City Council - Regular Meeting

to welcome everybody to the Brevard City Council regular meeting of Monday, June 1st. I want to extend a warm welcome to everyone that has come today in person. And folks, we got a lot of seats up in front. Don't be afraid. Come on up. Oh yeah, front row is always open. Anyways, I want to welcome everybody who is here in person as well as everyone who is watching us on the live stream. So we'll start by introducing everybody that is sitting up here. On my far right, we have our city attorney, Mac McKellar. Next to Mac is we have Councilman Lauren Wise. Next to Lauren, we have Councilwoman Pamela Holder. Next to Pamela, we have Mayor Pro Tem and Councilman Aaron Baker. I'm Mayor Maureen Kopeloff. On my immediate left is our City Clerk, Denise Hodgson. Next to Denise is Councilman Gary Daniel. Next to Gary is Councilman Dean Lytle. And next to Dean is our City Manager, Wilson Hooper. And with that, I would like to ask the Reverend Dr. Pamela Holder, also Councilwoman Holder, but she is tonight going to be giving the invocation in her role as the Bethel A Baptist Church pastor. Pastor Holder.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Good afternoon.

Let us pray. Father, how excellent is your name in all the earth. Thank you, Lord, for this day that you've made, and we rejoice and are glad in it. Even in time of excitement and joy, we can call on your name. When it's time for the business that will be at hand, we call on your name now for guidance, for perspectives, for leadership, for courage, for boldness, for whatever it is that we need to do for this city to be the great city that you would want it to be. Thank you, Lord, for those who have sacrificed their time to come here. Thank you, Lord, for the ones who serve on council in the city to give the extra, going above and beyond the ordinary. Now, Lord, we know that you can do the same. You always do go beyond and above the ordinary of our expectations. We ask, God, that you would speak to our hearts, to our minds, and our thoughts. In your name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Pastor Holder, would you tell us a little bit about Bethel A Baptist Church?

I am going into my almost five years as pastor of Bethel A Baptist Church, and in July we will celebrate 106 years of being a ministry in this area. And we get to minister in different parts, in different areas, in different ways, not just in Brevard, but across the state and across this country through the involvement as we are very involved in missions work. We meet on Sunday mornings at 1045 for our worship experience. At 945, we have Sunday school where we learn more about the Bible. On Wednesdays, we meet via Zoom for Bible study so that we can dig deeper in the word and learn more. We would invite you to come anytime. Feel free. We'd love to have you. May God bless you with a good evening.

Thank you. If everyone would please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Attention, honor, pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Madam Clerk, do we have a quorum? Yes, Madam Mayor, you do have a quorum. All members are present.

Council, you've got the draft agenda in front of you, and I do want to state before I ask for any modifications and vote on it, we do not have the FY26-27 budget vote on tonight's agenda. I know we had announced that previously that we anticipated holding that vote tonight. But at our last meeting, we had a lot of public comment. And instead of voting tonight, we have scheduled an additional budget workshop for this Friday at 8.30 here in council chambers. It is open to the public. There is not public comment at a workshop, but you are all welcome to come and hear. And then this gives council more time to consider and talk and come to decisions based on all of the input that they have received from the public. So that is why you do not see the budget on tonight's agenda. So with that explanation, council, do we have any modifications to the agenda?

I'd like to ask that we add the letter that council has a copy of to the consent agenda in support of funding at the state level for the expansion of passenger rail service from Salisbury to Asheville.

Okay. And any other additional modifications?

If I may ask Madam Mayor to add a closed session for property acquisition.

Any other modifications? Okay, do I have a motion to approve the agenda with the two noted modifications? So moved. Do I have a second?

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Agenda is approved. Council, we have the minutes of the March 6, 2026 priority setting retreat. Do I have a motion to approve the minutes?

So moved.

Do I have a second?

Second.

Do I have any suggested comments or modifications to those minutes? I'd like to make a comment. Go ahead, Mr. Daniel.

After reading the minutes of the priority retreat a couple of times and listening to the tape of the discussion about prioritizing the homelessness issue, I stand by my objection to the inclusion of the paragraph concerns of the council. I believe it is clear that a majority of council felt this was a discussion for another time and most if not all were satisfied the issue had been fully addressed by Mr. Lytle's proposal. I believe that we all agree that we are concerned about the homelessness problem, and to be accurate, that's what I think the minute should state. I am not aware of any action by Council that we agree to create another label concern, nor does a record support the idea that Council intentionally created such a label. And I'm simply asking that the minutes accurately reflect that.

Okay, thank you for your comment. Can I ask, Mr. Manager, I know there was an issue regarding these minutes at the last meeting. What steps did staff take to verify the minute accuracy?

Um, the clerk reviewed both the audio recording and the, uh, her written notes of the meeting and verified that her account, uh, in her notes, um, corresponded with the audio recording. Um, and in our opinion, it did. And so we left the notes as presented here as they were two weeks ago.

Can I ask for a description of how the, uh, council made the, uh, intentional decision to make this a concern?

I'm not sure I understand the question.

As I read there was no intentional action by council to create this category which raises this issue beyond what I believe the council intended as I understood it. So I'm asking if it's being said that we did that I would like to know how that happened. by what process? Who made the motion? Who agreed that this was going to be considered a separate category called concerns?

Well, I can speak only to my recollection of the meeting, as I'm sure others can. Excuse me.

You're not the one that made the determination.

There was no motion. Well, I was just going to just present.

I'm asking the person that made the determination. You're asking the clerk. If that's who made the determination, I'm asking.

Okay. There was no specific motion to... call it a concern. It was a lengthy discussion regarding this meeting unhoused needs. And in the process of trying to funnel down all of the priorities that council had talked about during the day, there was a question about why that was up as a priority. And after lengthy discussion, it was decided or it was talked about calling it a concern. But there was no actual motion and vote to call it a concern.

And I would agree with that. But I don't see how that translates into creating this category. That's all I'm saying.

Your objection is noted, Mr. Darrell.

Thank you.

Thank you. All right, Council, any other additional comments before I call for a vote?

I'm just wondering what the issue is with... I'd like to hear more about what the actual issue is for even creating a category, even if that's... WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO. NOT SAYING THAT WE DID, BUT WHAT WOULD BE THE ISSUE IN DOING THAT?

WELL, LET ME JUST ADVISE COUNCIL THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE ARE APPROVING IN THE MINUTES IS A RECORD OF WHAT WE DID AT A PREVIOUS MEETING. WE ARE NOT REOPENING A DISCUSSION FOR ADDITIONAL I mean, this is just a record of what happened. If we want to change that record, if we want to change the recommendation, if we want to expand on it, that is a discussion for a new topic or adding something to the agenda that you want to have that as a discussion. But the minutes are simply a record, a recording of what happened on March 6th.

Fair enough.

So I would ask that maybe that discussion belongs somewhere else.

Fair enough.

All right. We have a motion and a second to approve the minutes. All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? No.

Okay.

I believe I heard four yeses and one no. Motion passes. Council, you have the May 18th regular meeting minutes. Are there any proposed corrections or modification to these minutes? Do I have a motion to approve the May 18th minutes?

So moved.

Do I have a second?

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Those minutes are approved. All right. We will move on to our certificate awards and recognition. This is when we do proclamations. As I've mentioned before, we do a proclamation when we want to emphasize the importance of something, when we want to bring something to the public's attention, when we want to say, this is important to us as a city and as a community. And today, I have a proclamation on LGBTQ rights. plus Pride Month. And I would like to ask representatives from either the NAACP, LGBTQ Committee, or the Rainbow Coalition, or any of our other Pride agencies, if you would like to come join me. Proclamation number 2026, TAC 18, LGBTQ plus pride month. Whereas the city of Brevard is committed to promoting a welcoming and accepting environment for all its residents. Whereas the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer LGBTQ plus culture and community has made significant contributions to the social, cultural, and economic fabric of the city. Whereas June is widely recognized as LGBTQ plus Pride Month, commemorating the Stonewall uprising in 1969, which marked a pivotal moment in the fight for LGBTQ rights and liberation. Whereas Pride Month serves as an opportunity to honor the LGBTQ community, celebrate their achievements, and raise awareness about the challenges they continue to face. And whereas the city of Brevard acknowledges the importance of fostering an environment of understanding, acceptance, and support for all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. whereas the city of Brevard embraces and values the principles of equality, justice, and respect for all its residents. Now, therefore, I, Maureen Koplow, mayor of the city of Brevard, do hereby proclaim the month of June as LGBTQ Plus Pride Month. I encourage all residents to engage in educational opportunities and events that promote understanding, respect, and acceptance of the LGBTQ plus community and express support for LGBTQ plus individuals, their families, and allies, and acknowledge the ongoing work needed to achieve full equality and justice.

All right, everyone can picture? Okay, yeah.

And at this point, I would like to open it if you would like to make any announcements about Pride Month and some of the things that are planned.

Yes. This is going to be a really fun Pride Month, and we have made so many steps in the right direction as far as our community, our allies, and the families of the LGBTQ. It's important. says that the suicide risk for an LGBTQ kid is raised by something like 60%. But if they have one person, and it doesn't necessarily have to be a family member, if one person accepts them for who and what they are, it goes down to none. So as a city, what you are doing Mayor and City Council, what you are doing to extend love and acceptance to these kids, particularly, I don't need it. I don't think that Carter needs it anymore.

I speak for Carter.

But anyway, what you're doing for these kids, they can't be overstated.

Any comments?

Oh, sure. Thank you, Mayor and City Council. than when it first began back in 1970 following the Stonewall riots in 1969. While the federal government is attempting to erase the parts of American history that it feels uncomfortable with, we must continue to acknowledge and educate others about the struggles that our community has endured to gain basic human rights.

Somewhere in your neighborhood, your neighborhood There is a preteen or a teen thinking about their sexual attractions and their gender identity and feeling ostracized by their classmates, feeling depressed, feeling alone, perhaps even feeling suicidal. When their town takes a stand by celebrating Gay Pride Month, they send a message to that child. We see you. We recognize your worth. We are here to support you and we love you.

Thank you all.

And I just want to say thank you to the organizations that exist that support this community. It is important. You guys are strong. You are visible. You are out there providing that support. And I appreciate all of the organizations such as the UUTC that partner with you to make it. I know I've been to that picnic several times. And it is a wonderful, wonderful event, community event. I am so proud of Brevard and the fact that Brevard is a welcoming community that welcomes everybody and accepts everybody. So thank you all, and I look forward to doing a Pride Month in Brevard.

Thank you.

All right, we will move on to public comment. Public is invited to speak during public comment at this time on any topic unless it is a public hearing item on this agenda. And we have no public hearings tonight, so you can speak on anything. Anyone who wants to speak must register with the city clerk, which is this list. When it is your turn, step to the podium in front of city council. State your name and address clearly. Limit comments to three minutes or less and avoid repetition. Direct comments to the full council, not to an individual council member or to staff. And I will give you a warning when you have 30 seconds left on your time. And we will call people up in the order that they signed. Our first person is Davis Whitfield Cargill.

Evening. I appreciate y'all. My name is Davis Whitfield Cargill. My office is in town at 23 South Broad Street, Suite 204, and my house is at 88 Hostile Lane, which is within the ETJ. I'm here to talk about the athletic facilities out on Acousta Road. I'll step back and say it's a beautiful thing when members of a community have a vision. They come together to invest in that vision, and then they implement it. And one example of that is the Acousta Field, which is the turf soccer facility on Acousta Road. It's adjacent to the parking lot that's also used by the softball fields, which is another beautiful thing. Nothing I like more than driving by any outdoor space and seeing people recreating, especially children, but also adults. And what I really like is adults and kids using recreational spaces. The turf field is very well used. Three years ago it opened, some people had a vision, they raised the money, and I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a facility that is used by a broader cross-section or a more diverse cross-section of the community, and I'm talking age, race, socioeconomic background. That is a well-used facility and it's a beautiful community. Words that I just heard from you, Mayor, were it should be important as a city and community. And you were talking about our proclamations. We make proclamations that speaks to what's important. What we spend our money on and what we take care of is also important. And as beautiful and well-used and amazing as that facility has been and as that community that uses it has been, Um, there are three issues with it that speak to safety and health of the people using that facility not being important to this city and we need to fix that. Those three things are the parking lot is a disaster. It is a well used parking lot when baseball and soccer are both going on, which is wonderful. Those are kids out there doing something other than playing on these things. Um, parking lots extremely dangerous. When I'm on the soccer field coaching, I walk past the smell of human feces the minute I get out of my car. We've been relying on port-a-johns for fields that are used by hundreds of people, most weekdays, most weekends, for a majority of the months of the year. At least it feels that way. I coached from August to November and from January to May. The third thing that's a health hazard and a safety hazard is the amount of dust that blows from that parking lot across the field while young kids are out there practicing and playing. Please invest in the parking lot, making it safer, finding adequate parking. Please invest in bathroom facilities so that our kids aren't smelling human feces while they're drinking water or running or warming up or playing a game. It's a beautiful facility. Let's show the city that to this city council, the health and safety of people using that facility and the softball field is important. Thank you. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Rodney Locks.

Good evening, City Council. My name is Rodney Locks. I live at 187 South Price Street. What I'm going to do is I was asked, why didn't I give out my comments at the last public hearing? So I will do that now. Since you're not going to vote on the budget, I'll just give you my comments front and back. One thing that you talk about, port-a-potties, if you can't have port-a-potties over on Sports Complex, you shouldn't have them. IN ROSENWALL AT THE PLAYGROUND. AND IF YOU CAN'T SPEED ON PROVOST STREET, YOU SHOULDN'T SPEED ON CAROLINA AVENUE. AND I LISTENED TO LAUREN BAKER'S TALK TO THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. I THOUGHT IT WAS EXCELLENT. AND THE QUESTION THAT WAS ASKED PUZZLED ME. THEY WANT TO KNOW, HOW MANY CALLS DID THEY GET? in Sylvan Valley, what would they do if there were no calls? Would they pay? Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Lox.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Owen Carson.

Hey, Council. Mayor, my name is Owen Carson. I live at 77 Poplar Street, right down there by the middle school. And I am also here this evening to, first of all, say thank you for what you do for the city. I really appreciate it. I appreciate the diversity of opinions that you guys share across this board. And I think it's really important and representative of kind of the different opinions that we have in this community. But that aside, I came here 22 years ago and I came here to play soccer at Brevard College. I've played my entire life and I've enjoyed the community that soccer has provided from the time I was three years old, even till now, I still play adult league here. Soccer brings people together and it helps weave together the fabric of community. Soccer here is really important. It has grown. I've coached since before I had children. I now have 12 year old twins and I still coach my daughter. And I have seen the program of soccer here grow and I've seen children thrive. and learn the game of soccer, but also learn about life through soccer. So the field we have that Davis talked about, it's phenomenal, but there are some issues with the parking lot specifically, and I'm here to ask that during your deliberations about the budget that you please consider how we invest in resources that help build community because soccer does that here. Soccer has led us to be successful both here in our community and when we travel away and we've now invited people to our soccer field to experience how nice it is and we're able to grow our community that way and invite people in. So this parking lot needs to be safer. It needs to be paved to prevent dust. A very serious accident occurred in that parking lot about a month ago, and we don't need to have children who are just trying to enjoy their space with their parents be in a dangerous situation with an unregulated parking lot. I think that also our reputation here in Brevard is reflected at that field. And so when people come to our community to learn about who we are and have their children play sports against ours, it reflects poorly on our community when we don't have facilities that are adequate, bathrooms, parking lots. And I think that it's worth investing in children's sports. It's worth investing in things that build community. And I would urge you to consider that as you deliberate over your budget. And I would also reflect on what Rodney said. I mean, I have a specific interest here, but investing in play spaces, safe spaces for everybody in every part of our community is really important, and that infrastructure is a key component. So thank you for your time.

Thank you, Mr. Carson. Our next speaker is Anna Hurd.

Madam Mayor, members of the City Council, thank you for your time this evening. My name is Anna Hurd, and I live at 1325 Budd-Sinyard Road. I work for Transylvania Youth Soccer Association, and I'm here this evening to discuss the parking situation and lack of public restroom facilities at 324 Acousta Road. the primary public parking area serving the Brevard Skate Park, Brevard Dog Park, public baseball fields, Acosta Soccer Field, and the Brevard Bike Path. Three years ago, Transylvania Youth Soccer Association, TISA for short, in partnership with the city of Brevard, established the Acosta Soccer Field. As part of that agreement, both parties acknowledged that the parking area and bathroom facilities require improvements for the beneficial use of the soccer complex, baseball fields, skate park, and other adjacent city amenities by the public and other user groups. Since that day, no improvements have been made to either the parking area or restroom facilities. Over the last three years, TISA has experienced steady growth in numbers of local youth we serve and in the number of teams we host from across western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. The Acosta Field is our primary location for practices, games, and tournaments. During the season, on any given Saturday, we host more than 400 participants on the soccer field alone. That number does not include the families using the skate park, walking their dogs at the dog park, riding the bike path, or attending little league baseball games. As recreational use of this area has grown, the inadequacies of the parking area have become impossible to ignore. As I am sure many of you are aware, on April 21st, a seven-year-old boy was struck by a vehicle in this parking lot. Thankfully, he survived, though he had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital. While this incident was particularly serious, it was not an isolated warning sign. We have witnessed numerous close calls involving children, families, cyclists, and vehicles. The lack of organization, designated traffic flow, safe pedestrian pathways, and sufficient parking creates an environment that is simply unsafe for the public. Recently, a local resident wrote to the Transylvania Times, every time I pass the athletic fields on Acosta Road, I feel very appreciative that we have such wonderful athletic facilities for our young people. I am proud that Brevard has that facility and I congratulate the folks who drove the initial actions to make sure that our young people have first class places to play. I agree. These fields and adjacent public amenities are a tremendous asset to our community. They are places where children develop confidence, families build relationships, and residents of all ages gather to enjoy the outdoors. They reflect the very best of Brevard. 30 seconds. Building the facilities alone is only the first step. We also have a responsibility to ensure they can be used safely and comfortably by the public. Tonight I'm asking the city council to make the Acosta parking lot and restroom improvements a priority. This is not simply a soccer issue, it's not a baseball issue, it's not a skate park issue. It is a public safety issue that affects every resident and visitor who uses this shared community space. Local nonprofit organizations like TISA will continue doing everything we can to provide affordable, enriching opportunities for children. However, we cannot solve infrastructure and public safety challenges that properly belong to the city. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Our next speaker is Dan Votero. I didn't get that. Votero? Okay, Mr. Votero.

Hello, can you hear me okay?

Yes.

Up, down, okay. This is my first time speaking, and it's kind of a low priority issue, so I'll keep it short and sweet. I've been lucky enough to be drawing outside of Quijote, thanks to the generosity of Victor, the owner, and I actually was coming to ask you about permitting. for downtown because I'm a caricature artist. It's my gift and in some ways my curse. But I really like putting smiles on people's faces. I think that having a caricature artist downtown would be a great asset to just the overall feel of downtown. I really enjoy it and I just think that the location I'm at is great. Victor's awesome, but it's really hard to get people's attention up in that plaza. I'd really like to get in touch with somebody who could talk to me about this. I did already speak to Catherine upstairs and she gave me some information and it seems like A lot of the wording is tailored to homelessness and begging, more so than someone trying to be above board and be on the straight and narrow, you know what I mean? So I'm not really sure who to talk to. She mentioned this, she suggested coming to this, but I don't really have a... like an outline thing to say. So if you have any input, if anyone has any input, I'd be willing to hear it and talk about it. I actually did find a spot across from the Howard Hanna Insurance. That's just a small little area that I can fit a small easel and three chairs in. And it's got good foot traffic, it's got like just good eyesight. I'm not one of those that like barks at everybody. I just sort of let people come and talk to me as they do or I say a little high hand gesture. It's not that I want.

30 seconds. Okay.

I'm not looking to make a lot of money doing this. It's just something fun I like to do. So if I could get in touch with somebody about that, it would be really helpful. So is this sort of just a one-way thing where I just ?

You're at time, Mr. Fautero. Since this is your first time here, I will explain a little on how public comment works. Elected officials do not directly respond to public comment this evening. However, we have your name and contact information your phone number and What we do on issues where there are questions where it needs to be researched staff will take this for action right city manager and the staff will be back in touch with you with answers and

Okay. Okay. Would there be time afterwards that I could speak?

You could speak to the city manager after the meeting or if we take a break. Yes.

Okay. Awesome. So thank you.

Thank you. Okay. Our next speaker is Doug Powell.

Good evening, Madam Mayor, City Council, and staff. We are only 33 days away from America's 250th Independence Day celebration. If you guessed that I'm a little giddy, well, you would be correct. It's interesting to note that Thomas Jefferson was only 33 years old when he penned the original draft of the Declaration of Independence. A fact not taught in our public schools is that Jefferson's biggest grievance against King George III was that he had, quote, waged cruel war against human nature itself. violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere. Unfortunately, only 11 of the 13 colonies voted in favor of this reason for separating from Great Britain. Therefore, it was not included in the final document since all 27 grievances were voted upon unanimously by the states. Why was this paragraph included anyway? It seems logical today, but slavery was normal in almost every country on earth at that time. One reason was because many of the patriot pastors of the revolution had made it clear from their study of the Bible that slavery was wrong and had been preaching that fact from their pulpits. As we rush towards America's 250th, you might have picked up on a theme in my presentations, which is how critical the clergy and the Christian church was in our founding and our political decisions and documents thereafter. Take Pastor Jonas Clark, for example. It was his house that Paul Revere rode to because he knew that's where John Hancock and Samuel Adams would be, and he needed to warn them to flee immediately due to the approaching British army. Pastor Clark had trained his flock that the only justification for bloodshed was biblical, which is not in aggression, but in self-defense. And that is why his deacon, Captain John Parker, had trained the men of his Lexington church to follow these orders. Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here. And so the next morning on April 19th, 1775, 70 Minutemen stepped out onto the Lexington Green under the shadow of their church and confronted nearly 800 professionally trained British soldiers. These were some of the first Minutemen of America. Now everyone here knows what a minute is, right? almost 30 seconds plus another 30 seconds and you get a minute. And these minute men were trained to be ready within a minute to defend their family, their friends, their country, and their church. In fact, many pastors of that era made it a requirement for its members to bring a gun to church or they could not attend. So as we celebrate our nation's founding next month, please keep in mind the role of the pastors in the founding of our nation and the biblical morality in which an American citizen is supposed to follow.

Thank you, Mr. Powell. Our next speaker is Shea. Shea Airy.

Good evening, Mayor, Council. My name's Shea Airy. I'm a father in town. I'm a real estate and estate planning attorney by trade. I'm an elder and pastor at my church. I appreciate the prayer earlier today, and that was a very interesting comment as well. One of the many things I get to be involved with here in the community that I'm very grateful for is to be one of the directors at Acosta Football Club. which is under TISA. Within the program that I lead, there's well over 100 kids and all the families attached to that that are learning to become not just better soccer players, but better human beings. One of our cornerstones of our club is the development of character, and we work on that. We celebrate that among our kids more than the athletic performance. You've heard the needs already about the parking lot situation, so I won't belabor that point, but I want to share just a couple anecdotes so you can see what this feels like when you're on the field. We have a bunch of kids out there every night. If a child wants to use the restroom, this has happened multiple times over the last three years, there are children, there are young girls as young as six and seven and eight that need to use a restroom. Sometimes they have to go to that porta potty that is unfortunately frequently overfilled. And I don't want to paint a terrible picture for you, but it's really unpleasant. And a lot of times those young children simply will not use the restroom. And for a six or seven or eight year old girl to have that experience at a public park in Brevard is really unacceptable. Likewise, as Anna mentioned, we have begun to host more and more out-of-town teams here, which is fantastic for a number of reasons. It's a pride of our kids and our families. They get to have home games. It's took a long time to do that. People come from Clemson and Greenville and Waynesville and many other places, even as far as Charlotte, come play at the fields. As a director on site, many times I get asked the question, where can my child use the restroom? It's oftentimes a mother with a few children and she's pointing at the porta-potties saying those are not serviceable or those aren't usable. And that's simply because of the sheer mass of people we have. And I have to tell them where the acoustic brewery is down the road or where the gas station is down the road. And again, these are the kind of situations that unravel sort of on a weekly or biweekly basis during the season. And I think we can all do better than that. This sport has grown a lot locally. It's fantastic. Those thousands of families coming in spend their money in Brevard. So there is an economic impact that the sport is generating. and I think we should find it on our budget to support a new parking area and some bathrooms. As you're looking at the bathrooms, I would just say if there's any way to include some sort of covered space, it would be very important because we do have lightning and thunderstorms, and there's nowhere to shelter out there. So thank you again for all you do. I know it's a lot of service, and we really appreciate it.

Thank you, Mr. Erie. Our next speaker is Harvey Sankey.

Good evening, Madam Mayor, city council members, and staff. You've all heard me speak about the budget last two city council meetings. I'm not gonna go over anything. You've heard what I had to say, and you've also heard what a lot of other people had to say about the budget and how it impacts their standard of living. If you increase your property taxes, that increases their living expenses. They already have to deal with inflation. I'm talking about the lower income people and the people who are on the fixed income. And I'm glad you're having a working, um, um, workshop this Friday to discuss everything that was heard in the past about the increase or possible increase in the property tax. So keep that in mind at your workshop. I really appreciate it and I'm sure a lot of the other people who spoke before me the last two times will also appreciate it. One more thing under fiscal year 26 supplemental spending plan. As a former auditor, I was going through the budget amendment number 26-06. That's on page 116 of 120. And under it, it is a motion for consideration, transfer from the general fund, Estetot, 200,000. Total, 96,000. I have a problem.

reconciling that figure thank you thank you mr. Sankey and that is everybody that has signed up for public comment all right we will move on to our consent and information portion of the agenda The following items are on the consent agenda. One, ordinance declaring street closures for the Fourth of July Festival. Two, ordinance declaring road closures for National Night Out. Three, Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee meeting minutes of April 15th, 2026. Four, Rosenwald Community Advisory Board meeting minutes of January 15th, 26. Five, Rosenwald Advisory Board meeting session notes of March 19th, 26, and the letter of support regarding the passenger rail service. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda?

So moved.

Do I have a second?

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Consent agenda is approved. Moving on to unfinished business. The first item is the proposed amendments to the City of Brevard Unified Development Ordinance Chapters 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, and 19 regulations for nonconformities. And Emily Brewer will run us through a brief recap.

Very brief. This is a staff-initiated text amendment to rewrite the city's requirements and development regulations regarding nonconformities, specifically those found in Chapter 14 and those that are sprinkled throughout. The goals of these regulations are to limit substantial investment in nonconformities, bring about eventual elimination and or lessen their impact on the surroundings, and preserve the integrity of the ordinance and the character of Brevard. A nonconformity, as you know, is a lot structure use sign or site feature that was legally established but no longer complies with the current development code requirements. These are not violations. They are results from code amendments, annexations, zoning changes. So it's really important for us to think about how our development regulations apply in these unique situations, and we can make sure that we are, in fact, accomplishing those goals. Staff held a workshop with Planning Board at its March meeting, and then the Planning Board ultimately reviewed the language and unanimously recommended in favor of the adoption of the language before you today. You held a public hearing on May 18th. No members of the public spoke, but council did request a few minor tweaks to the language. Specifically, we were asked to provide examples for one of the provisions in the ordinance language. This change is incorporated in the version that you have before you today as well. Nonconformities are not addressed in any of the city's adopted plans and policies. Therefore, this proposal is neither consistent nor inconsistent with our adopted plans and policies. However, addressing nonconformities in a way that leads to gradual compliance will maintain the integrity of the city's UDO and further many of our planning goals and objectives that are outlined in our comprehensive land use plan. So in accordance with North Carolina general statutes, the planning board submits a statement analyzing the reasonableness and consistency of this proposal, which is also included in your packet. We would ask that you take one of the following actions tonight. One, adopt the amendments as presented. Two, revise and adopt the amendments as revised. Three, reject the amendments. Or four, table it for further consideration and or public hearing. I'm happy to answer any other questions you may have.

Thank you. Council, do I have a motion regarding the proposed amendments?

I'll make a motion that we adopt the amendments as presented.

Do I have a second?

I'll second.

Okay, we'll open for discussion. Mr. Baker.

Yeah, we talked about this a lot last time. I'll just say that if you're just tuning in and you're just like really your hair's on fire about nonconformities now, you should review the video from the last meeting because we went into some good detail on it. And I'll just say thank you to staff for continually working to improve our rules. Thank you.

Ms. Holder.

You may have answered this already, and thank you for all the work. Does this nonconformity, does it address grandfathering in?

Yes, that's what grandfathering is. Nonconformities is the more legal term for grandfathering. When you have a nonconformity, it's something that predates the ordinance or the ordinance language has changed or something like that. Those are effectively grandfathered in, so they're allowed to continue. But we do have, we are allowed under North Carolina law to adopt regulations for as how those can continue to grow or to change as a result. So they are allowed to continue, but we adopt policies and regulations for the expansion, for the change in those, for enlargement, things like that. And when they're required to come into compliance.

So if a change was made, then they would have to fall under the current ordinance?

In most cases, yes. There are some differences between how a non-conforming use, a non-conforming structure, or a non-conforming site feature would be required to come into compliance. And one of the major elements of this proposal is to adopt a more nuanced approach as it relates to requiring compliance. So we have incorporated into this a full compliance at what we call new construction trigger. So if it's deemed to be a new construction or if it's a brand new building or if it's something that's substantially improved to the point of 75% or greater, then it would be considered new construction. that then becomes the, would require full compliance with the entire ordinance. We then have some more nuance around when you're making some changes, you are required to bring into compliance various elements that would be impacted. So for example, if you're making improvements to your parking lot, we would make you bring the parking lot into compliance. We would have you, if you're expanding the parking lot, we would really wanna make sure you had better parking lot landscaping and screening and things like that so we would not be requiring you to paint your building a different color because it doesn't comply but we would be requiring you to mitigate the impacts of the work that you are doing okay all right thank you Mr.

Wise thanks for all the hard work and no comments Mr. Daniel I have no comments Mr. Lytle no comments

we have a motion and a second all in favor aye opposed motion passes moving on to new business our first item is the Tannery North remediation smokestack removal funding recommendation and I believe city manager is going to present this yes ma'am this is a follow-up to a presentation I made back in February

on the need to demolish the stack because of the hazard it poses to future trail users going across the property. At the time, you reluctantly gave me permission to begin the demolition process, but you also inquired about the possibility of leaving a 20-foot remnant of the stack as a monument to Brevard's industrial past. The biggest unknowns about the remnant possibility were the price of demolishing it, partially, to leave a remnant, and the insurability of the remnant. We now know how much it'll cost, and we also know that it may, emphasize may, be insurable. With that said, of the three options I'm gonna present to you today, and I'll ask, oh, she's done it. Shawnee to bring those up on the screen. Leaving a remnant still carries the most risk and i'll explain why momentarily so i'm essentially here to see whether you all are willing to assume that extra risk in order to keep that monument in place after my last presentation staff salt bids on three different things full demolition partial demolition and a separate project of removing a contaminated vault elsewhere on the property and this project was necessary for safe construction of the trail. So we bid these things as a package and the bids were returned and they gave us three different scenarios. that were within $7,300 of each other, and the total budget is approaching $300,000, so a $7,300 difference on an approximately $300,000 project. So if your goal is to pick the cheapest of the three options, then it's number one on the screen there. That would be one firm removing the vault and a separate firm fully demolishing the stack. Option two is staff's recommended option even though it's marginally the most expensive. One firm would do both the vault removal and full demolition of the stack. And we believe as staff the $7,300 premium is worth it for the convenience of having one firm do both projects. We support full demolition so that the city isn't burdened with the long-term maintenance and responsibility for the remnant and there will be some. and those will be complicated by that remnant's presence. Those maintenance and long-term responsibilities will be complicated by the remnant's presence in a brownfield. Option three includes vault removal, partial demolition, and installation of appropriate safety measures on the remnant. And those safety measures include capping it so that no one can crawl in from the top, sealing the flue so that no one can crawl in from the bottom, and getting a structural engineer to verify that the remnant is structurally sound. Those are all included in the cost, but even with that, it still carries the most risk. of course there's the aforementioned long-term liabilities but also perhaps more important we are still uncertain whether the remnant is insurable and it might cost us money to wait and find out our insurer the league of municipalities has laid out what they're going to require to consider insuring the remnant And those things, as I said, are baked into the cost of option three. The main thing they require is that stamped letter from a structural engineer affirming that the protective measures have been installed and that the stack in its partially demolished state is structurally sound. But here's the rub. Neither of those parties, the structural engineer or the insurers, are willing to make their determinations speculatively. They both want the partial demolition to occur and assess the actual remnant itself. So the risks are A, the time it's gonna take for both those parties to make their determinations and whether they can do it in a timely enough way that we don't lose our contractor to demobilization. And B, what if one of them says no? The structural engineer and insurer have projected that they can both complete their task and get us a determination within 48 hours of the completion of the partial demolition. quick enough that the contractor won't have to demobilize. And so I'm reasonably confident that we can get this work done in time to not lose the contractor to demobilization. But the bigger risk, and this is a financial risk, is what happens if they say no. Staff have spoken with the contractor that would have been the low bid for partial demolition, and he has pledged to honor his bid for full demolition if we need him to stay on and finish the job. However, his full demolition cost was not the lowest, so if the structural engineer or if the insurer says no and we have to ask the contractor to finish the job, it's going to cost us an extra $27,000. which is about 10% more than if we had just taken it down in the first place. So no matter which option you choose, the funding proposal is the same. $100,000 from the multi-use path fund, since this is in pursuit of preparing the property for construction of the Tannery North Trail segment, and $200,000 from your unrestricted fund balance. Appropriating this amount, even though it's a little bit more than each of the three bids, We'll cover all three options and give us a small bit of contingency for unanticipated expenses. David and I are here to answer questions the best we can. We ask that you choose an option tonight so that we can get started ASAP and hopefully get this job done quickly so it doesn't conflict with the construction of the trail later this summer.

Thank you, Mr. Manager. Council, you've got three different options. Do I have a motion regarding one of these options?

Can we ask a few questions before trying to make a motion? Please.

All right, we'll open it for questions and discussion before we have a motion. All right, Mr. Wise, we'll start with you.

I mean, that didn't mean I needed to start. The first question I have, if we pursued option two, which with a full takedown of the smokestack, would any of those bricks still be salvageable, or is it going to be a, as we talked before, if they land into the brownfield and get impacted, that would be bad, and I'm wondering if we can salvage bricks and use them for a project and not try to keep these unknowns in place, or David?

So the intent out of any of the options proposed would be to kind of protect the bottom of the stack and bring all the brick down without, hopefully without it getting into the soil. We would then take it off site and crush it. We would have crushed brick that could be used as beneficial fill somewhere else in another project or maybe potentially back. on this project, but that's true of any means that we would take.

Could we salvage some of those bricks and use them as a, and I have no idea what this would be, some kind of memorial to that area, even if it's like a path out to the site or a wall, a monument, something that we can use as original bricks without grinding them all up?

Is maybe an okay answer. It's hard to say. Both of the contractors in the part of their demolition are going to use this large grabber on a track hole. It's going to basically kind of crush the brick and rip it down. So it potentially could be the brick would have to be hand-cleaned with the mortar and then taken somewhere. I suspect that not all the brick would be damaged and some portion of it could be kept, but I think it would be very hard to say, you know, We need 300 bricks, and we're sure we're going to have 300 bricks, but I think there is a potential for some of that. But it would be expensive, you know, a lot of handwork for somebody to pick through fine bricks, remove the mortar, that type of thing. But I do think it's possible.

Okay. That's all. Those are my questions.

Ms. Holder?

My understanding was that the purpose of demolishing the tower, the smoke stack, is because of environmental concerns. And so now I think I'm hearing that it is more to accommodate the trail. So I'm just looking for transparency.

Yes, ma'am. It is the first. The 125-foot stack structure is very unsafe. The full height of the stack is very unsafe, and it cannot stay in its current state. There are cracked mortar running 10 feet down from the top. If you look at it at the right angle, you can see daylight through. A report that we had commissioned two years ago says that it is damaged and a hazard to the ground underneath it. And our insurers have said that they will not insure the full height of the stack in its current state anymore. And so if it fell and injured someone today, we would be fully responsible for that liability. And so it needs to come down for those two reasons alone. But the fact that the trail is going through there soon makes this all the more urgent because the number of people who could potentially be hit by falling debris is going to increase by 100% once that trail is open.

If I could clarify a little further, I think you asked if it was coming down for environmental reasons. It's coming down for safety reasons, but there are some environmental contaminants in the base of the stack. And as a part of the demolition, they are going to remove those. It's the leftover ash that was in the stack that's going to be removed and the stack cleaned. But the bigger concern is a safety hazard of falling debris versus more of an environmental concern.

So for my understanding, and I think for the neighbor's, we need to be clear that it is what it is. It is going to accommodate the trail. I don't have a problem with that, but we just need to be transparent. The presentation that was made before was, I mean, you guys gave a very graphic view of what the environmental issues were, what they looked like, and even gave us names of what they were. And so, I understand the crack. I saw the crack. But I just think we need to be transparent to the neighbors and to the public.

Council Member, I would recommend demolishing the stack whether we were building the trail or not.

I'm sorry?

I would recommend demolishing the stack whether we were building the trail or not because it poses a hazard to anyone walking through that property, to the houses that are close by. And so the presence of the trail makes no difference in my recommendations.

Okay? And that's fine. But I'm just going back to the first report that we got and the first understanding I got. I appreciate the work. Thank you.

Mr. Baker.

Yeah, I guess I'll just pick it up there. And I think both things can be true a little bit. The fact that we're dealing with this now was brought about in part by the the idea of actually using that property instead of keeping it a brownfield that is unusable for decades to come. So that partially brought this whole discussion about. But then we determined that our insurer was not going to continue insuring this structure, which is on city-owned property, and in fact that the fall radius goes into private property. Is that correct? Correct. while there's not a trail, which will be very well used hopefully once it's completed, this could fall in somebody's backyard tomorrow. I understand that. I'm not sure I have any questions other than the talk of the vault. I remember us discussing it briefly, but I wasn't sure that it was being included dealing with the vault was being included in this same sort of effort. So can you talk about why it's important that we do both of these things right now?

The vault is contaminated, so we thought for a moment that the stack was contaminated. We found out that, yes, there was a little bit of coal ash at the bottom, but the bricks and the mortar themselves were not contaminated with residue from the tannery operation. But the vault is, and its presence continues to contaminate that soil, and if folks are going to be walking near it, it poses a hazard of its own. If the stack was in perfect condition, we would still remove the vault. And so since you need a specialized demolition firm to both remove the vault and demolish the stack, and you have to write an environmental management plan for both efforts, we just decided to bundle them together for efficiency's sake.

And again, this isn't really a question, it's more of a comment, but it's... In Brevard, we do a lot of celebrating of our sort of industrial past and, you know, with Acousta and this property as well. And I think it's important to acknowledge the cost of that industrial past as well. And some of those extractive industries left us with a mess to deal with. And in this case, the cost of that is sometimes hard to pin down. We have a very real sense of the cost tonight. So I think it's just important to acknowledge that this is something that a private business decades left behind. And the city, I believe, was donated this property.

Do we know the year that it was donated? 2014? Yeah. Somewhere around then.

And obviously it's great to have a donated property, but in order to actually use it and actually clean it up, that comes with a real cost. So I'm interested to hear what others think on the right direction.

Mr. Lytle.

Yeah, my comments were very similar to Mr. Wise's. That's where my mind went as to whether or not we can salvage a bit of it to sort of get the intent of the question about keeping percentage of the stack. And also maybe can we, you had looked at keeping 20 feet, is that right? What about keeping lower than that? much lower than that where it may not be visible from a distance but visible up close as the use of the land is

I think that's definitely an option. I mean, we kind of somewhat randomly picked 20 feet, but I think they could very easily bring it lower. The stack is kind of more structurally sound the further you come down. So the demolition expense kind of goes up the closer you get to the ground. So I think it would add a little bit of money to our current bid process to do that. But I believe we also have flexibility to negotiate with the low bidder. I think we could do, you know, any of the above. I do think our, I believe our insurer would require the same structural engineer analysis regardless of the amount of stack let. Wilson, do you have a? I agree.

I think they'll require that no matter what.

Okay. So are the questions I have.

Mr. Daniel.

I'll just say I think we're far past the point of waxing nostalgic about this tower. It's fallen in such disrepair that I think the most economical path is the one that we should take. And if we can use some of those materials, repurpose those, that would be great. And, you know, you can pave part of the path with the grindings. I mean, there's a lot of uses that can come from that, but that would be my primary observation.

I have one more question. Yes, Ms. Holder. So help me understand, when we're looking at the ground and is it a brownfield as well? Is it contaminated? Okay, so if it's contaminated, we will have to pay for that to be fixed in order to run the trail through there? Would that be dangerous? How does it work?

So I'm going to speak to the stack and then to the trail.

Okay.

So for the stack, the environmental management plan that we're putting together for that will allow us to take the stack out in a manner that hopefully does not disturb the brownfield. That's the intent. We're going to put heavy-duty fabric down basically to catch the brick as it falls and get it off the site. There will be things involved with – Equipment that comes on to the site the dirt that might get on equipment tracks or wheels will have to be cleaned off before that leaves the site So that kind of speaks to the the track. I'm sorry to the stack itself and it has its own dedicated Environmental management plan same thing is true for the vault the trail has its own environmental management plan and And the intent there is to build over top of the surface and to provide fencing that will keep people. It's not a big tall fence. It's about a four foot high fence with smaller grid where pets or children couldn't get through it that will line the trail that runs through the brownfield section. But for the most part, it's capped. and there will be some materials that will leave the site for example there's some tree stumps and other things like that that we've had to pull out in some soil that may get taken out but any soil that's taken out goes to a special designated landfill but the intent is to minimize that what you remove from the site and build over top of it okay is there a possibility of danger as they're taking it down to the houses that are nearby I think the biggest, my personal opinion, the biggest danger that's posed to the houses nearby is if we leave the stack in place. The stack has seriously deteriorated over time, but I don't believe there's a hazard to the houses as from the trail construction. I would be more personally worried about the stack, but Mr. Manager, do you want to speak to that as well?

When we saw... contractors one of the requirements we asked them to bid on was demolishing it in a way that minimized the danger to their surrounding properties and so that is one of the many reasons why they're not going kaboom and knocking it over but they're going to sort of pick it apart from the top not quite brick by brick, but close, so that if there are debris that get loose and fall in an unplanned way, it won't be significantly hazardous to the properties close by.

Okay.

Okay, council, you have three options. Is somebody ready to make a motion concerning an option?

I'll make a motion that we... Take option one.

Okay. Option one is the executed contract with CCI and then a contract with D.H. Griffin for complete demolition of the tannery smokestack. Do I have a second for the motion with option one? all right not hearing a second does anyone else wish to make a motion regarding the three options i i think um i would like to propose option number three or two yeah You're going to have to pick one for the motion.

I motion option number three, approve a resolution authorizing city managers to execute a contract with any old corporation for $280,000 for vault removal, partial demolition. of the smokestack and installation of additional safety measures on the smokestack, otherwise, et cetera, et cetera? Okay.

Okay, all right. We have a motion on the table to approve option three. Do I have a second for option three? Okay, not hearing a second for option three. Do I have a motion from council, from anyone, to approve option two?

I'll go ahead because I'm going to win this one. I'll make a motion for option two with, if I could add a motion to as much as possible salvage as much brick as possible for future use that shall be determined. I'll second that.

All right, we now have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All right, all in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Option two as modified is approved.

Thank you, sir.

Okay, we are moving on now to the FY26 Supplemental Spending Plan. Mr. Manager.

Mayor and Council, the supplemental spending plan is a practice of mine that I've used throughout my career to try to take some pressure off upcoming budgets by spending leftover current year dollars on one-time projects. You can only do this towards the end of the year when you know what your revenue and expense situations are and you know how much money you have or don't have to spend on one-time expenses. This year's supplemental spending plan, for those of you who've been on council my entire time here, is much smaller than in previous years because our FY26 expenses have been higher. Eating away at that wiggle room we traditionally budget for ourselves. Two of the items on here you've already approved, the stack and the Azalea Avenue sewer extension and one, water treatment plant cameras you reacted to favorably when we talked about it at the budget workshop in April. The project that hasn't been briefed publicly is an agreement with Pisgah Health. Oh, pardon me. I'll refer you now to this sheet that was on your table in front of you. An agreement with Pisgah Health for them to transfer ownership of a strip of property on Jordan Street to us. That will give us just enough space to increase the capacity of our Jordan Street public parking lot by about 10 spaces in exchange for us, the city, agreeing to pave their parking lot and build a fence along the new property line. Their board has already approved the deal terms and they're just waiting to hear whether you all are willing to put up the money to execute our end of the proposed bargain. And note that the $20,000 listed as the cost of this project does not cover the repaving and reconfiguration of our property. That's gonna need to compete for funding in a future budget. But we will be able to fit more cars on the lot in its current state much sooner than that. It'll just be using temporary paint, you know, the old existing gravel surface and so forth. But it will have additional capacity even if it doesn't look brand new. And so my request is that you approve the supplemental spending plan as presented to you up on the screen and with particular interest on the Jordan Street parking lot enhancement there at the top of the table.

Council, do I have a motion to approve the supplemental spending plan as presented?

So moved.

Do I have a second? Second. Okay, we'll open for discussion. Mr. Baker.

Yeah, I'm glad that we were able to come to this with the Pisgah Health Foundation. I think there's been a lot of talk here in the past of that parking lot just not being very efficient. It's bigger than it needs to be for the spaces it currently has, which means that if we can add a little bit of area to it, we could actually get What I think is, I think it's nine more spaces and an additional handicapped space potentially. So seems like a good deal to me. And I think we've talked about the other items. We obviously just talked about the smokestack and have touched on the other items in previous meetings.

Mr. Daniel.

I have no comment.

Mr. Lytle. No further comment. Ms. Holder. No comment. Mr. Weiss?

No comment.

All right. All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Supplemental spending plan is approved. All right. That is the last item of new business on the agenda. We are gonna move to final remarks and future agenda considerations. I'm gonna do this a little bit differently than in the past. I usually speak last, but tonight I'm going to bring up an item that we would like council to consider. I think you're all aware of the item. and to hear whether or not you agree that staff should move forward and look into the proposal. And the proposal is to look at updating our code of ordinances to give law enforcement additional tools to combat loitering, trespassing, and public substance use, issues that have been occurring with greater frequency in downtown Brevard. I have been hearing from both private citizens as well as our downtown businesses regarding this issue. And there are several ordinances that if we updated these and what we did if we made them, basically misdemeanor offenses, made them criminal offenses instead of just civil offenses, it would give our police department the ability to deal with the situation in ways that they do not have right now. You may remember about three years ago the General Assembly changed local ordinances so that unless you specifically asked for an exemption Local ordinances are not criminal offenses. They are civil offenses. So when our police are out dealing with these issues, they have to deal with it as a civil offense, which means they issue a citation for a fine. And it never actually gets into the criminal system. There is a way to go back that staff is proposing they look at to say that we actually want to have these offenses as misdemeanor offenses. We are not asking for approval for this tonight. What we are asking for is that council give sort of a concurrence that it is worth staff time and effort to research what this would take maybe research what other cities have done and bring back a proposal regarding these specific items which are loitering trespassing consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages in a public place and we look at our hours of operation ordinance which actually needs to be updated so as we go through for people's final comment please give a city manager your thoughts on the proposal that we bring this back to our public safety committee first for that committee to review, and then it would come, of course, to council for any type of policy change. It would have a public hearing. I believe that's mandatory, if I'm right, Mr. Manager.

Yes, ma'am.

So the public would get to weigh in. This is just the very first step at looking at how we could strengthen these so that we can deal with what is becoming more and more of an issue in our downtown. So with that, I will open this for our comments and we will start with Mr. Lytle.

Yeah, I think it's good to explore and to look at it. What I would say is I would want to make sure that we have all the information we need about intended outcome. how these the changes in these ordinances would would look on a practical basis for for constituents so the more information the better and looking forward to chatting about at the Public Safety Committee should counsel feel we should do so any other final comment I would just say, you know, council at the retreat and I've talked individually to fellow council members about, you know, obviously there's a population that are vulnerable that also will fall into this category. And that is unhoused population that are downtown. Obviously, what we don't want to do is criminalize homelessness, but at the same time, we want to make sure that everyone feels safe. The other comment I'll make is that simultaneously to this, obviously, it's an issue that we need to tackle in terms of solutions. And this will, you know, possibly equip us to, you know, take care of the symptoms, but we need to find solutions more long-term. And, you know, I'll be running a task force that is unofficial that I'm hoping that the council continues to understand that's really important. I'm willing to tackle that on my own with lots of great folks within the city, but I want to make sure that the council understands that at some point, if I do need help of city on an official basis, I will not hesitate to do so, to ask, but I don't anticipate that being something that happens at the beginning. We need to information gather and figure out some of the strategies that we need to enact and we need to do it fast. Thanks.

Mr. Daniel. I would be interested in hearing what the Chief's comments are on the Mayor's proposal.

Chief? Please, at a microphone.

I would recommend that that is something that we do look into. Given what my officers encounter on a daily basis, we oftentimes will refer several of our unhoused population to resources available. Whereas the offenses that are still being committed, it's not necessarily to criminalize being unhoused, but the behaviors do create issues for the businesses. They do create issues that we've received several complaints from visitors. And not to say that our hands are tied as far as enforcement, but we can write a civil citation, but we don't have any other real availability from a law enforcement standpoint. to make the impact that I feel that some of the businesses and visitors to downtown are looking for from the police department.

Well, I would agree we need more information. Thank you.

Anything else, Mr. Baker? Mr. Baker?

Yeah, I'll agree that we should look into updating or adding to our ordinances as needed. I would echo some of what Councilman Lytle said in that we need to make sure that when we're doing that, our focus is on public safety and not necessarily trying to – just whisk away a problem that is is incredibly visible to all you know the the other thing that I'll say is that obviously the city needs to do everything in its power to to help with this but this this is a this is a social issue this is a it's a human issue and Certainly, we need to be sure that we're keeping the public safe. But issues with the unhoused, it's not something that you can pick up the phone and fix. A police officer is not going to fix homelessness. And the mayor is not going to fix homelessness. So I understand... concerns people have I would just ask that and I don't want to get too too woo woo up here but it's these are human issues it's part of our human family and it's it's it is not as easy as picking up the phone and and complaining about something that you see I think it really is a call to action for all of us to reckon with the issues that we're seeing out there. And that's housing, it's mental health care, which we have a complete, almost a complete lack of. We have organizations that are working really diligently, but being in a rural place, it's just hard to come across those resources. The city needs to do everything we can to keep people safe, obviously. But I hope that we can continue to work with the partner organizations that are working with this. I think in the county's capacity as being over public health, I hope we can work with the county on this and ultimately even the state and federal government on an issue that really runs the gamut and really needs a solution beyond just any ordinance or anything like that. But I think we should definitely look into it and we can have those discussions when they come across. Just one other comment I want to make, and I just want to thank the folks that made public comment at the last meeting and this meeting. I think it helps us tremendously in the home stretch of the budget and figuring out the last little pieces we need to put together before we pass that budget. And finally, I'll end on a happier note. I just want to give a shout out to downtown and hosting the White Scroll Festival, the Heart of Brevard, the public works and police and fire staff that all worked out there. And I also want to say that We took some heat a couple years ago when the downtown improvements were put in. I would really challenge anyone who was upset by that at the time to take a stroll through downtown and take a look at it now. I think you'll see that we've made some real improvements. Trees are doing what trees do and they grow. It's looking great. Times Arcade Alley looks fantastic, and it's great to see people out there and using it. And it was a testament to, I think, the whole city and the heart of Brevard that despite some rainy weather during White Squirrel, there were a ton of people out there still enjoying it. And it could have been sort of a bust, but that was not at all what I experienced down there. And we hosted a lot of people, but we also had a a lot of locals come out and enjoy the festival. So that's all I have.

Ms. Holder?

I too agree with finding, exploring what we can do as far as the best alternative for, as Erin noted, our human citizens who are a part of Brevard, just in a different way. I hope this won't close the chapter or the efforts that are being made to get alternatives for the unhoused. And I do think that it needs to come to city council in some form. I strongly supported a committee at the retreat, and I still see it. And I say that because it is a city problem. It's not just for the unhoused to fix. It is for us to help fix it. And so how can we do that without criminalizing a lifestyle that some of them may not have chose for themselves? It's my final remarks as well. I too want to thank those who came out last week and this week to make public comments. One thing that Silverstein and the athletic fields have in common is both of them have port-a-johns. The only difference is that I didn't hear tonight is there is access to restrooms at the athletic field. There is no access. There is not a restroom at Silverstein. There is no shelter. There's no facility. And I don't think that the port-a-johns smell any better at Silverstein than they do as bad as they may be at the other facility. So we're looking at the same problem, but when we look at Silverstein Park, there is no alternative for a restroom except a port-a-john. Yes, they have Mary C. Jenkins facility to use their parking lot, but if there's an event there, there may not be parking available. They park on our church property, and we don't ask them to leave if it's overflow. And so, you know, that alternative is there. Perhaps maybe looking at a parking lot upgrade or fix a parking lot at the athletic field and get a bathroom at Silverstein may be some alternatives we can look at and maybe compromise and, you know, let's compromise together. persons coming to Silverstein extend beyond the Rosenwald community. It's not just Rosenwald who's using Silverstein Park. We have a lot of moms who bring their kids out during the day. We have a lot of people who come and play basketball together. And so it's a community park. It's not just for Rosenwald. Other people use it. And so I think we need to look into that. And that was about all that I had. had to say again, thank you. The input is important. I think that maybe we're gonna have to compromise in some way so that we can address the safety issue at the athletic field and address the bathroom issue or non-bathroom issue at Silverstein.

Mr. Weiss?

I actually think, Maureen, you had said a number of months ago that it is not a crime to not own a house. And I think that's an important piece to consider. It is also very possible for all of us to commit crimes, whether we own property or not. And so I do think we should look at ordinances as some folks, no matter what their situations, are committing crimes. I look at this also as a... public you know kind of health and safety issue we've had some real health issues happening that are really have to be corrected so I would support looking And then just two other things. One, when Wilson and I were coordinating our outfits tonight, he did not tell me he was wearing a tie, so I don't appreciate that, Wilson. I thought we talked about this.

I don't have patches on my elbows, though, so where you got that?

Yeah, well, we're going to have to talk about all that later because you really went off script. The other thing is in light of Pride Month and just a few months ago in February, Black History Month, We are about to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country, which is a very exciting event. And the real core of that foundation was to treat all people equally. And we have, I think by any metric, failed over 250 years to do that. I feel the core definition of being an American is that you will always and continually strive to see everyone as equal in our country. And I think Pride Month and Black History Month are both sadly very recent additions to our history. And I think we should weigh them heavily because all people, to me and I'm sure to all of our council, are equal. And that's what we will always strive for. And that's all I've got.

Mr. Attorney.

I'll just remind you a brief closed session. regarding property acquisition. I wasn't asked, but I'll weigh in that I think these amendments to the ordinance, at least looking into it, is a worthwhile effort. And I look forward to getting on that and doing that. I think when we first went back and included things in 2021, due to the General Assembly's action trying to decriminalize ordinances. These were some that were close to statewide crimes, but I think that our police department could use a little bit more specificity and not have to guess at what's going on. I'm pretty confident that's what I'm going to discover as I look through this, but I wanted to say I appreciate what you're saying, and I think it's a wise move.

Thank you, Mr. Attorney. Madam Clerk. Nothing from me, thank you. Mr. Manager.

This morning we got our long-awaited approval from the state granting us permission to use our remaining $8.5 million from our 2024 earmark for construction of Phase 1 of the wastewater treatment plant approval. I think that when y'all accepted the first million and a half last year, you gave me the authority to accept the rest of it. And so I'm going to go back and check the language of the resolution. And if you did, I'm going to. But if you didn't, I'll bring it back to you in two weeks to officially accept.

Just a couple of reminders. We have our budget workshop this Friday at 830. And again, it's open to the public. And I think there'll be a lot of interesting discussion as we work on coming up with our final budget. And I think what this discussion shows is just how hard it is to do a budget and how hard and it is a difficult decision because We want to take care of all of these issues, and we want to be fair across the board. And there's never enough money to do everything. And so trying to figure out how we can accomplish the highest priorities, how to spend the money wisely because it's your money, and how to minimize the impact to our community with the budget. So that workshop is Friday. I anticipate there will be a final vote on the budget at our June 15th meeting because legally we have to have it in place by June 30th. So we will have to either decide on the 15th or council will be called back for a special meeting. So one of the two of those will happen. Just another reminder, we have our Rosenwald Information and Listening Session on June 11th, where we're gonna be going over a lot of the major projects that are happening in that section of town. It's at the Mary C. Jenkins Center at 6 p.m. the reason to have this is because we have I think five major things happening in that area and we want to make sure that we have the opportunity to get the information directly to the public and also to answer any questions that you might have so please join us on June 11th to go over the see if I can remember the hill view the culvert opening the road the extension of the bike path from main street to mary c jenkins the demolition of the smokestack and the extension of the bike path through the tannery the mary c jenkins uh designed for the picnic shelter and the bathroom, not Mary C. Jenkins, the Silverstein bathroom and picnic shelter, and there's one more I have left. And the Norton Creek restoration effort. So those are the things that staff will be there with all of the information on, but it's also an opportunity if there's something else that you want to bring up to us, that opportunity will also be there at the end of that meeting after we go through the projects. I'm happy to announce that besides our Pride Month in June, we also have Juneteenth coming up. And we have a three-day celebration. I think we have one of the best Juneteenth celebrations anywhere. I announced it at a regional meeting last week and actually had people come up and say, you know, I had been planning to go to Charlotte, but I'm going to come to Brevard instead. basically because we do put a lot of effort in. But what we have is on the 19th, which is Juneteenth, which is a city holiday. For the last three years, it has been one. We will have a trolley tour going through the historic black sections of town. with a narration. We will have a speaker, Dr. Dionne Hoskins-Brown, who will be speaking. And then we will have a dinner at Mary C. Jenkins. And Dr. Hoskins-Brown, I believe she is a biologist in her professional career. She has worked a lot with NOAA and places like that, but she is also an expert on black history and the Gullah Geechee heritage, and so she will be the speaker on Friday. On Saturday the 20th at Silverstein Park, we have a giant community event where we will from noon to six be hosting live music, food trucks, arts and crafts, bingo, fun and games, trolley tour again will occur. And I encourage the entire community to come out and join. This is something that we have done for many years now. and that we are very, very proud to be able to celebrate and commemorate this important event in United States history and to do it as one community with people from across the community coming. And then on the 21st, on Sunday morning, there is a joint worship service at 11 a.m. Go ahead. Do you want to say something about that, Pamela?

It's a joint worship service, and in the past it's attended by persons of various denominations. It's not just for one person, but it's open to the public. It will be at Mary C. Jenkins Center in the yard there. And if it goes like it's supposed to, I will be the speaker this year. So I'm looking forward to that.

So, you can see we have quite an event coming up on Juneteenth. And finally, just a reminder that tomorrow from 11.30 to 1 is one of two Meet the Mayor sessions that I'm holding in June. This one is at the noon time at Mary C. Jenkins. The second one is in the evening on June 30th, I think it is. and that will be here at City Hall. So you have plenty of opportunities to interact and get information and to give your feedback to your elected officials. And with that, I need a motion to go into closed session for potential property, oh, for property acquisition. So moved.

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

We are now in closed session. Please stop the recording.