENT. AS YOU CONSIDER NEXT STEPS IN THE FUTURE OF THE HPC, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION ABOUT THE HPC THAT HAS BEEN SPREAD IS CORRECTED. THE HPC IS NOT JUST WARD ONE ISSUE, IT'S OUTDATED PRACTICES. A COST EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO PAYS TAXES, MONEY. HPC POLICIES ALSO LIKELY INCREASE THE COST OF INSURANCE. SHIPPO HAS ZERO AUTHORITY IN LOCAL STANDARDS AND GOVERNANCE. ZERO AUTHORITY. NEW BERN HAS TOTAL AUTONOMY IN CREATING ITS OWN RULES. THE HPC ITSELF OFTEN APPLIES TO SHIPPO RULES AS A BARRIER TO UPDATES, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY UNTRUE. EVEN AS A CLG MEMBER. NEW BERN STILL HAS TOTAL AUTONOMY TO MAKE ITS OWN RULES. THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO LEGAL REQUIREMENT TO HAVE AN HPC TO FIGHT THIS SET FACT BEING COMMONLY MISCONSTRUED. THERE ARE WAYS TO PROTECT THE CHARACTER ASIDE FROM HPCS. AND MORE COMMUNITIES ARE CHOOSING TO ABOLISH HPCS BECAUSE OF THE EXTREME BURDEN AND EXPENSES THEY CREATE FOR THE CITIZENS. AND, UH, CITIES. NOT HAVING AN HPC IN NO WAY CHANGES NEW BERN STATUS ON THE NATIONAL HISTORIC REGISTER OF PLACES, NOR DOES IT AFFECT THE AVAILABILITY OF TAX CREDITS. THE NEW BERN HPC IS STRICTER THAN THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, AND IT JUSTIFIES STRICTER RULES BY CLAIMING THAT THE PUBLIC CANNOT UNDERSTAND COMPLEX DECISIONS. AND THE [00:10:01] HPC LACKS TIME TO LOOK INTO PRODUCT INNOVATION. I BELIEVE THE PUBLIC THAT VOTED FOR YOU IS CAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING ISSUES. AND A BOARD OF NINE PEOPLE SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO REVIEW NEW PRACTICES. IF NOT, MAYBE THEY SHOULDN'T VOLUNTEER. I UNDERSTAND THAT SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS WAS SPENT ON REPOINTING BUILDINGS BECAUSE THE HPC, THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY THAT WAS ALLOWED. AGAIN, NEW BERN HAS TOTAL AUTONOMY IN MAKING ITS OWN RULES ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, THERE ARE OTHER BUDGET CONSCIOUS SOLUTIONS THAT CAN BE USED IN LIEU OF REPOINTING. AND WHAT ABOUT WINDOWS OR ROOFS? ALL HAVE BETTER ALTERNATIVES THAN THE HPC ALLOW. YOU ARE THE OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR THE HPC. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR HPC POLICIES, PRACTICES, AND ACTIONS, NOT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES. NOT THE CITY MANAGER. YOU THE BOARD. WHEN I CAME TO THE ALDERMAN IN 2025, YOU WERE UNAWARE OF MANY OF THE HPC ISSUES, WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE. YOU ALL HAVE A LOT ON YOUR PLATE. WHAT IS NOT UNDERSTANDABLE, IN THE LEAST, IS HOW THE HPC BAD POLICIES AND GOVERNANCE PRACTICES HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO CONTINUE. WILL THIS FRESHLY ELECTED BOARD FINALLY TAKE A STAND AND MAKE THE CHANGES THAT ARE SQUARELY IN YOUR POWER TO BETTER SERVE THE CITY OF NEW BERN? THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THAT'S ALL OF REQUEST PETITION OF CITIZENS. SO NEXT ON THE AGENDA [Consent Agenda] IS THE CONSENT AGENDA. WHAT'S THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD ON ITEMS FIVE THROUGH 10 THROUGH THE CONSENT AGENDA AS IS SECOND. I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. LET'S HAVE A ROLL CALL STARTING WITH ALDERMAN FERGUSON. DERMAN FERGUSON. YES. DERMAN BRYANT? YES. DERMAN NASTER. YES. ALDERMAN WHITE. YES. ALDERMAN BEST? YES. ALDERMAN OUTLAW. YES. MAYOR ODOM. YES. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT IS ITEM NUMBER 11, [11. Presentation by SAR/ DAR to Establish " Patriot Square" by City Hall Flagpoles as a Tribute to New Bern Resolves and the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America.] A PRESENTATION BY THE SAR AND DAR TO ESTABLISH PATRIOT SQUARE BY CITY HALL FLAGPOLES AS A TRIBUTE TO NEWMAN RESOLVES IN THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AND MR. HUGHES AND MR. AINSLEY. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. AND, UH, I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME BEFORE THE BOARD TONIGHT AND MAKE A PRESENTATION AND, UH, TRIBUTE TO THE NATION'S 250TH BIRTHDAY AND TO, UH, A BIG EVENT THAT HAPPENED HERE 252 YEARS AGO THAT HAD A SIGNIFICANT, UM, UM, PLANE ON, UH, ONE OF THE BIGGEST ARTICLES, UH, TO, UH, COME OUT OF THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, UM, IN 1774. UM, I'M BOB AINSLEY. UH, I'M, UH, REPRESENTING THE NEWBURN CHAPTER OF THE SAR AS WELL AS THE RICHARD DOBBS FATE CHAPTER TONIGHT OF THE, UH, DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. JOINING ME TONIGHT IS PRESIDENT, UH, UH, GARY GILLETTE FOR THE NEWBURN CHAPTER AND HIS WIFE TAMMY, WHO IS THE REGENT OF THE RICHARD DOPPS PATE CHAPTER. UM, WE HAVE NUMEROUS, UH, EVENTS, UH, PLANNED FOR THIS YEAR. IN FACT, I THINK WE WERE COUNTING THE OTHER DAY, I THINK BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS. WE HAVE CLOSE TO A HUNDRED EVENTS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY AND THROUGHOUT THE STATE. ONE OF OUR BIG EVENTS THAT WE WANT TO, UM, UH, PURSUE IS TO, UH, PLACE A MONUMENT, UH, IN HONOR OF THE, UH, NEWBURN RESOLVES THAT HAPPENED 252 YEARS AGO THIS AUGUST. AS WELL AS, UM, UM, PUT A SAR BEAR AND A DAR BEARER IN HONOR OF THE NATION'S 250TH ANNIVERSARY. UH, THESE, UH, ITEMS WILL NOT BE ANY COST TO THE CITY. WE WILL RAISE THE FUNDS. WE JUST NEED A SITE TO PUT IT ON. AND I BELIEVE YOU HAVE, UH, IN YOUR PACKET TONIGHT, THE PROPOSAL THAT I, I, I PUT BEFORE YOU, UH, AND I WOULD JUST, UH, CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO ENCLOSURE ONE. UH, THAT'S THE SITE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. IT'S JUST OUTSIDE THE BACK HERE OF THE FLAGPOLE AREA. AND THE AREA THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS ROUGHLY ABOUT 20, 23 FEET BY 10 AND A HALF FEET. AND THE ENCLOSURE TWO SHOWS YOU, UH, A TOP DOWN VIEW OF WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE, WHERE THE BEARS WOULD GO, AND WHERE THE MONUMENT WOULD BE PLACED. UH, YOU GET ALSO ENCLOSURES THREE AND FOUR SHOW YOU, UH, THE FACSIMILE OF WHAT THE BEARS WOULD LOOK LIKE. AND, UM, ENCLOSURE FIVE SHOWS YOU, UM, WHAT, UM, THE MONUMENT WOULD APPEAR LIKE. THIS IS A MONUMENT THAT APPEARS IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA INDEPENDENT SQUARE THAT HONORS THE ME MECKLENBURG DECLARATION. SO WE'RE ENVISIONING ABOUT THE SAME SIZE OF THAT MONUMENT. AND THE PLAQUE THAT WILL GO ON THAT MONUMENT WOULD BE, UH, ON, UH, ENCLOSURE SIX, THE NEWBURN RESOLVES, UM, THAT YOU SEE THERE. AND, UM, UH, WE PLAN TO RAISE, UH, UH, THE, THE BEARS PAID FOR KNOW, WE'VE GOT DONORS TO PAY FOR THE BEARS. UH, WE PLAN TO, UH, PUT A GRANT IN, UH, FOR THE BALANCE OF THE, OF THE FUNDING, UH, TO MAKE THIS WORK. UM, [00:15:01] BUT BEFORE WE CAN DO THE GRANT PROPOSAL, WE HAVE TO HAVE A SITE, UH, TO PUT THAT IN WITH. SO I WOULD, UH, UH, PUT BEFORE THE BOARD IN CONCLUSION THAT, UH, IF YOU AGREE TO, UH, TO ALLOW US TO DO THIS OUT HERE, WE'LL MAKE IT LOOK GOOD AND, UH, AT NO COST TO YOU. AND, UH, WE'LL WORK, UH, CLOSELY, VERY CLOSELY WITH, UH, UH, UH, FOSTER HUGHES AND HIS OFFICE AND DEPARTMENTS TO, UH, TO BRING IT ABOUT. UM, THAT'S MY PRESENTATION. I STAND READY FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE FOR MR. BOARD. HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION, BUT I HAVE A STATEMENT. UM, AND BASED ON THE CURRENT POLICY THAT WE HAVE FOR CITY OPEN SPACE, PUBLIC SPACE, I THINK THAT THIS WOULD, THIS IS A GREAT CAUSE, BUT I THINK THIS, THIS WOULD CREATE A PROBLEM. NOW, I DO KNOW THAT POLICIES, WE CAN, IT IS OPEN FOR DISCUSSION BY THIS BOARD, YOU KNOW, BY CASE TO CASE BASIS, BUT WE'VE HAD PROBLEMS WITH PUTTING MONUMENTS, STATUTES OR WHATEVER ON CITY PROPERTY BEFORE, AND THAT'S WHY WE COME UP WITH THE POLICY. I THOUGHT THE POLICY STATED THAT THE BOARD ALDERMAN HAD THE RIGHT TO VOTE ON WHICH FACTS THAT WOULD BE GOOD. NOT, THAT'S WHAT I JUST STATED, THAT WE AS A BOARD HAVE. RIGHT. SO, SO IT, IT'S BEEN ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO WHEN, WHEN I PRESENTED THE PROPOSED POLICY, UM, THERE WAS NOT A POLICY THAT WAS APPROVED BY THE BOARD. UM, THE COMMENT MADE BY THE BOARD, WHICH WAS UNANIMOUS, WAS THAT THE POLICY IS THERE IS NO NEW POLICY. AND THAT AT THAT TIME, THE BOARD IS NOT INTERESTED IN ENTERTAINING ANY TYPE OF MONUMENTS OR MARKERS ON PUBLIC SPACE. HOWEVER, IF AN INTEREST RATE GROUP WANTED TO COME AND MAKE A PRESENTATION, PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD, UH, YOU WOULD ENTERTAIN THE CONVERSATION AT THAT TIME. OKAY. MR. A AINSLEY, RIGHT? YES, SIR. UH, THE PROPOSAL FOR OUT HERE BY THE FLAG POLES, UH, FOR THIS PATRIOT SQUARE, IT WOULDN'T, BASED ON CURRENT DESIGNS, WOULDN'T TAKE UP ANY OF THE PARKING SPACES OUT THERE, RIGHT? NO, SIR. IT'S, UH, UH, THE SPACE WE'RE LOOKING AT IS, IS IF YOU LOOK AT THE PICTURE ON ENCLOSURE ONE, IT'S THAT SPACE. AS YOU LOOK AT THE CONCRETE PAD WHERE THE FLAG POLES ARE, IT'S THE EDGES OF THAT CONCRETE PAD BACK TO THAT FIRST, UM, WHAT I CALL A, A CURB IN THERE. AND THAT'S ABOUT THE, THE CONCRETE PAD IS ABOUT 23 FEET LONG, AND TO THE CURBING IS ABOUT ANOTHER 10 AND A HALF FEET. SO THAT'S THE AREA WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THERE. UM, AND YOU SAID YOU'RE GOING, YOU, YOU ALREADY HAVE FUNDING FOR THE BEARS. THE BEARS PAID FOR IT. YES, SIR. AND YOU'RE GOING TO ATTEMPT TO GO THROUGH A GRANT PROCESS FOR FUNDING FOR THE ACTUAL MONUMENT ITSELF? YES. IDEALLY BEFORE AUGUST, UH, OR AT LEAST SOMETIME THIS YEAR TO CELEBRATE AMERICA TWO 50. YEAH, WE, UH, WE'VE HAD SOME FORTUNE WITH, UH, SUBMITTING GRANTS THIS YEAR ALREADY WITH, UM, THE JOHN WILLIAM POPE FOUNDATION, AND WE'VE RECEIVED, UH, FUNDING TO SUPPORT US AT THE MARINE CORPS AIR STATION, UH, AIR SHOW COMING UP IN, IN, UM, IN MAY. AND WE'VE GOT FUNDING TO, UH, MARK THE GRAVES OF ABNER NASH AND RICHARD DOPPS PATE. UH, SO WE, WE FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE SUBMITTING THIS. AGAIN, IT'S WITHIN THE CONFINES OF WHAT THEIR MISSION AND GOALS ARE ALL ABOUT IN TERMS OF PROMOTING, UH, HISTORY WITHIN THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA SO THAT WE WOULD GO WITH THEM FIRST AND THEN UC IN YOUR PACKET. ALSO, IN THE EVENT THAT WE DON'T GET FULL FUNDING FROM THE FOUNDATION AND WE CAN'T FIND FUNDING FROM ANOTHER FOUNDATION, UH, WE WOULD, UH, GO WITH A BRICKS, RS KIND OF A CONCEPT AND, AND, UH, OPEN IT UP FOR THE CITIZENS TO BUY BRICKS IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THEIR NAMES PUT ON THERE. BUT IF THIS BOARD WANTED TO, UH, MOVE FORWARD TO ESTABLISH THIS AND PUT A HOLD ON THAT AREA TO ALLOW PLACEMENT OF THE BEARS AND EVENTUAL MONUMENT, WE COULD DO THAT. AND YOU WOULD WORK WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE ON WHETHER OR NOT YOUR FUNDING COMES THROUGH SOME KIND OF PHASING WHERE YOU COULD GO AHEAD AND PUT THE BEARS AND THEN BUILD OUT? CORRECT. WE COULD DO THAT, YES, SIR. UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAY, THE PHASE ONE COULD BEAT THE BEARS. AND THEN, UH, WE'VE GOT A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY, I THINK IN FEBRUARY FOR THE, ANOTHER WINDOW THAT OPENS UP WITH THE FOUNDATION TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS. UH, THEY'VE BEEN PRETTY GOOD ABOUT TURNAROUND TIME. UH, AND SO I, I STILL THINK THERE'S ENOUGH TIME, UH, TO MAKE THIS WORK IN TERMS OF GETTING THE FUNDING AND, UH, PRODUCING, YOU KNOW, BUYING THE BAM MOLDS AND THE PRODUCTION AND THING, UH, TO GET IT DONE BY, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR 2026. I FEEL COMFORTABLE ABOUT THAT, BUT WE HAVE TO FIND THAT SPOT FIRST KIND OF THING. AND, AND YOU NEED THE, THE, THE SITE IN ORDER TO TRY TO GET THE GRANT FUNDING. YEAH, IT'S LIKE [00:20:01] THE BANK. THEY'RE NOT GONNA LEND YOU THE MONEY UNLESS YOU HAVE A SITE TO PUT YOUR HOUSE ON IT. I, I REALLY LIKE THE IDEA, I LIKE THE CONCEPT. I ESPECIALLY LIKE IT IF WE CAN DO IT WITHIN THIS YEAR TO ADD TO OUR LIST OF CELEBRATIONS FOR AMERICA TWO 50. UM, WITH THAT, MR. MAYOR, I WOULD MOVE TO ESTABLISH PATRIOT SQUARE BY CITY HALL AND THE FLAGPOLES AS PRESENTED, AT LEAST FOR THE NEXT YEAR AS THEY ATTEMPT TO GET FUNDING. AND IF NOT, WE CAN REVISIT THIS IN A YEAR TO ESTABLISH WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE GONNA KEEP THAT ON HOLD TO HAVE THIS, UM, DISPLAY. I SECOND THAT MOTION. HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. A AYE. ANY OPPOSED? OPPOSED? OKAY. IT PASSES. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT [12. Presentation of Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and Audit for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2025.] UP IS ITEM NUMBER 12, THE PRESENTATION OF THE ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT AND AUDIT FOR PHYSICAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30TH, 2025. MS. OSTROM, GOOD EVENING. WE ARE PRESENTING THE CITY OF NEW BERN'S ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30TH, 2025. IN ACCORDANCE WITH NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL STATUTES, THE CITY'S REQUIRED TO HAVE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS INDEPENDENTLY AUDITED EACH YEAR. THE PURPOSE OF THIS AUDIT IS TO PROVIDE REASONABLE ASSURANCE THAT THE CITY'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, AND PRESENTED FAIRLY, AND THAT THE CITY'S FINANCIAL PRACTICES COMPLY WITH APPLICABLE LAWS AND ACCOUNTING STANDARDS. THE AUDIT WAS CONDUCTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH GENERALLY ACCEPTED AUDITING STANDARDS. NINE. PLEASE REPORT THAT THE CITY RECEIVED A CLEAN UNMODIFIED AUDIT OPINION, MEANING THERE WERE NO MATERIAL FINDINGS IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE FAIRLY PRESENTED. THE ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT IN THE AUDITOR'S PRESENTATION ARE H RECEIVED. PLEASE NOTE ON PAGE SEVEN OF THE PRESENTATION THAT IT HAS BEEN REVISED AND STAPLED TO THE ORIGINAL. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE REVISED GRAPH GOES TO 2.7 MILLION OF ARC ENABLED FUNDS REFLECTED IN THE ASSIGNED FUND BALANCE. AT THIS TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE TIM ZANG WITH THOMPSON PRICE. SCOTT ADAMS, THE CITY'S INDEPENDENT AUDITING FIRM. MR. ZANG WILL PRESENT THE AUDIT RESULTS AND PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE CITY'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE BOARD. THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR INTRODUCTION. UH, GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. MY NAME IS TIM Z, UH, CERTIFIED PUBLIC, UH, AUDIT MANAGER WITH THOMPSON PRICE SCHOLAR. ADAM, IT'S MY HONOR TO BE HERE TO PRESENT TO YOU THE AUDIT FINDINGS AND RESULTS FOR THE 24 25 FISCAL YEAR. SO IN FRONT OF YOU, YOU SHOULD HAVE TWO BINDERS. UH, THE BIGGER ONE BEING THE AUDIT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. THE SMALLER ONE IS THE, UH, PRESENTATION SUMMARY, WHICH I'LL BE USING FOR THE VAST MAJORITY OF MY SPEECH. UH, IF YOU'RE KIND ENOUGH TO FLIP TO, EXCUSE ME, SIR, COULD YOU, COULD YOU JUST SLOW DOWN TO MAKE SURE THAT OF COURSE, YES, PLEASE. THANK YOU, SIR. I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT. ALRIGHT, SO, UH, IF YOU KIND ENOUGH TO FLIP TO PAGE ONE OF THE PRESENTATION SUMMARY, IT SHOULD BE A LETTER FORM WITH OUR COMPANY LOGO, TPSA. SO THIS IS WHAT WE CALL, UH, A UC TWO 60 LETTER. IT'S THE COMMUNICATION REQUIRED TO HAVE WITH THE GOVERNANCE AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE AUDIT. SO, FIRST PARAGRAPH HERE, UM, LIKE KIM HAS STATED, WE HAVE ALL ISSUED AN UNMODIFIED OPINION ON YOUR AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF AUDIT OPINION. YOU CAN GET, UH, QUOTE UNQUOTE CLEAN REPORT, MEANING FROM THE MATERIALITY PERSPECTIVE, WE DID NOT HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR PROBLEMS WITH THE NUMBERS PRESENTED ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. THE FIRST PARAGRAPH HERE, YOU HIRE US TO DO THE AUDIT AND WE FINISH YOUR JOB. AND THE AUDIT WAS CONDUCTING UNDER THE GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS AND UNIFORM GUIDANCE. AND ACCORDING TO ALL FEDERAL AND STATE GUIDANCE, IF YOU FLIP TO PAGE TWO, UNDER THE FIRST SUBHEADING SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2025, THE CITY HAS ADOPTED GA SB STATEMENTS 1 0 1. SO GA SB STANDS FOR GA A SB, UH, IT'S GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNT GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD. SO IT'S A FEDERAL BOARD. UH, THEY ISSUE PRONOUNCEMENTS FROM TIME TO TIME, AND FOR THIS YEAR, THEY HAVE ISSUED A 1 0 1 AND IS, UH, GUIDANCE FOR US TO REVISE OUR WAY TO COMPENSATE THE COMPETITIVE ABSENCES. SO THE 1 0 1 HAS REPLACED THE STATEMENT 16, WHICH WAS ISSUED IN 1992. SO THE WAY THE COMPENSATED ABSENCES WERE CALCULATED IN THE PRIOR YEARS UNDER GA SB 16, THE VACATION LEAVES AND THE SICK LEAVES WERE CALCULATED SEPARATELY. SO WHEN EMPLOYEES RENDER THEIR SERVICES IN THE CITY, THEY ACCUMULATE SICK LEAVES AND VACATION LEAVES. AND UPON THEIR DEPARTURE, WHETHER DUE TO, UH, TERMINATION, RESIGN, OR DEATH, UH, RETIREMENT, DIFFERENT REASONS, WE WILL PAY OUT THE VACATION PART AND NOT THE SICK [00:25:01] LEAVE PART. BUT STARTING FROM THIS YEAR, THE GASBY 1 0 1 CHANGED THE WAY WE PRESENTED THE THINGS. VACATION WAS STILL THE SAME WAY, BUT FOR SICK LEAVE, WE'RE REQUIRED TO ESTIMATE WHAT'S GONNA BE THE PORTION OF THE SICK LEAVE. WE'RE GOING TO PAY OUT WHEN THE EMPLOYEE ARE STILL WAY BEST. SO IN THE FUTURE YEARS, WHEN THE EMPLOYEES STILL RENDER THEIR SERVICE TO THE CITY, THEY STILL ACCUMULATE SICK LEAVE AND THEY'RE GOING TO USE THEIR SICK LEAVE. SO FOR THOSE FUTURE YEARS, WE'RE OBLIGATED TO CALCULATE OR ESTIMATE A BALANCE FOR THE SICK LEAVE PORTION AND AC INCLUDE THAT AS YOUR LONG TERM LIABILITY. AND FOR THIS YEAR, THE GAS B 1 0 1 APPLIED TO ALL LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES. SO EVERYBODY WAS HIT BY THE SAME METHODOLOGY. AND THE ACCRUED LIABILITY WILL EFFECTIVELY REDUCE, I SHOULDN'T SAY WILL 'CAUSE IT HAD ALREADY HAPPENED. UH, THEY, IT WILL, THEY WILL EFFECTIVELY REDUCE YOUR ADAPTATION. AND THIS YEAR, UM, WE JUST WANT THE BORDER IS AWARE OF THAT ADOPTION. AND THE IMPLEMENTATION WAS IN COMPLIANCE OF ALL THE REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE SUB HEADING SIGNIFICANT DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTER THE PERFORMING YOUR AUDIT, WE DID NOT ENCOUNTER, UH, UNDER THE CORRECTED AND UNCORRECTED MISSTATEMENTS. WE HAVE PROPOSED THE JOURNAL ENTRIES TO CORRECT ALL THE MISSTATEMENTS AND THE MEASUREMENT HAS ACCEPTED AND POSTED THOSE JOURNAL ENTRIES. WE DID NOT ENCOUNTER ANY DISAGREEMENTS WITH THE MANAGEMENT IN PERFORMING YOUR AUDIT. WE DID ACQUIRE THE MANAGEMENT REPRESENTATION LETTER DATED DECEMBER 8TH, 2025. SO STARTING FROM THIS YEAR, THE LGC, THE STATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION, THEY HAVE EXTENDED AUDIT DEADLINE FROM OCTOBER 31ST TO DECEMBER 31ST. SO WHENEVER YOU SEE THAT DATE WAS BEFORE DECEMBER 31ST, YOU KNOW THAT YOUR, YOUR AUDIT WAS ON TIME. AND I CAN REPORT TO THE BOARD THAT AS OF LAST TUESDAY, THE LGC HAS APPROVED, OFFICIALLY REVIEWED YOUR AUDIT AND ACCEPTED YOUR AUDIT. SO CONGRATS THIRD PAGE FROM THE TOP, THE MANAGEMENT CONSULTATION WITH OTHER INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS FROM TIME TO TIME DUE TO DIFFERENT REASONS. AND WE MAY SEEK HELP FROM OTHER INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS OR OTHER INDEPENDENT AUDITORS. AND THIS YEAR THAT DID NOT HAPPEN UNDER SUBHEADING OTHER SIGNIFICANT MATTERS FINDINGS OR ISSUES. BUT FOR THIS YEAR, WE DID NOT ISSUE ANY FINDINGS FOR THE AUDIT AUDITOR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. WE DO WANT THE BOARD IS AWARE OF THE FIRST BULLET POINT HERE. THE MEASUREMENT NEED TO REVIEW THE USE OF THE CONTRACT EXPENSE ACCOUNT AND HOW TO PROPERLY ACCOUNT FOR ASSET ADDICTIONS IN OPERATING AND BUDGET FUNDS. ADDITIONALLY, EFFORTS SHOULD BE MADE TO GAIN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT INTEREST WERE REQUIRED FOR GAS B 87 GAS B 96, TO ENSURE THOSE ARE POSTED CORRECTLY. SO GAS B 87 WAS INTRODUCED IN 2022 REGARDING THE LEASES AND GA B 96, WHICH WAS INTRODUCED IN 2023 REGARDING THE SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR ALL SOFTWARES. SO LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION, IF YOU HAVE BEEN ON THE BOARD LONG ENOUGH, YOU USED TO SEE WHAT THEY CALL UNIT LETTERS. SO THE LGC USED TO ISSUE A FORMAL LETTER TO THE BOARD WHENEVER THEY HAVE MAJOR CONCERNS OR QUESTIONS. SEVERAL YEARS AGO, THEY SWITCHED THAT TO AN ONLINE SYSTEM. NOW THAT WE ARE OBLIGATED TO PUT THE KEY DATAS FROM YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS INTO THAT SYSTEM, AND THAT SYSTEM WILL AUTOMATICALLY GENERATE WHAT THEY CALL FPIC FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS OF CONCERN. AND WE'RE OBLIGATED TO REPORT THE ONLY FPIC IDENTIFIED AND NOTED THIS YEAR, UH, REQUIRED FOR YOUR RESPONSE. AND I WILL ADDRESS THE DETAILS AT THE CONCLUSION ON MY SPEECH. THE UNRESTRICT CASH IS LESS THAN 16% OR TWO MONTHS WORTH OF TOTAL EXPENSES ESCALATING DEPRECIATION AND INCLUDING DEBT SERVICE PRINCIPLE FOR THE ELECTRIC FUND. SIR, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT WHERE IT WENT TO 12 AND IT'S BACK UP 19 NOW? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO? I'M SORRY, SIR, CAN YOU REPEAT THAT? ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE SECTION WHERE IT GOT DOWN TO 12? IT SHOULD BE 16 AND IT'S BACK TO 19 NOW. IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO? UH, THE ELECTRIC ENTERPRISE FUND. SO 16% REPRESENTS, UH, SO THIS IS WHAT THEY, UH, HOW THE LG C CALCULATE THE PERCENTAGE, IF YOU DIVIDE BY, UH, IF IT DIVIDE 100% DIVIDE BY 12 MONTH, AND THAT'S ROUGHLY 8.33%. SO DOUBLE THAT WILL BE 16.66. THAT'S HOW THEY CAME UP WITH THE 16%. THEY REALLY WANT YOU TO HAVE ENOUGH UNRESTRICTED CASH TO COVER AT LEAST WHAT TWO MONTHS WORTH OF EXPENDITURES. YEAH. UM, FOR THE PUBLIC AND FOR THE BOARD. I, I'LL SPEAK JUST FOR ME, UM, SPEAK RIGHT UP THERE ON THAT MIC SO WE CAN HEAR THIS REAL GOOD BECAUSE, UH, THIS IS A LOT OF NUMBERS [00:30:01] AND, UM, I FOUND IN THE AUDIT THAT IT, IT'S PARTICULARLY IN THE, IN THE, UH, LABOR END OR THE, UH, THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S BREAKING DOWN SOMETIMES INTO SECTIONS. UM, OTHER WORDS, WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY, IF YOU COULD SUMMARIZE WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES OR THE, UH, ENTERPRISE FUNDS THEMSELVES, BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS A LITTLE CONFUSING MYSELF. I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT ALL THOSE ARE AND WE DON'T READ THESE EVERY DAY. SO I MEAN, I DON'T THINK EVERYBODY'S GRABBING EVERY FACT AND FIGURE YOU'RE SAFE. YES, SIR. SO YES SIR. APPRECIATE THAT. THAT SLOW US. YES, SIR. APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. STARTING FROM THE PAGE FOUR FROM THE TOP, THE FIRST PARAGRAPH, WE DO WANT TO ENSURE THE MANAGEMENT AND THE BOARD IS AWARE OF THE NEW GA B PRONOUNCEMENT ISSUE NEXT YEAR FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2026. UH, GA B 1 0 3 FINANCIAL REPORTING MODEL IMPROVEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED AND IMPLEMENTED NEXT YEAR. UNLIKE ONCE 1 0 1, THE 1 0 3 WILL NOT AFFECT ANY OF YOUR NUMBERS, BUT IT WILL AFFECT THE WORDING ON THE MDA ON THE NOTES. AND THEY WILL LIKE YOU TO ADD MORE DETAILS AND MORE ANALYSIS TO THE NUMBERS AND HOW THE UP AND DOWNS AND TREND GOES. WE DO WANT THE BOARD IS AWARE OF THIS CHANGE AS THE IMPLEMENTATION WILL TAKE ADDITIONAL AMOUNT OF TIME, AND WE'RE CURRENTLY UNDER TRAINING FOR GABY 1 0 3 AND ANY INFORMATION WILL BE COMMUNICATED WITH MANAGEMENT IN A TIMELY FASHION. TIM, ONE SECOND. OF COURSE. SO BASICALLY WHAT HE'S SAYING IS THAT, UM, WITH THE NEW STATEMENT COMING OUT, WE HAVE TO PROVIDE MORE DETAIL WITHIN THE FRONT OF THE AUDIT WHEN WE DO THE MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS. THAT WILL GIVE YOU THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LIKE THE CHANGES THAT HAPPEN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. SO THAT IS WHAT'S HAPPENING FOR NEXT YEAR, BUT THERE IS NOTHING THAT'S REALLY GONNA IMPACT THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS IN THE SENSE OF THE OTHER STATEMENTS THAT WERE JUST IMPLEMENTED. THANK YOU, KIM. STARTING FROM PAGE FIVE, IT'S OUR CUSTOMARY TO PRESENT TO YOU FIVE YEARS WORTH OF KEY DATAS. SO THOSE NUMBERS ARE IN COMPARISON WITH EACH OTHER AND YOU CAN SEE THE TRENDS UP AND DOWN THROUGH THE PAST FIVE YEARS. THE FIRST ITEM HERE UNDER THE TOTAL FUND BALANCE FOR THE GENERAL FUND IN 2025, THAT NUMBER WAS 37 PER MILLION DOLLARS. IF YOU GO BACK TO 2021, THE NUMBER WAS $25 MILLION. SO THE GROWTH OF FUND BALANCE FOR THE GENERAL FUND IS ALWAYS A GOOD INDICATORS OF YOUR FINANCIAL HEALTH. THE MORE FUND BALANCE YOU HAVE, THE MORE HEALTHIER YOUR FINANCIAL STATE IS UNDER THE GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES. YOU CAN SEE IN 2025, THE EXPENDITURES AMOUNTED TO $43.5 MILLION COMPARED TO THREE, UH, $32.3 MILLION FIVE YEARS AGO. ONE OF THE GREAT, UH, INDICATORS THAT IGC CONSIDER IS THE FUND BALANCE AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES. SO LIKE I SAID, THE 8% IS WHAT THEY USE AS THE THRESHOLD. SO CURRENTLY, UH, IN 2025, THE FUND THAT PERCENTAGE FOR YOU WAS 50.51%. SO LIKE I SAID, IF THAT PERCENTAGE IS ABOVE 8%, THE, YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY TROUBLE WITH THE LGC DOWN THERE. WE HAVE A NOTE THAT AS KIM INTRODUCED, WE HAVE REVISED THE REPORT TO ESCROW THE $2.7 MILLION AS COMMITTED ARPA EN ENABLED PROJECT FUNDS. AND THAT WILL EFFECTIVELY REDUCE THAT, UH, FUND UNAVAILABLE FUND BALANCE AVAILABLE FOR THE GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES TO 34.69%. THE REVENUES OVER, OVER UNDER EXPENDITURES BEFORE CONTRIBUTIONS TRANSFERS. THE REASON WHY WE EXCLUDE THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND TRANSFERS WAS BECAUSE THOSE NUMBERS ARE NOT HAPPENING EVERY YEAR. AND FOR CONSISTENT REASONS, WE EXCLUDE THEM TO GIVE YOU THE RAW INCREASE OR DECREASE. SO YOU CAN SEE THE GENERAL FUND THIS YEAR WE HAVE A REDUCTION OF $3.8 MILLION, WHEREAS THE ELECTRIC FUND GAINED ALMOST $5 MILLION, ALMOST A MILLION DOLLARS FOR WATER FUND AND $1.7 MILLION FOR A SEWER FUND FOR LACK OF BETTER WATER REVENUE. IF YOU SEE A POSITIVE NUMBER HERE, WE WITHOUT PARENTHESES, THAT MEANS YOU ARE, UM, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, THAT'S NET INCOME IF YOU CONSIDER YOU AS A COMPANY. AND THAT MEANS YOU HAVE GAINED REVENUES OVER EXPENDITURES DOWN THERE. YOU CAN COMPARE YOUR CASH VERSUS COMMUNITY DEPRECIATION FOR ALL THREE PROPRIETARY FUNDS. THE REASON WHY WE DO THIS COMPARISON IS FOR THE FPSC, UH, YOU CLEARLY DID NOT GET THAT FPSC THIS YEAR, BUT FOR A LOT OF GOVERNMENTS, THEY CONSIDER IF THE ACCUMULATIVE DEPRECIATION HAS MOUNTED OVER 50% OF THE TOTAL FIXED [00:35:01] ASSET. AND THAT'S WHEN THEY HAVE ISSUE FPSC TO WARN YOU THAT YOU MAY OR YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE A NEED TO REPLACE THOSE FIXED ASSETS SINCE THE CUMULATIVE DEPRECIATION, IF THERE ARE OVER 50%, MEANING THAT THE FIXED ASSET HAS REACHED HALF OF THEIR OBTAINABLE LIVES UNDER THE CASH VERSUS FUND BALANCE, YOU CAN COMPARE AND WE WILL HAVE A CHART, UH, IN THE BACK TO SHOW YOU THE COMPARISONS HERE. THE PROPERTY TAX RATE HAS GAINED, UH, HAS INCREASED TO 39 CENTS PER HUNDRED DOLLARS AND WE WERE ABLE TO OBTAIN A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF COLLECTION. AND AT 99.43%, THAT IS VERY GOOD. UH, COLLECTION RATE FOR THE PROPERTY TAX, THE PROPERTY VALUE HAS INCREASED TO $5 BILLION FOR THE FIRST TIME. AND IF YOU CONSIDER FIVE YEARS AGO THAT WAS, THAT NUMBER WAS ONLY 3 MILLION, $3 BILLION, THE LEVY AMOUNT AMOUNTED TO 20 OVER $20 MILLION COMPARED TO $16 MILLION FIVE YEARS AGO. THE DEBT, UH, EXTRA IN OPE COMPENSATED ABSENCES AND LEDGERS, THAT'S YOUR RAW LIABILITY YOU NEED TO PAY OFF AND WE DID NOT HAVE ANY INCREASE THIS YEAR AND THEY'RE BEING GRADUALLY PAID OFF. NEXT PAGE FOR PAGE SIX, YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKDOWN OF YOUR GENERAL FUND REVENUES VERSUS EXPENDITURES FOR 2025, THE REVENUE WAS $41.6 MILLION, WHEREAS THE EXPENDITURES WAS $45.4 MILLION, WHICH EXPAND THE, THE DROP OR DECREASE IN FUND BALANCE FOR GENERAL FUND FOR $3.8 MILLION. STARTING FROM PAGE SEVEN, WE HAVE SEVERAL CHARTS TO BETTER GIVE YOU A VISUAL OF HOW NUMBERS CHANGE OVER THE YEARS. AND THE FIRST ITEM HERE, YOU WILL SEE A CHART FOR ANALYSIS OF YOUR FUND BALANCE. THE BLUE PORTION SHOWS YOUR TOTAL FUND BALANCE AND YOU CAN SEE A STEADY INCREASE OVER THE FIVE YEARS. THE RED PORTION SHOWS THE RESTRICTED AND ASSIGNED FUND BALANCE, AND THOSE ARE FOUND BALANCE EITHER RESTRICTED OR ASSIGNED AND THEY'RE NOT AVAILABLE FOR YOUR BUDGET OR PREPARATION. AND AS WELL AS THE GREEN BAR SHOWS THE COMMITTED FUND BALANCE FOR THE, FOR THE OPERA FUNDS. AND I DO WANT TO MAKE THE BOARD IS AWARE OF THAT YOU HAVE A 25% MINIMUM FUND BALANCE POLICY. SO OUT OF THE BLUE BAR YOU CAN CONSIDER ONE FOURTH OR QUARTER OF THAT BLUE BAR IS STILL CONSIDERED AS COMMITTED. THEY'RE NOT SHOWING ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AS ASSIGNED OR COMMITTED, BUT I JUST WANNA MAKE THE BOARD IS AWARE OF THE PORTION OF THE FILE BALANCE YOU ARE AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO EXPENSE AND APPROPRIATE. THE BOTTOM CHART HERE SHOWS ANALYSIS OF YOUR FARM BALANCE AVAILABLE. AGAIN, IF YOU SEE THIS NUMBER IS ABOVE 8%, YOU ARE IN GREAT SHAPE AND CONSIDER THE BLUE BAR SHOWS THE NEW BURN AND THE RED BAR SHOWS THE GROUP AVERAGE. SO THE TWO, THREE YEARS AGO THEY CHANGED THE WAY THEY DIVIDE THE GROUP. IT USED TO BE THEY SWITCH, THEY, THEY, THEY WOULD DIVIDE THE ENTIRE STATE INTO NINE DIFFERENT GROUPS BASED ON ANNUAL BUDGET, BASED ON SIZE, BASED ON REVENUE. AND TWO, THREE YEARS AGO THEY CHANGED THAT TO TWO GROUPS. SO NOW CURRENTLY THEY USE THE $10 MILLION AS A THRESHOLD FOR THE ANNUAL BUDGET. SO IF YOU ANNUAL BUDGET IS BELOW OR ABOVE $10 MILLION, YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS. SO IN OUR OPINION, THE NUMBERS HAS LOST PART OF THEIR REPRESENTATION MEANING, BUT WE STILL SHOWING THERE AS A REQUIREMENT TO GIVE YOU A COMPARISON. AND THE REASON WHY YOU CAN SEE THE 2020, I'M SORRY, THAT SHOULD BE A TYPO, THAT SHOULD BE A 2025 GROUP. WITH AVERAGE, IT'S NOT AVAILABLE BECAUSE THE STATE, EVERY YEAR THEY NEED TO WAIT UNTIL THEY GATHER ENOUGH DATA FROM ALL AUDITS FROM THE STATE AND THEY WILL RUN THEIR ANALYSIS AND PUBLISH THIS DATA. SO THIS GROUP OF WEIGHTED AVERAGE DATA IS ALWAYS A YEAR BEHIND. AND THIS NEXT YEAR, UH, WHEN WE'RE HERE PRESENT AUDIT, YOU'LL SEE THE 2025 NUMBERS. PAGE EIGHT TOP HERE YOU CAN SEE, UM, THE COMPARISON BETWEEN IF WE INCLUDE OR EXCLUDE THE FEMA HURRICANE FLORENCE FUND BALANCE AND GIVE YOU A VISUAL. AGAIN, THE THRESHOLD WAS 8%, SO WE'RE IN GOOD SHAPE. DOWN THERE YOU CAN SEE THE ANALYSIS OF YOUR REVENUES OVER UNDER EXPENDITURES BEFORE TRANSFERS AND CONTRIBUTIONS. THE MIDDLE LINE REPRESENTS $0. SO ANYTHING ABOVE $0, YOU HAVE A GAIN AND VICE VERSA, YOU HAVE A LOSS. BUT THE BLUE BAR SHOWS THE GENERAL FUND HAS BEEN A LOSS IN THREE YEARS, WHEREAS THE RED BAR SHOWS THE LUXURY FUND ACROSS $4 MILLION GAIN THIS YEAR. NEXT PAGE FROM THE TOP, YOU CAN SEE THE COMPARISON BETWEEN YOUR CASH AND FUND BALANCES. ON THE LEFT SIDE YOU CAN SEE THE CASH BALANCES THAT MAKE ALMOST HALF OF YOUR CASH WAS WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND, [00:40:01] WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE IS YOUR MAIN FUND IS YOUR DRIVING FORCE. ON THE RIGHT SIDE, YOU CAN SEE THE GENERAL FUND, UH, ROUGHLY COMES FOR ONE QUAR, UH, ONE QUARTER OR ONE FIFTHS OF THE YOUR FUND BALANCES 'CAUSE FOR THE PROPRIETARY FUNDS, SEWER, WATER, ELECTRIC FUND, THEY HAVE A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURES FIXED ASSET AND THEY REPRESENT A LOT OF YOUR, A GREAT PORTION OF YOUR FUND BALANCE. DOWN THERE YOU CAN SEE THE COMPARISON BETWEEN YOUR TAX RATE VERSUS GROUP WEIGHTED AVERAGE. AGAIN, THE GROUP HAS BEEN DI REDIVIDED TWO YEARS AGO. CURRENTLY BURN IS SITTING BELOW THE GROUP WEIGHTED AVERAGE AT 39 CENTS PER HUNDRED DOLLARS. NEXT PAGE, YOU'LL SEE THE COMPARISON BETWEEN THE STATE AVERAGE SHOWING AS GREEN AT 99.85% FOR THE PROPERTY TAX COLLECTION RATE, NEW BURN IS SHOWING AS BLUE IS 99.43. IT'S BELOW STATE AVERAGE, BUT ANYWHERE BETWEEN 98 TO 99. WE STILL CONSIDER THAT AS A GOOD COLLECTION RATE. DOWN THERE YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKDOWN OF YOUR GENERAL FUND REVENUE. 49.5, 49.56% CAME FROM YOUR PROPERTY TAX AND 41 POINT 15% CAME FROM INTERGOVERNMENT REVENUE. AND THOSE REPRESENT STATE, FEDERAL, AND OTHER SOURCE OF AND OF GRANTS. NEXT PAGE, THE TOP CHART SHOWS THE BREAKDOWN OF YOUR FUND BALANCES EXPENDITURES. THE GENERAL FUND, OVER HALF OF YOUR EXPENDITURES WENT TO PUBLIC SAFETY. 7.5% WENT TO DEBT SERVICE TO PAY OFF THE DEBT. FIVE POINT 87% WENT TO THE EPD AND 18% WENT TO PUBLIC WORKS. IF YOU HAVE ANY TAKEAWAY FROM THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE THE LAST PAGE. THIS WILL BE THE DETAILED PRESENTATION FOR THE FPSA IDENTIFIED THIS YEAR. YOU'RE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT YOUR RESPONSE TO THE, TO THE STATE WITHIN 60 DAYS FROM TODAY'S PRESENTATION. THAT'S 6 0 2 MILES AWAY FROM TODAY. THE LETTER NEED TO BE ON YOUR LETTERHEAD PRESENT TO THE BOARD, SIGNED BY EVERY BOARD MEMBER AND CITY MANAGER AND THE FINANCE DIRECTOR. AND I'M SURE HUNTER WILL SEND YOU INFORMATION REGARDING THAT RESPONSE AND WHERE TO SUBMIT THAT. UH, STATE HAS A PORTAL, YOU JUST NEED TO UP UPDATE, UH, UPLOAD AND THAT'S IT. SO FOR THIS YEAR, THE ONLY FPIC IDENTIFIED WAS REGARDING THE UNRESTRICTED CASH IS LESS THAN 16% OR TWO MONTHS WORTH OF EXPENDITURES IN THE ELECTRIC FUND. AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THIS PRESENTATION WITH ALL HIS FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, KIM HAS MY CONTACT. YOU'RE WELCOME TO CALL ME, EMAIL ME, I FIND SOME ANSWER FOR YOU. APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S TIME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS? YOU MAY HAVE. ANYONE HAVE QUESTIONS? OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. IS THAT ALL ITEM NUMBER 12, KIM? YEP. OKAY, MOVE [13. Presentation of Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association.] ON TO ITEM NUMBER 13, THE PRESENTATION OF DISTINGUISHED BUDGET PRESENTATION AWARD FROM THE GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL FINANCE OFFICE ASSOCIATION. SO I'LL, I'LL TAKE THAT MAY. SO, UH, IN THE TIME THAT KIM HAD PRESENTED THIS FOR THE AGENDA, WE LEARNED THAT THERE WAS ANOTHER AWARD THAT WAS PRESENTED. SO I WANNA READ SOME THINGS FOR YOU. I WANNA RECOGNIZE THE CITY OF NEWBURG FINANCE DEPARTMENT FOR RECEIVING THE GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AND POPULAR ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORTING. THIS IS THE CITIZEN'S FINANCIAL REPORT. THIS WAS ACTUALLY GIVEN TO THE BOARD DURING OUR RETREAT. IT'S ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE, UH, NC.GOV UNDER THE FINANCE SECTION. AND, UM, BASICALLY WHAT THIS IS, IT'S AN EASY TO READ FORMAT ON THE CITY'S FINANCES. IT TALKS ABOUT PROJECTS DURING THE LAST BUDGET YEAR AND IT IS REALLY EASY TO UNDERSTAND. IT'S, IT'S A REALLY GREAT TOOL IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FINANCES. AND THEY ALSO RECEIVED THE DISTINGUISHED BUDGET PRESENTATION AWARD. SO WHEN COMBINED WITH THE CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING, WHICH THE CITY RECEIVED LAST FALL, NUBA EARNED THE GFOA TRIPLE CROWN STATUS FOR THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR. ACCORDING TO THE GFOA, ABOUT 20 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN, UH, IN NORTH CAROLINA RECEIVED THREE RECOGNITIONS IN THE SAME YEAR. AND AN EVEN SMALLER NUMBER SUSTAINED THAT, UM, THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE IN NORTH CAROL ALIVE. SO 20 IN NORTH CAROLINA HOLD THE TRIPLE CROWN STATUS, PLACING NEW BRU AMONG A SELECT GROUP OF RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY FOR EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING AND BUDGETING. AND THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT CONSIDERING WHAT WE'VE SEEN NOT ONLY IN NORTH CAROLINA, BUT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. UH, LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCES. AND THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO THIS. BOARDS IMPORTANT TO STAFF THAT WE ARE TRANSPARENT AND THAT WE TAKE CARE OF OUR, OUR FINANCES AND MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE HAVE A SOUND SYSTEM AND WE DO. THESE AWARDS ARE BASED ON RIGOROUS PEER REVIEW AND [00:45:01] REPRESENT A STRONG COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, ACCURACY, AND CLEAR COMMUNICATION. THEY CONFIRM THAT THE CITY'S FINANCIAL REPORTS AND BUDGET DOCUMENTS NOT ONLY MEET PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS, BUT ALSO PRESENT COMPLEX FINANCIAL INFORMATION IN A WAY THAT IS UNDERSTANDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE TO RESIDENTS, ELECTED OFFICIALS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS. AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO CONGRATULATE FINANCE DIRECTOR KIM OSTROM AND THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT STAFF FOR JOB WELL DONE. WE HAVE A COUPLE OF, UH, UH, PLAQUES HERE THAT, UM, WE'D LIKE FOR THE MAYOR TO PRESENT TO STAFF AT THIS TIME. KIM, IF YOU'D LIKE TO BRING YOUR STAFF AROUND FOR FALL FORWARD, . ALRIGHT, THAT IS THE 20 22, 20 23, 20 24, AND 2025 GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICER ASSOCIATION, DISTINGUISHED BUDGET PRESENTATION AWARD PRESENTED TO THE CITY OF NEW NORTH CAROLINA, BUT IT REALLY IS ALL OF YOU, SO CONGRATULATIONS. AWESOME. AND THEN THIS ONE IS THE GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICER ASSOCIATION, POPULAR ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORTING AWARD PRESENTED TO YOU ALL AGAIN FOR THREE YEARS IN A ROW. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. CONGRATULATIONS. I DIDN'T REALIZE SAME. IT'S RISKY. GOOD JOB, KIM. THANK YOU. IT'S NOT JUST ME, IT'S THE TEAM AND THEN SEVERAL MORE THAT JUST COULDN'T MAKE IT TONIGHT, SO IT JUST WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THEM AND ALL THEIR HARD WORK AND DESIGNATION, THEIR COMMITMENT TO SUCCESS. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU. EXCELLENT. THANK YOU KIM, TO YOU AND YOUR STAFF. OUTSTANDING JOB. OKAY, [14. Conduct a Public Hearing and Consider Adopting an Ordinance to Rezone 507 Contentnea Avenue from R-8 Residential to C-4 Commercial.] ITEM NUMBER 14 IS CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDER ADOPTING AN ORDINANCE TO REZONE 5 0 7 CONTEND AVENUE FROM R EIGHT RESIDENTIAL TO C FOUR COMMERCIAL MS. RUTH. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND ALDERMAN. WE ONLY HAVE ONE REZONING REQUEST FOR YOU ALL TO CONSIDER THIS EVENING. THIS IS BY GEO ARCHITECTURAL AND IT IS FOR SLIGHTLY UNDER A QUARTER OF AN ACRE. THE REQUEST IS TO GO FROM RESIDENTIAL EIGHT TO COMMERCIAL FORWARD. THIS IS OUR LOCATION RIGHT TO THE EAST. THERE, UM, IS NATIONAL AVENUE. THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH SHOWING THAT WE DID ADVERTISE THE PUBLIC HEARING WITH SIGNAGE AMY YELLOW HIGHLIGHTED IS WHERE NOTIFICATION WAS SENT OUT TO ADJACENT PROPERTY OWNERS. OUR RESIDENTIAL EIGHT DISTRICT IS A RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT, MEDIUM LOAD OR HIGH DENSITY. AND OUR COMMERCIAL FOUR, AGAIN IS OUR COMMERCIAL DISTRICT WITH LOWER INTENSITY USES INTENDED FOR NEIGHBORHOOD AREAS. THE COMPARISON HERE DOES SHOW VERY SIMPLY RESIDENTIAL USES IN BLUE FOR RESIDENTIAL EIGHT. YOU CAN ALSO HAVE RESIDENCES IN COMMERCIAL FOUR AND IN LOW INTENSITY USES, AS I JUST MENTIONED. YOU CAN SEE HERE EVERYTHING IN YELLOW IS RESIDENTIAL EIGHT. IT IS ADJACENT TO THAT PINK, UH, EXCUSE ME, VERY CLOSE TONIGHT. THE, UH, PINK DEMONSTRATES PROPERTY THAT IS ALREADY ZONED COMMERCIAL THREE. SO THIS IS A VERY NATURAL EXTENSION OF THAT ZONING AREA. OUR FUTURE LAND USE MAP CALLS THIS AREA OUT AS DEVELOPED, SO IT OFFERS US VERY LITTLE INSIGHT IN MAKING A ZONING DECISION. THIS AERIAL IMAGE OF OUR PROPERTY THAT IS BEING REQUESTED AND A PICTURE OF THE ACTUAL STRUCTURE, THE PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD DID UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THIS REZONING. IT IS CONSISTENT WITH OUR PLANNING DOCUMENTS. IT WAS ALSO ADJACENT TO, UH, EXISTING C FOUR PROPERTIES. SORRY ABOUT THIS, THIS EVENING. AND THIS, UH, PROPERTY HAS ACTUALLY BEEN CLASSIFIED AS COMMERCIAL ON THE TAX RECORDS FOR YEARS AND HAS BEEN USED COMMERCIALLY FOR YEARS. THAT ALSO LEND TO THE RECOMMENDATION UNANIMOUSLY OF, UH, ADOPTING THIS REZONING REQUEST. AND WITH THAT, [00:50:01] I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. BOARD HAVE QUESTIONS BEFORE STAFF BEFORE WE OPEN A PUBLIC HEARING. OKAY. AND AT THIS TIME, I WILL OPEN A PUBLIC HEARING AND THIS IS ON ITEM NUMBER 14. IF ANYBODY FROM THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK FOR OR AGAINST, PLEASE COME FORWARD AT THIS TIME. UH, I'M GLAD TO BE HERE. I ALWAYS FEEL A LITTLE BIT INTIMIDATED SINCE THIS WAS A COURTROOM AND I THINK YOU ALL AS THE JUDGES , I HAVE GOOD NEWS. UM, I DON'T HAVE A BONE TO PICK. I DON'T HAVE AN INTERNAL REPORT, BUT I DO HAVE SOME INFORMATION AND ABILITY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. UH, THIS, UM, DISPUTE CAME UP OR THIS MISUNDERSTANDING ON OUR PART CAME UP JUST RECENTLY. WE, UH, BOUGHT THE PROPERTY BACK IN 1968 THINKING IT WAS COMMERCIAL. AND ONLY RECENTLY THAT WE FOUND OUT IT WAS ZONE RESIDENTIAL. I CAN'T EXPLAIN THE DISCREPANCY. I RESEARCHED THE MINUTES OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD FOR 1968 WHEN APPARENTLY THIS CHANGE TO RESIDENTIAL WAS MADE. UH, THE STUDIO HAS BEEN, UH, A PROJECT THAT MY WIFE MARGARET, WHO GREW UP IN A DANCING FAMILY IN ASHEVILLE, THE MARGARET FLETCHER DANCE STUDIO, AND THIS IS KIND OF AN EXTENSION OF WHAT HER PARENTS OPERATED FOR YEARS. UM, I HAVE PREPARED NOTES, WHICH I'M NOT READING EXACTLY. UH, AS THE, UH, DIRECTOR OF, UH, UH, OUR DEPARTMENT MENTIONED THIS PROPERTY WAS, UH, CONTI. IT IS CONTIGUOUS WITH RIVERSIDE HARDWARE. IT'S CLOSE TO A BAPTIST CHURCH FACING NATIONAL AVENUE, AND IT IS WAS FORMERLY A, AN INSURANCE AGENCY AND A KARATE STUDIO. UH, NOT I MIGHT MENTION AT THE SAME TIME, THE, UH, TIME HAS COME TO SELL THIS PROPERTY. AND, UH, WE REQUEST A FINAL APPROVAL BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN AND SINCERELY WISH IT DEVELOPS IN THAT DIRECTION. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? WE HAVE QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE OPPOSED PUBLIC HEARING? SECOND. I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING. IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW CLOSED. WHAT IS THE PLEASURE OF THE AWARD? ON ITEM NUMBER 14, MR. MAYOR, I WOULD MOVE TO ADOPT AN ORDINANCE TO REZONE 5 0 7, UH, CONTINENT AVENUE FROM R EIGHT RESIDENTIAL C FOUR COMMERCIAL. SECOND. HAVE A MOTION TO SECOND. IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. LET'S HAVE A ROLL CALL STARTING WITH ALDERMAN BRYANT. YES. ALDERMAN BRYANT . YES. ALDERMAN ASTOR. YES. DERMAN WHITE? YES. DERMAN BEST? YES. ALDERMAN OUTLAW. YES. ALDERMAN FERGUSON. YES. MAYOR ODOM. YES. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT STEP IS ITEM [15. Consider Adopting a Resolution Closing Specific Streets for Mardi Gras Parade and Festival.] NUMBER 15. CONSIDER ADOPTING A RESOLUTION. CLOSING SPECIFIC STREETS FOR THE MARDI GRAS PARADE AND FESTIVAL. MR. HUGHES AND OTHERS MS. TOWN WOULD LIKE TO ASK KAREN SULLIVAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WITH SWISSAIR TO TALK ABOUT THIS POTENTIAL NEW EVENT. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR ODOM, MR. HUGHES AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN. MY NAME IS KAREN SULLIVAN. I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SWISSAIR FOR OUR NEWER ALDERMAN, UH, WHO MAY NOT HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED TO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY AND SWISSAIR. SWISSAIR ADMINISTERS THE NORTH CAROLINA MAIN STREET PROGRAM ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF NEW BERN IN 1980, NEW BERN WAS A CHARTER MEMBER OF THE NORTH CAROLINA MAIN STREET COMMUNITY. UH, OUR ORGANIZATION IS INVOLVED IN THE GREATER DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY WARD. SIMPLY PUT, OUR ROLE IS TO HELP GENERATE COMMERCE AND ATTRACT PEOPLE DOWNTOWN, WHICH IMPACTS ALL OF NEW BERN. WE ARE REQUESTING APPROVAL FOR THE NEW BERN MARDI GRAS PARADE IN BLOCK PARTY, SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 14TH, 2026 FROM 10:00 AM TO 3:00 PM ALONG WITH CONSIDERATION FOR IN-KIND CITY SUPPORT TO HELP ENSURE THE EVENT IS SAFE, WELL ORGANIZED AND SUCCESSFUL. IN 2025, THE GANTT NEIGHBORHOOD MARDI GRAS COMMITTEE CAME TO ME AND ASKED IF SWISS BEAR WOULD BRING THE NEW BERN MARDI GRAS DOWNTOWN TOWN. THEY FELT THAT IT HAD GROWN TOO LARGE FOR THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD. [00:55:01] I JOINED THE MARDI GRAS COMMITTEE IN 2025 SO THAT I COULD BE INFORMED AND AWARE OF HOW THEY RAN THE EVENT AND WHAT IT ENTAILED. THIS EVENT BROUGHT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TOGETHER FOR MUSIC AND A PARADE, AND WAS A WELL ATTENDED EVENT BY LOCALS AND NEARBY VISITORS AS WELL. SWISS VA HAS A LONG HISTORY OF COORDINATING COMMUNITY CENTERED PROGRAMS THAT STRENGTHEN DOWNTOWN VITALITY, SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES, AND PROVIDE FAMILY FRIENDLY EXPERIENCES FOR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS. THIS MARDI GRAS CELEBRATION IS INTENDED TO BUILD ON THAT MISSION BY BRINGING PEOPLE DOWNTOWN, ENCOURAGING COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND STIMULATING ECONOMIC ACTIVITY DURING A TRADITIONALLY SLOWER SEASON FOR OUR DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES. AT THIS TIME, WE ARE REQUESTING IN KIND SUPPORT FROM THE CITY, SUCH AS ASSISTANCE WITH PUBLIC SAFETY COORDINATION, TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT, STREET CLOSURES, SANITATION SERVICES, AND OVERALL EVENT OVERSIGHT. PARTNERING WITH THE CITY IN THIS CAPACITY WILL ALLOW US TO ALIGN THE EVENT WITH MUNICIPAL STANDARDS AND ENSURE A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE FOR ATTENDEES, BUSINESSES, AND RESIDENTS. SWISS BEAR HAS PROVIDED DETAILED PLANNING MATERIALS, UH, WHICH I THINK MR. HUGHES HAS INCLUDED IN YOUR PACKET, INCLUDING LOGISTICS, ROUTES, TIMELINES, AND ANY DOCUMENTATION THAT THE CITY REQUIRED. WE ARE COMMITTED TO WORKING CLOSELY WITH CITY STAFF AND ALREADY HAVE BEEN AND FULLY COMPLYING WITH ALL GUIDELINES AND EXPECTATIONS. SWISS BAY HAS ALREADY CONTACTED ALL RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES ALONG THE PARADE ROUTE ABOUT THE CLOSURE OF THE STREETS FOR THE PARADE THROUGH HAND DELIVERED AND MAILED LETTERS. WE ALSO HAD VOLUNTEERS GO OUT TO EVEN THE SIDE STREETS THAT WILL BE IMPACTED FOR THE STREET CLOSURES WITH DOOR HANGERS TO MAKE THEM AWARE OF THE CLOSURES AS WELL. SHOULD THIS EVENT PROVE SUCCESSFUL AND CONTINUE TO DEMONSTRATE VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY AND DOWNTOWN ECONOMY, WE WOULD WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO RETURN TO THE BOARD IN THE FUTURE TO DISCUSS DESIGNATION AS A CITY SPONSORED EVENT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION AND WE ALWAYS APPRECIATE THE CITY'S ONGOING SUPPORT, UM, OF THESE COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT SWISS FAIR PUTS ON. AND WE ARE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THE BOARD HAVE QUESTIONS? QUESTIONS, SIR? WE ARE, WE JUST CONSIDERING, UM, THE SPECIFIC STREETS AT THIS TIME, THEY'LL, YOU'LL COME, WE'LL COME BACK INTO APPROVE THAT AT LATER DATE. MAYOR, THEY'RE REQUESTING STREET CLOSURE AND SUPPORT IF THROUGH ANY KIND SERVICES FOR, UH, CITY STAFF TO ASSIST WITH STREET CLOSURES FOR TRASH COLLECTION. UM, BARRICADE SET UP FOR THIS EVENT. SO I KNOW THAT THE REQUEST, UM, OF THE COMMITTEE AND WHAT YOU'RE CONSIDERING, THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF DIFFERENCE ON THE 200 BLOCK, IS THAT CORRECT? I'M NOT SURE THAT THERE IS A 200 BLOCK OF CRAVEN OF CRAVEN. CRAVEN'S NOT INCLUDED IN THAT. WE ONLY HAVE PAULA THAT'S, I'M SORRY. I'M THINKING OF THE AUTOMOBILE THING. I THINK I'M THINKING THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING OF. YES. OKAY. MS. MILLER AND PAULA. THANK YOU. MIDDLE AND P*****K. YES. GOTCHA. THE ONLY QUESTION I HAVE, UM, IS, SEEMS LIKE TO ME THIS STREET IS GONNA BE CLOSED FOR THE ENTIRE DAY FROM 7:00 AM TO 3:00 PM SO WHEN WE HAVE A PARADE, WE DO A ROLLING STREET CLOSURE. MM-HMM . THEY JUST GIVE THE GENERAL RANGE OF TIME. OKAY. SO TRAFFIC WILL STILL BE ABLE TO, TO GO UP AND DOWN P*****K STREET UNTIL RIGHT BEFORE THE PARADE STARTS. THAT'S WHEN THE SIDE STREETS WILL BE CLOSED. AND, AND THEY WILL REOPEN AFTER THE, UH, FULL PARADES TO PASS THROUGH. SO ESTIMATED BASED ON THE NUMBER OF ENTRIES THEY HAVE, ACTUAL STREET CLOSING MAY BE 30 TO 45 MINUTES. AND THEN THEY WILL BE RE UH, GOING BACK, THEY WILL GO BACK TO THE DAYS END LOT. NO, THE PARADE HAS A STARTING POINT AT, AT THE DAYS END AND IT WILL FINISH DOWNTOWN ON MIDDLE STREET. UH, THEN RIGHT AFTER THE PARADE FINISHES, THEIR GOAL IS TO START THE BLOCK PARTY, WHICH WILL BE ON P*****K STREET AND MIDDLE STREET. RIGHT AFTER THAT, IF I CAN ADD THE BLOCK PARTY IS STREET CLOSURE SEVEN TO FOUR, UM, ON, UM, MIDDLE AND P*****K. SO THAT IS THE CLOSURE FOR THE BLOCK PARTY. OKAY. THE PARADE IS SEPARATE. OKAY. THE STREET CLOSURE ON THAT IS SEPARATE. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR THAT. SO BOARD, THIS IS, UH, IT'S A FANTASTIC COMMUNITY EVENT AND JUST LIKE MS. SULLIVAN SAID IN THE GINT NEIGHBORHOOD, IT WAS, UM, IT, IT, IT GOT TO THE POINT THAT IT WAS SO, UM, WELL ATTENDED THAT THEY STRUGGLED TO MAINTAIN, UM, UH, THAT AS AN EVENT AND SO DID SEEK OUT SWISS [01:00:01] BAYER. UM, I THINK IT'S A GREAT EVENT TO HAVE DOWNTOWN TO BRING FOLKS. SO, UH, WITH THAT I WOULD MOVE FOR A RESOLUTION CLOSING THE SPECIFIC STREETS THAT'S BEEN LISTED FOR THE MARDI GRAS PARADE, UH, AND FESTIVAL ON THE SUGGESTED DATE. AND TO PROVIDE THE IN, IN-KIND REQUEST THAT SWISS BEAR IS ASKING FOR SUPPORT WITH THE, UH, PARADE AND BLOCK PARTY. SECOND MOTION. I A MOTION A SECOND. IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? WELL, UH, I KNOW IT'S ALREADY BEEN SECOND, BUT I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS. I, I JUST WANT TO KNOW FOR, FROM A STAFF PART, MS. CARRIE WARREN, I MEAN, HOW MUCH OF A BURDEN IS THIS GOING TO PUT ON CITY STAFF? I MEAN, WE GOT A LOT OF CITY EVENTS THAT IS GOING ON AND I JUST FROM A, FROM A STAFF'S PERSPECTIVE, I MEAN YEAH. AND THAT'S SOMETHING MY STAFF AND I DID DISCUSS BECAUSE THE ONLY THING, AND THIS IS FROM STAFF PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE GOING TO END UP DOING THREE PARADES IN FIVE WEEKS BECAUSE WE'LL HAVE SHRINERS PARADE, BLACK HISTORY PARADE AND MARDI GRAS. WE FULLY SUPPORT THIS. BUT FROM A STAFF STANDPOINT, IT IS GONNA BE QUITE A BURDEN WITH THAT MANY WITHIN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. RIGHT. BUT THAT WAS OUR ONLY CONCERN. BUT DON'T YOU HAVE SOME POSITIONS VACANT WITHIN YOUR DEPARTMENT THAT WOULD BE UTILIZED TO HELP OUT IN THESE PARTICULAR EVENTS? I HAVE ONE VACANT POSITION THAT WOULD APPLY FOR HELPING OUT WITH THIS, BUT THAT'S IT. OKAY. SO IF YOU OKAY WITH IT, THEN I'M OKAY WITH IT. . AND WE DO HAVE VOLUNTEERS, IF I CAN SPEAK. WE DO HAVE VOLUNTEERS THAT HAVE, UH, COORDINATED THE PARADE AND GT FOR YEARS THAT ARE WILLING TO COME AND SPECIFICALLY HELP WITH THAT COORDINATION. WE WILL HAVE STAGING AREAS SO THAT, AGAIN, WE'RE NOT JUST LINING UP IN THE STREET FOR, FOR A FEW HOURS, BUT WE'LL HAVE STAGING AREAS THAT THEN WILL FEED INTO THE BEGINNING OF THE PARADE AND THEN THAT'S WHEN THE ROLLING STREET CLOSURES WILL HAPPEN. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I I JUST ALSO WANTED TO ADD WHILE WE HAVE DISCUSSION, UM, AS MS. SULLIVAN MENTIONED, WE, SWISS BAY IS THE MAIN STREET ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE CITY OF NEW BERN. PART OF THAT AGREEMENT IS THAT WE FUND IN SOME WAY, UH, THIS, THE, THE, UH, SWISS BAY THROUGH THEIR MAIN STREET ADMINISTRATION. UM, PART OF OUR FUNDING HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE IN KIND CONTRIBUTIONS FOR MUNG FEST. UH, WE ARE NOT, UH, BECAUSE MUNG FEST WAS CANCELED LAST YEAR, UH, WE HAVE KIND OF A COST SAVINGS, SO TO SPEAK ON THE IN KIND CONTRIBUTIONS. SO I THINK THIS IS A, A VERY MINIMAL, UH, ON BEHALF OF THE CITY. AND I'VE TALKED TO, UH, FOLKS FROM THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE COMFORTABLE WITH THIS TYPE OF SUPPORT. OKAY. IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, LET'S HAVE A ROLL CALL STARTING WITH ALDERMAN ASTOR. ALDERMAN ASTOR? YES. ALDERMAN WHITE. YES. ALDERMAN BEST? YES. ALDERMAN OUTLAW. YES. ALDERMAN FERGUSON. YES. ALDERMAN BRANDT. YES. MAYOR ODOM? YES. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU KAREN. YES. NEXT UP IS ITEM [16. Consider Adopting a Resolution of Support for an Application to the BUILD Grant Program for "A Safer Neuse for New Bern" Project.] NUMBER 16. CONSIDER DR. RESOLUTION FOR SUPPORT OF AN APPLICATION TO THE BUILD GRANT PROGRAM FOR A SAFER NOOSE FOR NEWBURN PROJECT MS. MCCLEAN OR MS. RU. THAT'S OKAY. WE'RE GONNA TAG TEAM THIS. THANK YOU FOR THE INTRO. WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR YOU TO, UM, CONSIDER THIS EVENING IS TO UPDATE THE RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FOR SUBMISSION OF A BUILD GRANT FOR A SAFER FOR NEWBURN. FOR SOME OF YOU, THIS PROJECT IS GONNA LOOK VERY FAMILIAR WHEN ABBY WALKS THROUGH AN OVERVIEW OF IT HERE MOMENTARILY BECAUSE WE DID HAVE SUPPORT TO SUBMIT THIS GRANT LAST YEAR. SO WE SUBMITTED THE GRANT LAST YEAR. IT WAS NOT FUNDED. HOWEVER, IT SCORED VERY WELL. AGAIN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A TWO MILE STRETCH DOWN NEW BOULEVARD THAT HAS A LOT OF SAFETY CONCERNS AND A HIGH VOLUME OF CRASHES. AND ABBY'S GOING TO SHOW YOU SOME MAPS THAT ILLUSTRATE THAT HERE SHORTLY. AND SO IN ORDER TO HAVE A MORE COMPETITIVE APPLICATION, THEY'RE ASKING EVERYONE THAT SUPPORTED THE SUBMISSION OF THE GRANT LAST YEAR TO UPDATE THAT SUPPORT. AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE THIS EVENING. UM, JUST FOR FAMILIARITY, THIS, THIS POT OF MONEY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT USED TO BE CALLED THE RAISE GRANT. IT IS NOW CALLED THE BUILD GRANT. ABBY'S GONNA EXPLAIN WHAT THAT MEANS. OUR APPLICATION IS WRITTEN, IF IT IS YOUR DESIRE, IT WILL BE UPDATED WITH SOME NEW LANGUAGE THAT FITS AND WILL BE STRONGER WITH THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION AND OUR INTERIM NPO ADMINISTRATOR. WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO HER AND SHE'S GOING TO WALK YOU THROUGH SOME SLIDES THAT EXPLAIN THE PROJECT AND WHAT MAY OR MAY NOT COME OUT OF IT. AND THEN WE'LL RETURN AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO TRY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. SO THIS IS MS. MCCLAY, THANK YOU FOR THAT INTRODUCTION. UM, [01:05:01] SO I'M JUST GONNA BEGIN BY PROVIDING AN OVERVIEW OF HOW WE CAME TO DISCOVER THIS PROJECT, UM, BY REVIEWING SOME OF THE SAFETY CONCERNS, SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT N-C-D-O-T HAS SUBMITTED, AND THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY THAT'S AVAILABLE. SO THIS ALL STARTED BACK IN 2024 WHEN N-C-D-O-T CONDUCTED A VULNERABLE USER STUDY TO ANALYZE HOW AND WHY CRASHES WERE OCCURRING WITHIN THE STATE. SO THEY LOOKED AT PARTICULAR CORRIDORS WITH A REALLY HIGH CRASH RATE. AND FOR US, THIS WAS NOS BOULEVARD. THIS IS A TWO MILE STRIP FROM RACETRACK ROAD ALL THE WAY DOWN TO QUEEN STREET, AND THEY WANTED TO IDENTIFY SOME COUNTERMEASURES THAT WOULD IMPROVE SAFETY. SO HERE IS A SUMMARY OF ALL OF THE CRASH DATA FROM 2018 TO 2023. YOU'LL SEE, UM, HIGH POINTS AT RACETRACK ROAD, GLEN BURNIE AND SIMMONS STREET, UM, WITH MAJOR HOTSPOTS AT THOSE INTERSECTIONS. AND THESE ARE CAUSED BY CRASHES OF ALL SORTS OF TYPES, BICYCLISTS, PEDESTRIANS, AND VEHICLES. AND FOR THE VEHICULAR CRASHES, THESE ARE MOSTLY CAUSED BY ANGULAR CRASHES, WHICH IS BASICALLY A T-BONE REAR ENDS AND SIDE SWEEPS, WHICH ARE CAUSED BY LANE CHANGES. AND THROUGH THIS DATA, THERE'S OVER 700 CRASHES THAT ARE LOGGED, WHICH IS QUITE A LOT FOR A FIVE YEAR PERIOD. NEXT IS A SUMMARY OF THE PEDESTRIAN CRASHES OVER A NINE YEAR PERIOD OF TIME. UM, THERE ARE 20 CRASHES THAT INVOLVE PEDESTRIANS DURING THAT TIME, AND YOU'LL SEE THE RATES ARE HIGHEST CLOSEST TO THE HOSPITAL AND THE UTILITIES OFFICE. OUT OF ALL THESE, THERE WERE TWO FATALITIES AND ONLY ONE THAT'S NON-SERIOUS, WHICH MEANS NO INJURIES TO BE FOUND. NEXT IS A SUMMARY OF THE BIKES, UM, THAT WERE INVOLVED WITH VEHICULAR CRASHES. OUT OF THIS, THERE WERE 33 TOTAL CYCLIST CRASHES. THE DISTRIBUTION HERE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE EVEN ALONG THE ENTIRETY OF THE CORRIDOR, BUT YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE ARE ZERO FATALITIES. HOWEVER, THERE ARE LOTS OF SERIES INJURIES AND ONLY FOUR THAT HAVE NO INJURIES INVOLVED. SO N-C-D-O-T UM, USES A LOT OF COUNTERMEASURES THAT THEY TYPICALLY RECOMMEND, UM, INCLUDING NEW CROSSING LOCATIONS, PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS, INTERSECTION DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS, INSTALLING MEDIANS AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT, UH, RECONFIGURING THE ROADWAYS AND ADDING LIGHTING FOR THE PEDESTRIAN. THOSE ARE KIND OF THEIR TYPICAL BUCKET OF SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS. AND THEY USE THESE TO IDENTIFY SOME INTERSECTION RECOMMENDATIONS SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS CORRIDOR. I'LL BE HAPPY TO SHARE THAT FIVE OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ALREADY INSTALLED, UM, AT THE LOCATIONS OF FIRST STREET FORT TOTTEN HOSPITAL DRIVE, SIMMONS STREET AND ERIE. THEY ARE ALL, ALL FULLY FITTED WITH PUSH BUTTONS AND UPDATED CROSSWALKS TO MAKE IT SAFER FOR PEDESTRIANS. BUT THE EFFORTS OBVIOUSLY DON'T STOP. WE'VE GOT 700 CRASHES THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE, UM, TO ADDRESS THE VEHICLES AND THE CYCLISTS AT THE SAME TIME. AS FOR THE SEGMENTS, UM, ALONG THIS CORRIDOR, YOU'LL SEE THE RED IS A ROADWAY RECONFIGURATION. WE'VE GOT SIDEWALKS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO ADD AS WELL AS A SHARED USE PATH. AND THEN SOME SPEED MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED ON THE WESTERN PORT PORTION OF THIS CORRIDOR. FOR THIS GRANT SPECIFICALLY, WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT THE PORTION THAT IS RED FROM THE CRAVEN COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT ALL THE WAY TO STANLEY WHITE. SO DOT ACTUALLY RECOMMENDED A ROAD DIET ALONGSIDE THE, UM, OTHER IMPROVEMENTS LIKE THE SIDEWALKS AND BICYCLE LANES. AND THIS IS A PART OF A ROAD DIET, WHICH SOME OF YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR. IT'S LIKE WHAT'S OUT ON FIRST STREET. UM, IT'S RECONFIGURING THE CURRENT ROADWAY. SO NOT ADDING ANY CONSTRUCTION, JUST BASICALLY YOU'RE REPAVING, UM, FROM TWO LANES BOTH WAYS TO ONE LANE, BOTH WAY WITH A CENTER TURN LANE. SO THIS ADDS ROOM FOR BIKE LANES ON BOTH SIDES BY TAKING ONE OF THOSE LANES AWAY. AND IT WOULD HAVE NO IMPACT ON THE HOSPITAL. I KNOW THAT'S A MAJOR CONCERN, UM, ALONG THAT CORRIDOR THERE WOULD BE NO IMPACT TO THAT. UM, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT DOT REALLY TOOK INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN REVIEWING THIS MATERIAL. UM, THERE WOULD BE OCCASIONAL MEDIAN BREAKS THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO ADD JUST TO DIRECT SOME OF THE TRAFFIC AT THE MAJOR INTERSECTIONS TO PREVENT THOSE COLLISIONS. AND IT WOULD ALSO INCLUDE THE ADDITION OF THE BIKE LANE SIDEWALKS AND OR A MULTI-USE PATH AND LONG CERTAIN PORTIONS. THE EXACT DESIGN IS NOT FINAL. I'M JUST HERE TONIGHT TO ASK FOR A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT, NOT FOR THE FINAL APPROVAL OF THE DESIGN. AS FOR THE GRANT ITSELF, UM, THE BUILD GRANT LOOKS TO, FOR PROJECTS THAT ARE AIMING TO IMPROVE SAFETY, ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE, [01:10:01] INCREASE MOBILITY AND CONNECTIVITY, INCREASE ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS, AND STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS WITH THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. SO I WOULD SAY THIS PROJECT MEETS ALL OF THOSE CRITERIA, UM, VERY WELL, VERY HIGHLY. IT WAS PREVIOUSLY RANKED A PROJECT OF MERIT, UM, BY THE FEDERAL IN UH, DOT. SO IT'S GOT A LOT OF STATUS, HOWEVER, IT JUST DIDN'T MEET THE FUNDING THAT WAS AVAILABLE AT LAST YEAR. UM, BUT THEY RECOMMENDED THAT WE REAPPLY WITH UPDATED, UM, DATA AND COST ESTIMATES AND LETTERS OF SUPPORT. SO THE RECENT, UM, FUNDING OPPORTUNITY WAS RELEASED IN DECEMBER OF THIS PAST YEAR. AND WE ARE BEING ASKED TO UPDATE ALL THOSE MATERIALS, HAVE NEW BERN RESUBMIT THEIR APPLICATION, UM, BY THE FEBRUARY DEADLINE, AND HOPEFULLY HAVE AN AWARD NOTIFICATION SOMETIME IN THE SUMMER. THAT'S ALL I GOT. I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. BOARD HAVE QUESTIONS. WHEN WILL BE THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO ASK ABOUT THE DESIGN? UM, THAT WILL BE, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW. IT WOULD BE AFTER WE'RE AWARDED. SO IF WE GET THE FUNDING, THAT'S WHEN WE WOULD GET MORE INTO THE SPECIFICS. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, IS THE AWARD FOR THE FUNDING FOR PLANNING OR ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTING IT WOULD BE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROJECT. OKAY. SO HOW MUCH IS THE FUND OR THE, THE GRANT WORTH THAT WE'RE APPLYING FOR? UH, WELL, THE PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED WAS 19 MILLION, UM, BUT WITH HOW WE'VE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED SOME OF THE PROJECTS, IT MIGHT CHANGE. UM, WE'RE UPDATING THE COST ESTIMATES RIGHT NOW, SO IT COULD GO UP WITH INFLATION, BUT HOPEFULLY IT'LL BALANCE OUT TO STAY AROUND THAT NUMBER. OKAY. MAYOR, CAN I, IS IS THERE A, A REQUIRED MATCH? NO, SIR. NO LOCAL MATCH. THE MATCH WILL BE, IF THE ROAD DO IS INSTALLED, THE FEEDBACK THAT THE PUBLIC OFFICIALS WILL TAKE FOR THIS ONE. ? YES. 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN THROUGH THAT BEFORE. YEAH. THE UM, SO IF WE TALK ABOUT FIRST STREET, FOR EXAMPLE, NOTHING STRUCTURALLY WAS CHANGED WITH FIRST STREET. WE JUST RE REPAVED AND RETRIED, WHICH GAVE US THE ABILITY THAT IF IT HAD NOT WORKED OUT, WE COULD GO BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS. AND WITH THIS ONE, IT SOUNDED LIKE ORIGINALLY IT MAY BE THE SAME WAY, BUT THEN YOU MENTIONED SOME MEDIAN BREAKS THAT WOULD COME INTO PLAY. WE'RE NOT LOOKING TO INSTALL MEDIANS. THAT'S REALLY HAS BEEN KIND OF OUT OF THE PICTURE BASED OFF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE RECEIVED. OKAY. SO FAR. UM, BUT IF WE NEED TO, IF THE ROAD DIET DOESN'T END UP WORKING OUT AND WE NEED TO INSTALL A MEDIAN, THAT WOULD BE A POSSIBILITY. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WHAT'S THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD ON ITEM NUMBER 16, I MAKE MOTION WE, UH, PROCEED WITH THIS. UM, I THINK ROAD NIGHTS WORKED OUT PRETTY GOOD ON FIRST STREET. I THINK YOU GOT QUITE A FEW MORE ISSUES HERE. TRAP ACCOUNT AND OTHER THINGS. I KNOW THAT DOT WAS GOING TO BE PUTTING IN A, A CIRCLE IN THAT AREA AND WE BACKED OFF. I DO REMEMBER THERE WAS SOME OTHER MOVING PARTS TO THE DOCK ON FIRST STREET THAT INCENTIVIZES THE CITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT. SO, UM, ALL WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW IS MOVING FORWARD, TRYING TO GET THE GRANT AND WE CAN PROCESS IT FROM THERE IF WE ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET IT. SURE. SECOND. CAN I HAVE A MOTION A SECOND? IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE? UH, LET'S HAVE A ROLL CALL VOTE STARTING WITH ALDERMAN WHITE. ALDERMAN WHITE, YES. ALDERMAN DESK? YES. ALDERMAN OUTLAW? YES. ALDERMAN FERGUSON. YES. ALDERMAN BRYANT? YES. ALDERMAN ASER. YES. MAYOR O? YES. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. UH, IF YOU RECALL, WE REMOVED ITEM NUMBER 17. SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER 18. CONSIDER [18. Consider Adopting an Ordinance Amending Chapter 70 "Traffic and Vehicles."] ADOPTING AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 70, TRAFFIC AND VEHICLES. MR. CHOPS ACTUALLY, UH, ALDERMAN AND, UH, MAYOR ITEM 18 IS ACTUALLY TIES TO 17 SHOULD IT HAD BEEN APPROVED. SO WITH THE REMOVAL OF CERTAINTY, GEORGE, GEORGE, WE'RE GONNA REQUEST THAT THIS CONTINUES ON THIS. OKAY. GO AHEAD AND PRESENT IT. OKAY. UH, GO AHEAD AND PRESENT THIS. LET LEMME GRAB QUESTION. YEAH, I THINK THERE WAS SOME ISSUES THAT THIS WILL COVER THAT'S NOT SPECIFIC TO ITEM NUMBER 17 THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. THAT'S CORRECT. THAT'S, THAT'S CORRECT. MAYOR, IT'S A GOOD THING GEORGE HUNG AROUND AND DIDN'T LEAVE WHEN WE PULLED THIS ITEM. . [01:15:09] SO BA BASICALLY WHAT WE WOULD BE ADDING IS THE, I'M LOOKING AT MY AGENDA. I'M SORRY. IF YOU LEMME GRAB ONE MORE THING I WE'RE GONNA DO 18, WE'LL LEAVE OFF THE INFORMATION ON 17, RIGHT OFF 17. OKAY. YES. WE F WE FOUND SOME, UH, SOME AREAS WITHIN THE CITY AND WHAT THIS'S BROUGHT US ABOUT IS ONE PARTICULAR SPOT, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY SUBJECT TO SEVERAL LETTERS, CITY OWNED PARCELS. WHAT WE WOULD BE ASKING FOR IS A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE BOARD IN PUBLIC INTEREST, UM, ALLOW FOR REQUIREMENTS OF 70 DASH 2 23 14 TO INDICATE THAT PARKING IS NOT ALLOWED ON SUBJECT PROPERTIES THAT THE CITY OWNS. YES. AND JUST TO PIGGYBACK OFF WHAT GEORGE IS SAYING, UM, MAYOR, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, UM, IN, IN OUR EXISTING PARKING CODE, WE OBVIOUSLY, UM, IDENTIFY ALL THE AREAS WHERE FOLKS CANNOT PARK SIDEWALKS, THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT, UM, IT DOES NOT COVER GOVERNMENT PROPERTY OR PUBLIC PROPERTY. UM, SO WE'VE MADE TWO AMENDMENTS TO THE EXISTING PARKING ORDINANCES TO MAKE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR THAT THERE IS NO PARKING ON GOVERNMENT PROPERTY UNLESS THE PUBLIC HAS BEEN INVITED TO PARK. INVITED TO PARK MEANS STRIPED AND LAID OUT OBVIOUSLY FOR PARKING. THIS WOULD PRECLUDE PEOPLE FROM PARKING IN UNION POINT PARK ON THE GRASS OR CITY WALKWAYS OR ANY OTHER CITY REAL PROPERTY, UM, INCLUDING TURNING LANES, DRIVE LANES, ET CETERA. THAT'S ONE THING IT DOES. THE SECOND THING IT DOES IS IT, IT CREATES THE MECHANISM TO ALLOW YOU AS THE BOARD TO SPECIFY ANY OTHER CITY PROPERTIES TO BE STRIPED TO PRECLUDE PARKING. SO IF IT'S NOT STRIPED, IT'S AVAILABLE FOR PARKING. BUT THIS SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE CODE ALLOWS YOU TO SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFY A PARCEL OR AN AREA AND DIRECT STAFF TO STRIPE IT FOR NO PARKING. AT THIS TIME TONIGHT, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROPOSED AREAS TO BE STRIPED. THAT'S, THAT WAS THE ISSUE THAT WAS PULLED OFF THE AGENDA. BUT THIS SIMPLY PUTS IN PLACE THAT STRUCTURE SO THAT IN THE FUTURE YOU CAN VERY EASILY WITH A RESOLUTION, IDENTIFY AREAS TO PROHIBIT PARKING. MAKE SENSE? IS, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT, UH, AN EVENT THAT'S HAPPENED THAT WE ARE DOING THIS WELL AS WE LOOKED AT, THERE'S A, THERE'S A PARCEL IN PARTICULAR WHERE FOLKS ARE PARKING AND, AND IT'S, UM, IT'S NOT ILLOGICAL THAT THEY'RE PARKING THERE, IT'S CITY PROPERTY, BUT WE HAD NO WAY OF ENFORCING ANY THAT'S RIGHT. THAT'S, BUT THAT'S RIGHT. UM, OUR ORDINANCE CURRENTLY SAYS PARKING IS ALLOWED UNLESS WE SAY IT'S NOT ALLOWED. MM-HMM . COULD, COULD AN EXAMPLE OF THIS BE, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER THE STREET THAT WE CLOSED, THE, THE TERMINUS THAT WENT TO THE RIVER. WE HAD THE, THE PYLONS THAT WERE PUT UP. IS THAT AN EXAMPLE? SIMILAR AND, AND THAT'S A GREAT POINT, MAYOR. UM, THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT. WE'RE DISTINGUISHING STREETS FROM CITY PROPERTY. WE, WE HAVE A CODE SECTION THAT CLEARLY REGULATES PARKING ON STREETS. WE DIDN'T HAVE A SECTION THAT CLEARLY IDENTIFIES WHAT ARE THE REGULATIONS ON CITY PROPERTY, NOT STREETS FOR PARKING. AND, UM, SO WITH, WHEN IT COMES TO STREETS MAYOR, UM, WHEN WE, WHEN WE CLOSE A STREET, UM, UM, WE CAN CLOSE IT TO VEHICULAR TRAFFIC AND THEN SOMETIMES WE DO THAT. SO WE DON'T WANNA LOSE OUR RIGHT OF WAY TO THE WATER. MM-HMM . SO WHAT WE DO IS WE ADOPT AN ORDINANCE THAT PROHIBITS VEHICULAR TRAFFIC BEYOND A CERTAIN POINT AND THEREBY PROHIBITING TRAFFIC AS WELL. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS ONE? SO STAFF IS ASKING, UH, FOR US TO APPROVE, UH, THIS ORDINANCE AMENDMENT. IS THAT CORRECT? YES, SIR. [01:20:03] IT'S THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD. ON ITEM NUMBER 18, SIR, I, I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE. I MAINTAIN CONSIDER AMENDING CHAPTER 70 TRAFFIC AND VEHICLES SECOND. I HAVE A MOTION A SECOND. IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. LET'S HAVE A ROLL CALL STARTING WITH ALDERMAN VEST. ALDERMAN VEST. YES. ALDERMAN OUTLAW. YES. DERMAN FERGUSON. YES. ALDERMAN BRYANT? YES. ALDERMAN ASTOR. YES. ALDERMAN WHITE. YES. MAYOR ODOM? YES. MOTION CARRIES. NEXT WE ARE [19. Consider Adopting a Budget Ordinance Amendment for FY26.] GOING TO LOOK AT ITEM NUMBER 19 AND THAT IS CONSIDERED ADOPTING A BUDGET ORDINANCE AMENDMENT FOR FY 26. MS. OSTROM, THE OPERATING BUDGETS ARE, UM, FOR THE GENERAL FUND AND ENTERPRISE FUNDS ARE AMENDED TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS NECESSARY TO REESTABLISH ENCUMBRANCES FOR VARIOUS OUTSTANDING PURCHASE ORDERS. AND RECOGNIZE THE UNSPENT MSD IN OUR ENABLED PROJECT FUNDS FUND BALANCES AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2025, TOTALING 5,497,000 $159. THE EQUITABLE SHARING, UM, US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FUND IS AMENDED TO APPROPRIATE 34,500 FROM FUND BALANCE TO PURCHASE A REPLACEMENT CANINE PROVIDE TRAINING FOR BOTH THE DOG AND A HANDLER. THE WATER FUND IS AMENDED TO APPROPRIATE 25,000 FROM FUND BALANCE TO COVER THE REMAINING REPLACEMENT COSTS OF A VEHICLE THAT WAS TOTALED IN THE ACCIDENT. REPLACEMENT VEHICLE WAS $47,253 AND INSURANCE PROCEEDS WERE RECEIVED IN THE AMOUNT OF $21,943 51 CENTS. THE EMPLOYEE'S BENEFIT INSURANCE FUND IS AMENDED TO APPROPRIATE $300,000 FROM FUND BALANCE FOR THE ADDITIONAL ESTIMATED COST OF STAFF LOSS INSURANCE FOR THE PERIOD OF JANUARY THROUGH JUNE, 2026. IT'S FOUR. HAVE QUESTIONS? YES. UM, KIM, I HAVE A QUESTION. UM, WHERE DID I, UH, WHERE DID I GO? OH, CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME, UM, WHAT IS EMPLOYEE BENEFIT FUNDS FOR INCREASED STOCK LOSS PREMIUMS? JUST A BRIEF. SO THAT'S ARE, UM, SELF INSURANCE FUND AND SO WE HAD HIGH COST CLAIMS AND THEN WE HAD AN INCREASE TO THAT BASED ON THE PRIOR YEAR. SO THEY GAVE US THE NEW RATES FOR, UM, JANUARY THROUGH, UM, DECEMBER, 2026. AND THAT PARTIALLY IS BEING, UM, ALLOCATED THIS YEAR FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THE YEAR. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? IT'S PLEASURE OF THE BOARD ON ITEM NUMBER 19. MAY I MAKE A MOTION TO ADOPT AND BUDGET ORDINANCE AMENDMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 26? SECOND. I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE? LET'S HAVE A ROLL CALL STARTING WITH ALDERMAN OUTLAW. ALDERMAN OUTLAW. YES. DERMAN FERGUSON. YES. ALDERMAN BRYANT? YES. DERMAN ASER? YES. DERMAN WHITE? YES. ALDERMAN BEST? YES. MAYOR ODOM? YES. MOTION CARRIES. AND MR. HUGHES, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU NEED A BUDGET AMENDMENT, BUT YOU THINK WE COULD FIND SOME FUNDS FOR SOME WIND SCREENS FOR THESE MICROPHONES? OH, WE DEFINITELY WILL. OKAY, THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT. UH, NEXT UP [20. Appointment( s).] IS APPOINTMENTS. UH, DOES THE BOARD HAVE ANY APPOINTMENTS TO MAKE? YES, WE HAVE ONE FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION. OKAY. AND I'D LIKE TO APPOINT, UM, VICTOR DOVE TO THAT BOARD. SECOND. ALRIGHT, WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPOINT MR. RICHARD VICTOR DOVE TO THE REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION. IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? OKAY. MR. DOVE IS NOW APPOINTED. MR. MAYOR, I HAVE A FEW APPOINTMENTS, UM, I'D LIKE TO APPOINT, I'D MAKE A MOTION, UH, TO APPOINT MARGO FESMAN TO THE PLANNING BOARD. I BELIEVE THAT APPLICATION WAS SUBMITTED A COUPLE WEEKS AGO. UH, AND IT'S A WARD ONE APPOINTMENT SEAT. OKAY, SO WE HAVE A MOTION, WE HAVE A SECOND. I'LL SECOND HAVE A MOTION TO SECOND FOR MS. FESMAN FOR THE PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD. UH, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? OKAY, SHE'S APPOINTED. NEXT WE HAVE OPENINGS FOR THE POLICE, UH, CIVIL SERVICE BOARD. UH, AFTER TALKING WITH A FEW OFFICERS AND THEN SEEING SOME OF THE APPLICATIONS THAT'S COME THROUGH, I HAVE TWO NAMES. I, ROBERT WEST AND ALEX, UH, SETZER. UM, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO DO THEM TOGETHER OR SEPARATELY? UH, WE CAN DO 'EM TOGETHER SINCE IT'S MOST LIKELY UNANIMOUS. SO I WOULD MAKE A MOTION TO APPOINT TO APPOINT ROBERT WEST AND ALEX SETZER TO THE POLICE, UH, CIVIL SERVICE BOARD. SECOND, WE HAVE A MOTION A SECOND. IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? OKAY. THEY ARE [01:25:01] BOTH APPOINTED. AND MR. MAYOR, FINALLY WE HAVE, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AT THE RETREAT. WE HAVE ALDERMAN SPOTS, UH, FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION. I BELIEVE, UH, ALDERWOMAN VEST IS CURRENTLY ON, UH, THE COMMISSION. UM, AND I BELIEVE SHE WANTS TO STAY ON THE COMMISSION. UH, BUT I I ALSO HEARD THAT ALDERWOMAN BRYANT AND ALDERWOMAN WHITE WANTED TO SERVE, UH, ON THE REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION IN EXO OFFICIO CAPACITY. IF, UH, THOSE ALDERWOMAN WOULD LIKE THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THAT MISSION. AND JUST POINT OF CLARIFICATION, I, I BELIEVE THAT THE RESOLUTION THAT CREATED THAT, UM, UM, DESIGNATES THOSE MEMBERS AS LIAISONS, NOT EX OFFICIOS. SO THESE ARE NON-VOTING. THESE ARE REALLY PEOPLE WHO ARE INVITED TO HAVE A CHAIR THERE AND LISTEN TO HELP US CROSS POLLINATE BETWEEN THAT BOARD AND THIS BOARD. SO IT'S NON-VOTING NON-MEMBER. JUST GO AND BE AVAILABLE. AND I BELIEVE WHEN WE LOOKED AT, AT THE RETREAT, THE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THAT DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY DESIGNATE PARTICULAR ALDERMAN SEATS, CORRECT? EXACTLY. IT COULD BE. OKAY. EXACTLY. UM, SO I, I WOULD LIKE TO, I DON'T KNOW IF I NEED TO REAPPOINT ALDERWOMAN BEST, BUT I WILL, UM, YEAH. TO DE DESIGNATE AS A LIAISON. ALRIGHT, THEN I, I WOULD MOVE TO DESIGNATE ALDERWOMAN BEST, WYATT AND BRYANT AS THE LIAISON FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION, SIR. OKAY. I HAVE A MOTION TO SECOND. IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE. A AYE. ANY OPPOSED? OKAY. THERE ARE ALL THREE OF THEM. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY APPOINTMENTS? UH, I I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT, UM, I BELIEVE THAT WAS LISTED ABOUT THE VIKING PED UH, COMMITTEE AND WE HAD DECIDED DURING THE RETREAT THAT WE WERE NO LONGER GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT. SO I BELIEVE THE CLERK HAS A FORM, UH, THAT SHE HAS TO THANK PEOPLE FOR THEIR SERVICE. UM, IF SHE PREPARES THOSE FOR THOSE MEMBERS, I WILL SIGN THOSE AND WE CAN INVITE THEM HERE TO PRESENT THAT TO 'EM. OR WE CAN JUST, UM, HAVE THEM AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO PICK UP. BUT WE APPRECIATE WHAT THEY DID. UM, A LOT OF THEIR WORK IS LED TO SOME OF THE FUTURE PROJECTS THAT WE WILL BE UNDERTAKING. SO I THINK ONE OF 'EM IS THE GRANT WE JUST DISCUSSED, INCORPORATED ELEMENTS OF THAT. SO NEXT AGENDA AND TO MAYOR, ON THE NEXT AGENDA, THERE WILL BE A RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE THE, THE, THAT THAT COMMITTEE WILL BE DISSOLVED. VERY GOOD. ARE THERE ANY OTHER APPOINTMENTS? HEARING NONE, UH, ATTORNEY'S REPORT, UH, NOTHING TO REPORT TONIGHT. MAYOR, CITY MANAGER'S [22. City Manager's Report.] REPORT A FEW UPDATES FOR YOU. UM, AT THIS TIME I'D LIKE TO ASK GEORGE CHILDS TO COME BACK UP. UH, DURING THE FY 26 BUDGET, UH, PROCESS, WE WERE GIVEN DIRECTION BY THE BOARD TO SEEK PROPOSALS FOR QUALIFIED FIRMS TO PROVIDE BULK WASTE LEAF AND LAND AND LOOSE LEAF COLLECTION SERVICES. AND GEORGE CHARLES IS GONNA GIVE US AN UPDATE ON WHERE THINGS STAND. AS THE CITY MANAGER MENTIONED, UM, WITH THE DISCUSSION ABOUT POSSIBLY OUTSOURCING SOME OF THE SERVICES CURRENTLY, UH, SELF-PERFORMED BY SOLID WASTE, WE WENT AHEAD AND PREPARED AN RFP FOR THE SERVICES OF BULK WASTE LEAF AND LIMB AND LOOSE LEAF COLLECTION. SO THAT WOULD BE YOUR BROWN AND WHITE GOODS, THE ROW TRUCK SERVICES FOR THE LE FOR THE, UH, LIMB DEBRIS OR VEGETATIVE DEBRIS. AND THEN THE LOOSE LEAF COLLECTION, WHICH OCCURS NOVEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY. WE ADVERTISED THIS RFP AUGUST 8TH, 2025. WE HAD A DEADLINE OF AUGUST 22ND FOR WRITTEN QUESTIONS FROM POSSIBLE, UM, SUBMITTALS. WE ISSUED AN ADDENDUM ON AUGUST 29TH, WHICH ANSWERED THOSE QUESTIONS THAT WERE WRITTEN TO US. THE DEADLINE FOR THE CLOSING OF THE RFP WAS SEPTEMBER 12TH AT FIVE, AT 4:00 PM PUBLIC WORKS DID RECEIVE TWO PROPOSALS WITHIN THE TIMEFRAME AFTER INITIAL, UM, REVIEW OF THE DOCUMENTS THAT WERE SENT WITH BOTH PROPOSALS. BOTH WERE DETERMINED TO BE NON-RESPONSIVE DUE TO MISSING REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION WITH BOTH PROPOSALS. ONE PROPOSAL, UM, DID NOT INCLUDE A COST FOR THE LOOSE LEAF. THEY ONLY BID PART OF THE REQUEST. UM, THERE WERE SOME OTHER DOCUMENTS LEFT OFF OF ANOTHER PROPOSAL, WHICH WERE THE BID SECURITY, SOME UNIT FEE SCHEDULING, UM, AND SOME OTHER DOCUMENTS. SO AT THAT POINT WHEN WE REALIZED BOTH WERE NON-RESPONSIVE, WE DID NOT, UM, GO AHEAD AND SET UP ANY FURTHER INTERVIEWS FOR DISCUSSION WITH THE SUBMITTAL, UM, SERVICES. HOWEVER, WE DID REVIEW THE CALL THAT WERE PROVIDED. SO THE UNIT COST PROVIDED, WE BASE IT OFF OF [01:30:01] HOW, HOW WE DID OUR CALCULATIONS WAS OUR CURRENT NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL, UH, SERVICES THAT WE'RE PROVIDING. SO CURRENTLY AS OF LAST MONTH, WE HAD 14,358 RESIDENTIAL CAR SERVICES. SO THAT WOULD BE WHO WOULD RECEIVE THESE CONTRACTED SERVICES UTILIZING THE UNIT COST PROVIDED BY BOTH OF THE PROPOSALS. THERE WAS NO COST SAVINGS THAT WE WOULD'VE FOUND FOR THE CITY, FOR THE UNIT COST AS PROPOSED. SO HAD WE SUPPLANTED THE, THE CURRENT IN-HOUSE WORK WITH CONTRACTED WORK, THE CONTRACTED WORK WOULD BE, THE FEES WOULD EXCEED WHAT WE CURRENTLY, UM, WOULD, WOULD CHARGE AND OUR COST FOR SOLID WASTE SERVICES WOULD GO UP. AND I CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. YEAH, COULD YOU, UM, COULD YOU CIRCULATE THAT BIT INFORMATION TO THE BOARD SO WE REVIEW IT? CERTAINLY, CERTAINLY. I'LL SEND IT OUT TOMORROW TO ALL OF YOU. OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. THANK YOU GEORGE. OUR NEXT ITEM WE'VE GOT IS, UH, SO DURING THE RETREAT THERE WAS SOME GENERAL TALK ABOUT STRATEGIC PLANNING. AND, AND SO THE BOARD TALKED ABOUT THAT AS WELL AS SOME OTHER PROJECTS. AND, AND SO RECENTLY THE NORTH CAROLINA LEAGUE OF MUNICIPALITIES, UH, SENT OUT SOME INFORMATION. THEY WOULD BE HOSTING A STRATEGIC PLANNING WORKSHOP HERE IN NEWBURN, UH, ON FEBRUARY 17TH AND 18TH. AND SO, UH, I DID HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH ALDERMAN FERGUSON AND ALDERMAN WHITE. THEY WERE, THEY WERE INTERESTED IN THIS. SO WE WANTED TO BRING THIS UP TO THE FULL BOARD TO SEE IF ANYONE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THE TWO DAY WORKSHOP. IF YOU ARE, PLEASE, PLEASE GET WITH THE CLERK. UM, AND I'M SURE WE'RE GONNA SEND SOME STAFF TO THAT AND WE'RE HAPPY TO COME BACK, UH, AT A LATER TIME IN A REPORT. UH, WHAT WE HEAR ON THAT. AND IF EITHER ALDERMAN WOULD LIKE, LIKE TO MAKE ANY COMMENTS ABOUT, UH, ABOUT THAT STRATEGIC PLANNING WORKSHOP, PLEASE DO SO. UH, I REACHED OUT TO THE PRESENTER OF THE LEAGUE OF MUNICIPALITIES, UM, WHO'S PUTTING ON THE WORKSHOP. IT'S FOR SMALL JURISDICTIONS. UM, SO IT'S TAILORED FOR THOSE WITH 15,000 OR LESS. UH, HOWEVER, I REACHED OUT AND THEY SAID THAT THIS WOULD ESSENTIALLY A GOOD PHASE ONE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR SOMEONE OUR SIZE. WHAT THEY SUGGEST FOR A CITY OUR SIZE IS A MUCH MORE, UM, EXTENSIVE AND AND EXPENSIVE PROCESS, UM, THAT I DON'T THINK WE NECESSARILY NEED ON THAT FRONT. BUT THE BENEFIT TO THIS, UM, WORKSHOP THAT THEY ARE PROVIDING IS THE ABILITY TO WORK WITH SOME CITY STAFF TO GET A DRAFT THAT CAN GO FOR CITIZEN INPUT DISCUSSION FROM THE ALDERMAN. UM, AND ACTUALLY AN ACTIONABLE PLAN THAT WE CAN KIND OF EXPOUND UPON OUR FIVE STRATEGIC, UM, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAT WE'VE ALREADY KIND OF SET AS A BOARD. THAT I THINK IS SOMETHING THAT AS A NEW BOARD TAKES OVER FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, WE HAVE THE BENEFIT TO KIND OF INSTITUTE THIS FOR WHAT WE WANT TO SEE THE CITY MOVING FORWARD. SO I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I'M, I'M PLANNING TO ATTEND. WE NEED ONE OTHER. SO I HOPE ONE OF YOU WILL JOIN ME. I'M PLANNING TO ATTEND. WE CAN, WE COULD PROBABLY HAVE MORE THAN TWO IF SOMEBODY ELSE WANTED TO CORRECT, AS LONG AS WE DON'T EXCEED FOUR. IS ANYBODY ELSE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING? WHAT ARE THE DATES? THEY ARE THE 17TH AND 18TH OF FEBRUARY, I WOULD SAY. OKAY, THANK YOU. THAT WORKED OUT WELL. THE THREE NEW ONES. SO YOU CAN COME BACK WITH ALL THE FRESH IDEAS, . ALL RIGHT. AND ALSO I WANNA REMIND YOU, THE 25TH ANNUAL IN NORTH CAROLINA MAIN STREET CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD HERE IN NEWBURN MARCH 10TH THROUGH 12TH. UH, THIS IS THE SIXTH TIME THAT THE CONFERENCE HAS BEEN HELD HERE IN NEWBURN. AND IT'S THE, UH, THE LAST TIME THIS CONFERENCE WAS HELD HERE WAS IN 2020. WE ANTICIPATE MORE THAN 800 ATTENDEES AND REPRESENTATIVES FROM MORE THAN 150 NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITIES TO ATTEND. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SHOWING OFF NEWBURN DURING THIS THREE DAY EVENT. UH, IF ANY ARGUMENT WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND EITHER THE ATTIRE OR PART OF THIS CONFERENCE, PLEASE GET WITH THE CLERK AND SHE WILL MAKE SURE SHE GETS YOU REGISTERED. AND THE LAST THING I HAVE IS THE NORTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF MUNICIPAL CLERKS RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT CITY CLERK, BRENDA BLANCO, HAS ADVANCED TO THE ROLE OF FIRST VICE PRESIDENT FOR THE 25 26 TERM. I WANNA CONGRATULATE BRENDA ON THIS NEW LEADERSHIP ROLE AND WITH THE ASSOCIATION AND FOR ALL THAT SHE DOES FOR THE CITY. SO, CONGRATULATIONS. THAT'S ALL I HAVE TONIGHT, SIR. OKAY. WE'LL MOVE ON TO NEW [23. New Business.] BUSINESS ALDERMAN FERGUSON. UM, I BELIEVE THAT WE, UM, SO WE REMOVED ITEM NUMBER 17 PER POLICY. IF WE WANT IT TO COME BACK, IT NEEDS TO BE PUT ON AN AGENDA, UM, OR IT HAS TO STAY OFF I THINK SIX MONTHS. SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO PUT ITEM 17 ON THE FEBRUARY AGENDA. OKAY. IS THAT A MOTION? [01:35:01] YES. SO CAN I HAVE A SECOND TO THAT? OKAY. I HAVE A MOTION A SECOND. IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE? THAT'S IT FOR ME, MR. MAYOR. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ALDERMAN BRYANT? NO, NO BUSINESS ALDERMAN ESTHER? UH, YEAH, MAYOR. UM, DURING THE WORK SESSION, I HAD ASKED FOR A COPY OF THE HPC BOARD MEMBERS AND THEIR, WHEN THEIR TERM EXPIRES. SO I WAS JUST REMINDED THAT I'D LIKE TO GET THAT. I THINK YOU SAID YOU WERE GONNA SEND IT TO EVERYONE. THAT'S CORRECT. AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE THERE. OKAY. ALDERMAN WHITE? NO, NO BUSINESS SIR ALDERMAN BEST. UM, I JUST WANT TO THANK WHOMEVER'S RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING THESE NEW CHAIRS. WE HAVE TO ENJOY. YES. THEY, THEY FEEL REALLY NICE AND THEY LOOK, THEY ARE MUCH MORE PRESENTABLE. UM, ALSO, UM, I JUST WANT TO SAY, UM, CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR CITY CLERK. SHE'S A HARDWORKING YOUNG LADY. I DON'T SEE HOW SHE DO IT ALL. UM, CONGRATULATIONS. AND THAT'S IT. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALDERMAN OUTLAW. I'LL JUST CONTINUE TO STRESS THAT CITY STAFF AND THE OFFICIALS WORK TOWARD DEFERRED MAINTENANCE SCIENCE ASSOCIATED WITH SOME OF OUR MAJOR DRAINAGE CANALS. AND AS I'VE ALWAYS SAID, OVERSIZE THE CULVERTS FOR FUTURE OR UR SURFACES. AND THE ONLY OTHER THING I, I GET A LOT OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT, WHICH IT'S NOT MY WORK, IS THE, SOME OF THE LOUD TRUCK MUFFLERS THAT LIKE THE FREQUENT DOWNTOWN NEW BERNON. AND IF YOU'RE EVER DOWN THERE JUST AT AN EVENT, THERE'S SOME OF THESE TRUCKS, THEY DON'T COME BY ONE TIME. THEY COME BY THREE AND FOUR OR FIVE TIMES AND THEY SLOW DOWN AND STOP ABOUT EVERY 200 FEET AND THEN THEY START AGAIN. AND, YOU KNOW, YOU LITERALLY CANNOT CARRY ON CONVERSATION WITH SOME OF 'EM. SO OTHER THAN THAT, I THINK WE'RE DOING REALLY, REALLY WELL RIGHT NOW. OKAY. UM, JUST LIKE TO THANK STAFF AGAIN FOR THEIR WORK. UM, I GUESS IT WAS LAST WEEK DURING THE RETREAT. UM, WE TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND, UM, IDEAS AND WAYS, WAYS TO MOVE THE CITY FORWARD. UM, WE ARE LOOKING TO START PHASING IN, UH, ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC TO SPEAK AT OUR BOARD MEETINGS, UH, WHICH WILL BE, UH, AT THE BEGINNING, AT THE END OF THE MEETING. UH, SO WE ALSO WANTED TO ENCOURAGE FOLKS THAT IF YOU HAVE NOTICES FOR EVENTS OR NONPROFITS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO UTILIZE THE CITY AND TO GET THAT MESSAGE OUT, UH, PLEASE REACH OUT TO OUR, OUR PIO MS. COLLEEN ROBERTS. UH, SHE HAS WAYS OF SHARING THAT INFORMATION. AND THEN AS WE BEGIN TO PHASE THIS IN, UH, STARTING THE MONTH OF APRIL, UH, YOU'LL START TO SEE, UH, TWO AGENDA ITEMS. ONE AT THE BEGINNING AND ONE AT THE END OF THE MEETING, UH, FOR PETITION OF CITIZENS. AND ONE AT THE BEGINNING WOULD BE ITEMS RELEVANT AND JERMAINE TO THE AGENDA. AND THEN THE ONE AT THE END WOULD BE FOR ANY OTHER SUBJECT, UH, WHICH IS EXACTLY THE WAY, UH, I BELIEVE CRAVEN COUNTY AND MANY OTHER CITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES DO THAT ACROSS THE STATE. SO I WANTED TO SHARE THAT WITH EVERYONE. AND, UH, I DON'T BELIEVE WE NEED A CLOSE SESSION TONIGHT. IS THAT CORRECT? YES. CORRECT. SO I, WE LOOK FOR A MOTION TO ADJOURN. SECOND. HAVE A MOTION A SECOND IS A FURTHER DISCUSSION. HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. A AYE. ANY OPPOSED? WE ADJOURN. ALRIGHT. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.