City Council - Regular Meeting

[music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] like to call the regular meeting of the Morgan City Council, January the 5th, 2026 to order, please. Uh, do we have any public comments, Renee?

Okay. At this time, I'd like to recognize a guest in the audience, Eastston Cork, if you'll please stand up. Eastston is in the back of the room. He is serving as a cohort with Appalachin State through Gear Up. He's here observing government and action. Eastston, welcome. Welcome to the meeting. This time I'll call on Molly. If Molly McKay will lead us in the pledge to the flag, if you'll please rise. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation [clears throat] under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [clears throat]

This time I'd like to call on Reverend Reverend Andrew Weisner of the New Covenant Lutheran Church to lead our invocation. Let us pray. Baroo Adonai Elohu. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, ruler of the universe. You have blessed us with the gift of life. We thank you for this good land. Thank you for crops, livestock, providing for our basic needs. Thank you for means of transportation, taking food from place to place, home to home, where it is needed by your people. We thank you for our communities, for our homes, our school, government, and services. Thank you for all institutions contributing to us for a better quality of life. We thank you for governing councils and for this council. We ask that you will continue to guide them in the ways of goodness in truth, justice, and peace, granting to them confidence that their work is a blessing to this community. As we are all Lord in many ways abundantly blessed, use us all to be means of blessing to others. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Reverend Weisman, thanks so much. This time we have some service pins to present. Our first service pin is for Sharon Jablonsky for 35 years who's the director of culture and creative development. I'll ask Pro Tim Wendy Kato to make that presentation, please. It only been 35 years. Just 35. [laughter] I was 10 when I started.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Um [laughter] I've been there along the way for many of the years that you have been here and um uh when we think that you're winding down, you come up with something new and that makes our downtown makes our city better for it. And so uh on behalf of the council and on behalf of the citizens, congratulations for 35 years. [applause] [applause]

I will just say that Rob promised me this would be much bigger so I could read [laughter] it. I think there was a mistake. I I will say this. I really appreciate you folks letting me stay. And uh as long as I can contribute and give 110%, I'd like to continue doing so just just for a little while longer. So thank you.

Thanks Sharon. [applause] We have some retirees in the audience. Uh I have a resolution honoring those retirees. Our first resolution is honoring Josiah Brown. I'd like to read that resolution. Whereas Josiah Brown joined the city of Morington's public safety department as a public safety officer on August the 8th, 2000. And whereas Josiah Brown has faithfully served and given of his time and efforts in service to the citizens of the city of Morgan for 25 years and one month. And whereas throughout his tenure, Josiah Brown has upheld the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and courage. And whereas Josiah Brown has served in multiple cap capacities within the Department of Public Safety, demonstrating exceptional commitment to public safety and community well-being. And whereas Josiah Brown's dedication has positively impacted countless lives, reflecting a deep personal investment in making the city of Morington a safer place for all residents. And whereas Josiah Brown is a trusted friend and compassionate leader, approaching each situation with empathy, professionalism, and a deep commitment to justice and service. Then why has Josiah Brown positively influenced his colleagues and the community he served throughout his career and upon his retirement, he leaves behind a legacy of encouragement, dedication, a high work ethic, and selfless service. And whereas Josiah Brown retired from the city of Morington as a captain 3 in the Morington Department of Public Safety on January 1st, 2026. And whereas the Morgan City Council wishes to officially recognize the contributions of Josiah Brown and express their appreciation for his leadership, service, and a job well done. Now therefore, be it resolved by the city of Morgan that the mayor

present the resolution to this resolution to Josiah Brown in recognition of his dedicated service and lasting contributions to the city of Morgan. Adopted this fifth day of January 2026. Bonnie Thompson, mayor. Sally Sandy, city manager. I'll ask Councilman Butch McWain if he'll make that presentation. [clears throat] Oh, you're smiling [laughter] always,

which I'll have to say you always do. You sure do. And when I listen to this one, the one line that really struck me knowing you is the positive influence and you have really been to the community and to the department. Thank you very much. Um, I just want to say thank you for everything. Um, it's been a blessing to work for the city. They've been good to me. Um, and was a blessing to work for Sally all these years, all of them. and uh the city's very fortunate to have her. And Sharon, congratulations on 35 years. [laughter] Again, thank you.

I appreciate it. [applause]

You don't get to leave yet. I'll ask council for a motion for that resolution, please. So moved. I have a motion to have a second. Second. Okay. All in favor of the motion say I. I. I. I need another motion, please. I make a [clears throat] motion to declare a weapon Glock model 459mm serial number CD AX693 and a fire services helmet K serial number 21148855 as surplus. Sold for $1 and presented to retired Captain Brown. Have a motion to have a second. Second. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Motion passes. Who's going to pay the dollar? The dollar. [laughter] Ryan, would you like to say something, please?

Yes, sir. Um, I guess at this point in my career and and and you really uh a lot of people don't know that I met Josiah over 25 years ago when we went to BL together at Western Pedmont Community College. and um we would eat lunch together, work out together, and uh I went off to Asheville. He returned to public safety, and about a year later, I joined him and was assigned to the shift he was on. And the one thing about Josiah when when we worked together was there was kind of a joke on the shift because they always said he had the golden horseshoe. Anytime we were looking for a vehicle, looking for a person, the vehicle just so happened to be right in front of Josiah or [laughter] if he turned the corner, there would be the person walking and and next thing you know, he's checking out with them and and saying they're under arrest or this or that. And and that is how it went for almost every bolo we had. And he can attest to that. But he was the type of officer that, you know, he became a field training officer very early on because of how he handled himself, how he handled the calls, how he spoke to people and cared for people. And as you saw him progress through the ranks to where he retired as a captain, you got to see him care for people at public safety, care for the officers. He bounced around on a daily basis and spoke to everybody. So in short, we really the city public safety, we lose a very good officer and a very good person.

And I'd like to present you with your pistol. And Captain Gibson is going to come up and present you your helmet.

Because as we all know, there's there's no other piece of equipment that identifies a firefighter any more than his fire helmet. And as we look at at a fire helmet, there's this this helmet tells a story of the journey that the firefighter's been on through his career. And multiple different helmets sometimes has different creative things on the helmet. This one particularly, if you notice that the city of Morgan's on the top and your family names on the bottom. Both of those he swore to not tarnish when he started wearing his helmet. And Jose, I can say, has been a very upstanding uh employee. Uh it's been a pleasure to work with you uh for the 25 26 years now that I have been here with you as well working for you uh and through our whole career. It's been a pleasure and I'm proud to present you your fire. Thank you. Yes, sir. [applause] A lot of people don't know that Israel and I went to fire school together to begin with, too. [laughter] It's been a long time. And uh yes, I beat Ryan in the pope the B physical [laughter]

and you kept your hair thanks so much. Thank you. [laughter]

It's always scary when you let them have a microphone. [laughter] So next we have a resolution uh honoring Kyle Go forth in retirement. I don't believe Kyle is with us, but I'd like to read that resolution. Whereas Kyle Goforth joined the city of Morington as a public safety officer in the department of public safety on May 7th, 2012. And whereas Kyle Goforth has faithfully served and given of his time and effort for the citizens of the city of Morgan for 13 years and four months. And whereas Kyle Goforth retired from the city of Morgan as PSO special assignment three assigned to criminal investigations in the Morgan Department of Public Safety on January 1st, 2026. And whereas the Morton City Council wishes to officially recognize the contributions of Kyle Go forth and express their appreciation for his leadership, service, and a job well done. Now therefore, be it resolved by the city of Morgan that the mayor present this resolution to Kyle go forth in recognition of his dedicated service and lasting contributions to the city of Morington adopted this fifth day of January 2026. Ronnie Thompson, Mayor Sally Sandy, city manager. I need a motion to adopt the resolution.

Motion to adopt a resolution honoring retiree Kyle Go forth. Thank you. I have a motion to have a second. Second. Any discussion? All in favor say I.

The motion passes. Our next uh retirement is uh a retirement uh honoring James Hildebrand. I'd like to read that resolution. Whereas James Hildebrand joined the city of Morington as a maintenance worker in the city of Morganington Municipal Auditorium on May 1st, 2000. And whereas James Hilderbrand has faithfully served and given of his time and efforts for the citizens of the city of Morington for 25 years and five months. And whereas during his tenure, James has been an outstanding advocate for the city, sharing his historical knowledge of Kama Performing Arts Center with all that visit Morgan. And whereas James Hildebrand's ability to make friends and share a love of the arts has served the city well. And whereas James Hildebrand has retired from the city of Morington on January 1st, 2026. And whereas the Morgan City Council wishes to officially recognize the contributions of James Hilderbrand and express their appreciation for his service and a job well done. Now therefore, be it resolved by the city of Morington that the mayor presents this resolution to James Hilderbrand in recognition of his dedicated service to the city of Morgan. Adopted this 5th day of January, 2026. Ronnie Thompson, Mayor Sally Si, city manager, and I don't believe James is with us. Okay, James, if you'll come forward. I'm sorry, I didn't see you come in. Uh, James, if you'll come forward, and I am going to ask Molly McCay uh to please make that presentation. As she does, mayor, I'll make a motion to adopt a resolution honoring retiree James Hill.

Thank you so much. I have a motion to have a second. Second. Thank you. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Motion passes. It's certainly my privilege to present this resolution to you. Many people go to the theater and watch the performance out front and enjoy the performance and the magic that presents. And very few people realize that it's people like you that makes that magic possible. So, thank you for your dedication and your service. We all appreciate your work and what you've contributed to the city. Thank you. [applause]

Well, all I can say is I appreciate the opportunity to serve the city for 25 years plus, and I've enjoyed most of it. [laughter] Most of it. We've had a few dog shows, but most of them have been great. It's just been an honor to be there and try to keep the place dust free and clean so nobody gets sick or has an allergy attack because of the dust. I'm going to miss a lot of people over there. Volunteers, staff, Sharon and the team. And we've got a good team right now. You have as good a team as I've been part of over the 25 years. So, keep up the good work. I'll be around. James, thanks for all you do. Thank you, James. [applause]

Okay. He's got Shane. Okay. Okay. Uh, next we have Shane Roer. and resolution. Okay. A resolution honoring Shane Roer. Whereas Shane Roer joined the city of Morgan as a pipe mechanic for distribution and collection system in the water resources department on April 10th, 2000. And whereas Shane Roer was promoted to senior distribution and collection systems operator on July 1st, 2004. And whereas Shane Roert joined the wastewater treatment plant team on September 15, 2015 as a compost operator and served until retirement. And whereas Shane Roer was an expert with equipment operations, he was trusted favorably with any equipment he operated and maintained while serving the city of Morington. And whereas Shane Roer has faithfully served and given up his time and efforts for the citizens of the city of Morington for 25 years and five months. And whereas Shane Roer retired from the city of Morington on January 1st, 2026. And whereas the Morington City Council wishes to officially recognize the contributions of Shane Roer and express their appreciation for his service and a job well done. Now therefore be it resolved by the city of Morgington that the mayor present the resolution to Shane Roer in recognition of his dedicated service to the city of Morington adopted this 5th day of January 2026. Ronnie Thompson Mayor Sally Sandy city manager and that I need a motion accept that resolution.

Motion to adopt a resolution honoring retiree Shane Roer. I need a second. Second. Any discussion? All in favor say I. Motion passes. Shane here. He's not. Okay. He's not here. Shame is not able to join us. Okay. Under public advocacy, we have a proclamation the historical significance of Morgan in commemoration of America's 250th anniversary. I'm gonna ask Butch McWain if he will read that proclamation or and present it. I will, but I I this is a big deal. I think I'd like to come over where I can address the group that's here. representing them tonight. But real quickly,

you may be excused. [laughter] I'll take merit for my phone ringing. I can't imagine. [laughter]

We're going to ask Ed Phillips to accept this proclamation. And I know this is a little different. I think some of your group ought to stand up here. You want to have a picture made.

Um, there is that one word in this [laughter] There. Yeah, if I can get it out where I can see it. Um, this is a proclamation recognizing the historical significance of Morganington in commemoration of America's 250th anniversary. As an aside, I'm on the committee with this group and for those of us that are old enough to remember the bicesentennial, we're trying to create the enthusiasm and fervor we had then. So, I'd urge everyone to get involved in this. Seeing it so actively on all the football games this weekend was a was a great thing. Whereas, the year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the United States of America. And whereas the United States semiquincentennial provides a once- in generation opportunity for reflection upon the nation's founding ideals of liberty, democracy, and civic responsibility and for honoring the people, places, and events that have shaped our shared American history. Whereas the city of Morgan, named for General Daniel Morgan, a distinguished leader of the American Revolutionary War, holds a significant place in the history of North Carolina and the United States with strong ties to the Revolutionary era, including the Over Mountain men who mustered in this region prior to their participation in the pivotable battle of Kings Mountain on October 7th, 1780 and the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781. And whereas Morgan is the home to notable historic resources including the historic Morgan historic Burke County

Courthouse in 187 1837 and the Charles McDow House from 1812 and numerous early settlements, sites and structures that reflect the growth, perseverance and heritage of this community. And whereas the America 250 committee, I'm sorry, the Burke County 250 committee, our local has been established to recognize, promote, and coordinating local activities that honor Burke County's historic contributions and to engage residents and visitors in meaningful and inclusive commemoration of the semiquincentennial. And whereas the committee seeks to preserve and share local history through educational programs, commemorative events, heritage tours, community storytelling, and public engagement initiatives that strengthen the civic pride pride and historical understanding. Now therefore, Ronnie Thompson, mayor of the city of Morgan, do hereby proclaim the city, Morgan City Council, recognize and affirm the historical significance of the city of Morgan in the founding and shaping of the United States of America and to support and ongoing efforts of Burke County's American 250 committee. And be it further proclaimed that the city Morgan encourage all residents, schools, businesses, civic organization, faith-based organizations, and historical institution to participate in America 250 observances that highlight Morgan's unique role in the American story. And be it further proclaimed that the city of Morgan shall commemorate America's 250th anniversary with dignity, respect, and broad public participation, ensuring that this historical legacy is preserved, shared,

and celebrated for the benefit of present and future generations. and witness thereof, the mayor sets his hand and calls the seal of the city of Morgan to be affixed the fifth day of January, 2006, signed by Ronnie Thompson and Renee Carson. I hereby proclaim. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. I'll present this and you can get back in there. Thank you very much. I'll get it back in there. Thank you. Can we get a picture in front of the council and the People hold up their props. [laughter]

Oh, was this a prop? [laughter] No ammo. Butch doesn't have his. Wow. Oh, Butch doesn't have his. He didn't take it with him.

In In the interest of time, while you guys are coming up front, let me give you an update on America 250 in Burke County. So, there there was uh kicked off with the Revo War encampment on September 27th. September 26th, we had a historic site tour of four his significant historic sites in Burke County. We also participated in the Morgan and Christmas parade. And just starting tomorrow, Burke County fourth graders will be involved in a Burke County America 250 flag design contest where they will design a flag and it will be judged and then we will our committee here will select a winner that will go to the state and represent Burke County at the state level. We're also working on a Liberty tree planting project that will be selected, a site here in Burke County that must be on public property where it will be responsibility of the land manager to get that tree to a growth height um where it will survive and we will do that early. We're also working on a Fourth of July celebration of some sort. We're also working on a time capsule and there's only in in 1976 there was only one time capsule set in Burke County and that was in Hildebrand and that's going to be opened uh on or about July 4th this year. But we're uh contemplating a new time capsule that will then go forth for another 50 years. We're also looking at additional historic site tours representing um the significance of Burke County. So, thank you guys for the resolution. We really appreciate it and this will kick us off even further for this year. [applause] I don't like bones. [laughter]

Sally's ear.

That's great. That's great. Right there. Just glad to know they were props. I thought we some kind of trouble tonight.

Okay. Okay. We just had a session uh concerning the history of Burke County. I'm going to call on Mr. Anthony Star, the Western Piedmont Council of Government's Executive Dire Director to talk about the future of Burke County and our four region area, which is a very, very, very important topic. Anthony, thank you for being here. Could you please share with us an update on the IBT?

Sure. Thanks, Mayor, and thank you for allowing me to join you this evening. Uh, as always, uh, as the council governments, we're appreciative of the partnership and support with you and your city manager and your whole team. You've got a great team here. Uh, I don't have to tell you that. Of course, we're grateful Mr. Jernigan serving on our board and executive committee as well and his leadership in the region. So, I'm going to talk a little bit about interbased today. This is a really, as you mentioned, mayor, a very important issue for our area. So, I'll talk a little bit about IBTS, the Kataba River Basin, Charlotte Waters request to transfer water out of the basin, the alternatives, our coalition, and the legislative study that's underway. For the benefit of the public, I'd point out what an interbasin transfer is. And it's a process where a a local utility withdraws water from a river basin, in this case, the Kataba River basin, and uses it in its system, transfers and discharges that water into another river basin without returning it. If they return the water after it's gone through treatment process, that doesn't count as an IBT. But this case uh they want to transfer it over from the Kataba to the Yadkin Rocky River Basin. So we've done a great deal of uh research on this already and what the academic resources say is that uh this is not a good thing for source basins like the Kataba River Basin. It pro provides uh both negative impacts on economic and environmental front. Uh according to the research now, Charlotte Water has a 30 three million gallons per day IBT certificate. Concord Canapapolis has about 20 million of which 10 million comes from the Kataba. And then Morsville has a grandfathered IBT of about 9 a.5 million. And this is what the map looks like in the North Carolina between the river basins and how they're regulated. You'll

note there that the Kataba River Basin is one of the smaller river basins in the the state. Now, the Kataba River Basin actually was the first river in the United States completely planned and developed for electricity production and started out in the early 20th century and completed with the creation of Lake Norman in 1963 about 1,800 miles of shore shoreline. Uh it's the most densely populated river basin in North Carolina. uh it serves about two million people through 18 different utilities. Now, the key takeaway here is that the Kataba River Basin is a threatened river. In fact, twice it's been named as the most endangered river in America uh over the last 20 years. And that is mainly due to the un quote unprecedented demand for clean water due to exponential exponential population growth of the Charlotte metro area in North and South Carolina. So, we have that to contend with. And then you throw in conditions like drought conditions, right? What does that mean for us? Well, this chart that I'm showing you, the way to read this chart is this is the US drought monitor of drought conditions in North Carolina dating back to 1998. Uh the way to read it is the higher the bars are in the chart during that time period, the more the greater percentage of North Carolina was under drought conditions. The darker the colors, the more severe the drought was. So in ' 98 to 2002 we had a very severe drought and in ' 0709 we had a very severe drought. Why is that important for our water systems? This is a diagram our engineering team put together. You see the water treatment plant there at the top on the right. They pump water out of our reservoirs during drought conditions. It goes from the blue line there as normal elevation and it gets closer and closer to that red line. And that red line represents a uh lake level

or river level where we have to have uh a certain amount of water above our water intakes for our water systems to function properly. Without that, we can't function and then we don't have public water supply in that scenario and we want to obviously avoid that. In the 98 to 2002 uh drought, it was uh one of the largest uh documented uh def uh precipitation deficits on record and it's primarily concentrated in our part of the state. That map that show there, the pink, the way to read that, it has to deal with water flows rates. Uh the pink areas are the where the most severe droughts occurred during that time frame. Uh and during that time, Duke Energy said that water intakes in some reservoirs would be exposed if a drought had lasted another year from its four years. Now, the 2007 2009 drought was the most severe drought ever in North Carolina history. And at the same time, we've got documented where the city of Hickory was trying to reduce its water usage by 20%. Uh we saw portions of the basin by drop by over 8 to 10 feet during that time frame as many of you and Miss Sandy certainly was the manager here when we were going through all that and the the the uh precautions we had to take and the measures to employ to protect our water sources. Lake Norman dropped during that time frame to just 3.1 feet above the cooling intake for the nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, Charlotte continued pulling water from the Kataba River and still to this day loses more than 19% of every gallon it takes from the Kataba River. In fact, that's about 23 million 23 million gallons per day that it loses through leaks in its system. Now, Charlotte Water might say the IBT isn't a big deal. This is just part of

the process. uh all that and it's not really significant. What we would say is point out this fact that Charlotte Water published its water conservation goals for extreme droughts of 10 to 20% in water reduction during those times. They use about 125 million gallons per day. So that equates to about 12 to 25 million gallon conservation target and their potential IBT is 63 million gallons. So what they are proposing is to transfer two and a half to five times more water than they hope to conserve during extreme droughts. So either this is a big deal or their conservation targets are inadequate. One of the one of those two things are occurring. So about the request, so they're currently transferred 33 million gallons per day from certificate they were issued in 2002. Uh that was supposed to last until 2030. They want to increase it now to 63 million gallons perhaps. And the what if you look at the map on the right side, that's Mecca County. They pull the water out of the red dots from the intakes. They treat it at the blue squares there. That's our treatment plants. And then they're transferring across that purple line on the eastern side of Mechmberg County, which flows to the Rocky River and Yadkin River basins. That results in if you t count the 30 million gallons per day that they want to increase it and conservatively in other words estimating high on the usage what that would translate to that basically means they want to put another 300,000 people in eastern Meckllinburgg County that's about that's approaching what our population is for our entire region at 375,000 people in our 4ount area so this has lots of consequences for our region. It's driven a lot by the growth on the eastern side of Charlotte, as you see there, the population increases in

surrounding counties, and it comes at a cost to western North Carolina that were significantly concerned about. Now, previous studies that [clears throat] Morgan belongs to a group called the Kataba Watery Water Management Group, as do the other water producing uh utilities up and down the river chain in North and South Carolina. and it does studies to plan for coordination of utilizing the river system and planning ahead. And the last time it did its water supply plan, which is in the process of updating now, but in 2014, that plan cited uh studies that said that by midcentury, the Rataba River basin's reservoirs, the safe yield for those reservoirs would be exhausted. That's 2050 due mostly to continued population economic growth and that would be unsustainable once we reach that point during drought conditions. That safe yield becomes very important during drought conditions. Keep in mind also our engineers have looked at the availability of water in the Kataba River and we've mapped all the wa the water flows going back to the 1960s and charted that and it shows that actually it's not le it's not even actually the the flow of the Kataba River appears to be decreasing over the last half century. So we're using more of the water and Charlotte wants to transfer more water out of the Kataba River Basin at the same time while the water flow is decreasing over time. This results in concentrations of pollutants and can drive up the cost of our treatment of all the river of all the utility systems up and down the chain when the water levels drop and it results in lower flows. Now, at the same time, water rates in Charlotte are more affordable as a percentage of median household income than 90% of other North Carolina

utilities. And Charlotte customers pay less the same amount of water. At the same time, they're losing 19% of their water. This chart on the right side shows the black dot is the median affordability for all utilities in North Carolina. The blue dot is the utilities in our region. We do well. We're we're more affordable than the state average. And then you see Charlotte all the way over on the left side, the orange dot. And that shows that they they basically are have a very coste effective system and uh very cheap water rates. Now, uh normally I'd say great for them. That's good. But they want to use that to at our expense by transferring the water out of it. So this means that interbasin transfers means cheaper water for Charlotte and more expensive water at the same time for everyone else in the Kataba River Basin. Now the legal impacts of this is the more of these IBTS especially the large ones that we approve, the more precedent this creates. And so that's why we have to resist this and consider the long-term implications of it all. And so what are the alternatives? Well, Charlotte's already looked at that. They looked at them in 2002 and uh the you know they want to keep doing what they're doing now which is transferring water over to the Yadkin Rocky and Yadkin River basins which results in maximum harm to other communities in the Kataba River basin. Maximum benefit to Charlotte they have two primary options. There may be others but there's two primary options they can take to avoid this IBT. One is to purchase or take water from the Yadkin River Basin or return the water after they've used it through the wastewater treatment process back to the Kataba River Basin because again that doesn't count if you return the water. They looked at the cost of that back in 2001 and the cost of one of those options or each of those options was 16 or $82 million each and they didn't

choose that. Now, they're saying according to their their estimates, uh, that each option is over $800 million each. You do one of those options to solve the problem. Now, that's a 10 to 50 times increase over that 20-year period. I'm not we're not saying we accept those estimates at this point, but even if you did, for the purposes of this argument, consider that they have a $651 million annual budget and they plan about $2.3 billion in projects, capital projects over the next five years. According to avoiding an IBT would only require about a 12% increase in their uh Charlotte Water capital budget over the next 15 years to avoid that IBT or eliminate it. So at the same time they've not invested in those project water source projects in the 21st century. They've backed recently a sales tax increase for transit infrastructure. They received COVID money of $141 million that they did not use on infrastructure that they could have. And bottom line, Charlotte pays less for water. They received federal funds for water infrastructure. They supported a tax increase for other nonwater infrastructure. They have the means. they just don't have the desire to pursue alternatives for water. Now, in response, local governments in our region uh and McDow County have formed a coalition to resist this uh and its negative impacts on our communities. Morganington is part of that coalition and the council of governments is coordinating that effort at the request of our local governments um in those five counties. And our key points would be is our region's future could be limited because of these large IBTs. And we're not opposed to Charlotte growing. We just don't want it to occur at our expense. And the limited resources of the Kataba River should not be used to subsidize huge growth outside of our river basin. And Charlotte should imple implement policies and infrastructure to avoid the IBT. And lastly, IBTS are

going to make our the impacts of our severe droughts worse for our communities. Now last year we were successful in getting House Bill 850 passed which placed a moratorium on large interbasin transfers uh exceeding 15 million gallons um from increasing until March of 27. It also directed that the North Carolina Collaboratory at UNC Chapel Hill to study the issue and they're supposed to study the statutory process for approval of surface water transfers such as this and provide recommendations. We've got a series of of recommendations we want them to look at and we're engaged with them on. One would be a shock clock to use a basketball term for large interbasin transfers where once you initiated IBT, you've got a 15 or a 20-year period of time to build the infrastructure necessary to eliminate your IBT or avoid it. And then second is a percentage of their income ought to be placed into a drought mitigation fund for impacted communities to use. If an IBT is approved within that relevant basin, that could be used to lower the intakes for the water system or provide interconnections between utility systems that would allow them to operate in emergency conditions during droughts. So, what we're asking our utility members, coalition members to do is to engage with your state legislators to use key po using these key points. Uh we'll have additional data and uh and points free along the way. Uh, also we're going to send you more information about engaging with UNCC collaboratory to share your local perspective and a letter as they gear up with that study that will be due in early 2027. The next 50 years of growth in our region will be determined by this issue. So, we want to make sure everyone uses every opportunity to keep this issue at the forefront because it really impacts both our future, our children's future, and our grandchildren's future. especially poignant that we're considering 250 years of history uh for our country. Thinking about the history

makes me think about mayor, as you mentioned, the future and what it lies and what we leave behind for our successors and our and our children and grandchildren. So, I'll be glad to answer any questions to council. Uh questions for council. I I I do have one, Anthony. Uh most of that water going into Lake Norman for them to draw uh obviously originates pretty much in Lake James through the Kataba River and Limble River which means they'll actually have to to get more water down there they've got to draw Lake James down Lake Road Lake lookout to get it into Lake Norman. Is that correct?

Yes sir. So the the the river system is managed by Duke Energy. Correct. And so it's very much interrelated. And so to maintain those necessary water levels for public utility intakes, they will move the water up and down the chain accordingly to provide adequate water. And what we saw in those previous droughts is that Lake James is our last line of defense when it comes to drought, severe droughts. It is our fail safe. And so if we pull down too much water, that's going to be that's that's our that's our Alamo in terms of water supply.

Thank you. Other questions? We really encourage the the public to get involved in this. Contacted their legisl legislators in Raleigh because eventually they'll have they'll have the say so on issuing that. No, it's the Environmental Management Commission. Correct. So So we're asking to change the law in North Carolina so that these large IBTs are temporary and not permanent. But the the study will do it. But the Environmental Management Commission is the entity that the general assembly has designated as the one that approves or disapproves these requests. Will your PowerPoint be available on our website? I think that's important. It's very good. Thank you.

Great information. Keep up the the struggle. We're we're for you and we hope we can do any anything we can do. Please let us know. Thanks. Have a good Thank you. Have a good night.

Okay. Under public policy upcoming events in our city hall downtown, the art in the hall. The January features Tracy Gransro. She is formerly trained in oils, but in the last decade has been drawn to acrylics. Tracy is a Granite Falls North Carolina based artist. At Kama, our performing arts center on Friday, January 23rd at 7:30 is a performance by Geette Jones. Okay. Next on our agenda is the consent agenda, I believe.

Uh yes, that includes seven items for you to consider as one action on all of those, unless someone would like an item discussed separately for folks viewing at home. That includes minutes from the December 1st meeting, tax releases in the amount of $433,470.93, and that was a double listing that that happened that the the county had sent to us. And then also a resolution approving our 2024 local water supply plan. Timely considering what we just heard. and and that is something and it's always behind the dates are behind because we have to wait on the state for them to approve that to let us do that. And then um approving amendments to the pay range and the title for special projects manager that would be effective tomorrow. Um, we are removing the ARPA parts of that position and removing that because that is thankfully coming to an end. And also a budget amendment appropriating funds $94,688. And that is to cover retirey health insurance premium increases. um employee health insurance contributions more for them to contribute the same as our employees are contributing and then dental insurance renewal. Then we have been asked to approve the Morgan ABC board travel policy. They have submitted that that is required by state ABC that we confirmed that policy for them. and then approval of a resolution of support for NC DOT to make pedestrian safety improvements at West Fleming Drive around Catalyst Way intersection, the intersection at School of Science and Math and the School for

the Deaf where accidents have occurred. Do any members wish to have any items removed from the consent agenda? If not, I need a motion to accept the consent agenda. So move. I have a motion to have a second. Second. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. I. Motion passes. Okay. Under new business, we have a consideration of award of a contract for engineering services for the lowar dam and the water treatment plant. Sally,

so this is continuation of hurricane Helen items. Um I believe although I'm no, we've got the greenway left. Never mind. I was going to say we were nearing the end, but we're not quite. Um this is contracting for engineering design bid and then contract administration services from Garver Engineering in an amount not to exceed $126,974 and that is for them to design and put to bid put out to bid for us the repair and rehabilitation of the head wall and the embankment that's at the low weird that's that's downstream of the low weir. It's near our raw water intake and this is a result of some damage that happened at that facility during Hela. Um it's an earththen wall down there and then some a pertinance that's attached to it. Um we're trying to in the design not only make improvements and repairs but to look if there's a way to make any of it more resilient in the future. And so that's a part of everything we're trying to do in the FEMA process and would like to issue this contract so we can get to work on that. Again, we're trying to work through the FEMA grant process for this project to ultimately be funded by them.

Okay. What's the wish of council? I'll make a motion to approve and authorize a contract work order 2026-01 with Garver Engineering in the amount not to exceed $126,974 for engineering services to provide design bid and contract administration for improvements and repair to the raw water wear abutment wall at the water treatment plant. Thank you, Butch. I have a motion to have a second. Second. Thank you, Chris. Any discussion? All in favor say I.

Motion passes. Next is the consideration of an amendment for um the Silver Creek pump station. Sally, it wouldn't be right if we didn't talk about it.

Um so this is change order number four with this contract. And this too is occurring based on some of the design changes and construction changes that we made after Helen. And this is dealing with um safety standards and and requirements. And this is associated with handrails at the new wet well and it is an OSHA requirement. And so the amount of this change order is $10,55455 making our total contract just a little over 6.5 million. And this too is something that we are continuing to try to work with FEMA on for reimbursement.

What's the wish of council? I'll make a motion to approve an amendment change order number four to the existing contract with Brushy Mountain Builders for the construction of the Silver Creek Sewer Pump Station upgrade project in the amount of $10,55455 bringing the new total contract amount to $6,59,8481. Thank you, Chris. I have a motion to have a second. Second. Thank you, Wendy. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Motion passes. I need a second motion, please.

Motion to approve a budget amendment transferring contingency in the amount of $10,54455 to the construction expense account for the Silver Creek sewer pump station upgrade project. Thank you, Wendy. I have a motion to have a second. Second. Okay, but thank you. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I.

Motion passes. Okay. Uh, next is consideration of award of a contract for professional design and engineering services for our performing arts center. I'll call on Sharon Jablonsky to give us an update and some information. Okay. So, we had done a master plan for KMA I think now about three and a half years ago and um we we've been trying to do things that we can do in house and at a better price and so you allowed us to do the audio system which has made a huge difference uh and is recognized by everybody that attends. Um we would like to tackle another which is still back of house. Uh the primary would be putting in a new loading dock. Um, I will say again and and I've tried to come up with other ways to fix this, but when a truck backs in, we can take one truck, anybody, even not just Broadway will have two to four trucks. Some of them have five. So, on top of that, the truck sits here, the loading dock, sits here, and you've got crews of sometimes 50 people back there. And so, it's not the best of things. Uh, with that being said, we'd like to, uh, hire SOTAC. I hope that's spel pronounced correctly. Uh design out of Raleigh. They did, excuse me, out of Durham. Uh they did the um the the performing arts center down there. And he has a u very good knowledge of loading docks. I know that sounds strange. It can't be just a little butler building. It really does have to fit. They have to know how to to bring the equipment in, how it unloads, how it comes in, and how it fits with our building. Uh so that's really the main thing of this. Oh, and it will require mechanical systems and plumbing. Uh, because I was even kind of tore up with the cost of of doing business. Uh, but everything is just through the roof. Um, but with this, we would like to do some interiors like crew restrooms, crew

lounge, office storage. It's not that they have a crew lounge, but you have to remember or that that sounds fancy. It's just that literally when they built the comma in ' 86, they never thought about storage. They never thought about restrooms for 50 crew people back there. They have to use the restrooms that are out in the lobby. And you know when they get free when the people in the audience get free. So I've yet to figure out how they've worked it out, but you know, here we go. So also with this, we're looking at the ADA compliant front doors. I can't obviously tear apart the whole thing. I am just praying that we can build within the framework. That's why we also need an architect and maybe drop the fourth door and just get three larger doors in. Um, and then with that, uh, some of the interiors they'll help us with. And in terms of the dressing room finishes, uh, new laundry room, I will say that while it's not listed in SOS stack, we will work individually with the service provider because I've had a lot of questions about this. um for new seating. We know the seating is about two inches too small and um but we can work with multiple service providers and and get as solid a price on that without having to pay a designer to do that because I mean that's what they do. So and and the main thing with comma is we got to stay at a thousand seats. So anyway, um if if you will, we'd like to engage with with them and and get this started.

And we did an RFQ process as required by state. Yes. This is already in the budget, correct? Yes. Yes. $200,000 is in the budget for this. The fee is $208 and we are proposing transferring $8,000 from the marketing line item to to make this one have enough. Okay. Um any questions for sure? Glad it's happening. Amen. I mean, I don't know what show was just there, but there were like five five trucks um you know, in that parking lot and I don't know how they even maneuvered inside that parking lot. Yeah.

And the sound system is wonderful now. So, thank you so much. Any other questions for Sharon? What's the wish of council? I'll make a motion to approve a contract for design and engineering services for SOS Stack Design Incorporated in the amount of $28,000 and to authorize the mayor andor city manager to execute such contract and any other necessary documents. Thank you, Molly. I have a I have a motion to have a second. Second. Thank you, Wendy. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. I.

Motion passes. Um, and next is consideration of approval of a resolution, an ordinance amending certain downtown parking regulations. Sharon, would you bring us up to date, please? When you get your 35-y year pin, you got to work hard for it.

You know, I'm telling you, and these people, they get to retire in 25 years. I don't get it. [laughter] Um, you know, parking is probably why I should retire. I am just going to say this. I knew that when we did the program that we were going to find some holes that really just hadn't been looked after. Okay. So, what I'm asking for here is to correct it to really balance it on some places where one block should match the other block. Uh where it just made sense for convenience. Um obviously the handicap handicap space is very much needed down on the 300 block of South Green. Uh, I will say that the 600 block of South Green owned by the Irwins, they originally requested us to put that in many years ago and now they're requesting us to take it out. So, you know, neither here nor there. Um, and I I really think that's that's the biggie. We'll let it ride. They just the changes need to be made to be more in compliance. So,

thank you. Questions for Sharon? Yeah, I'm glad you've, you know, making these determinations because let's get it in place so everybody understands what the rules are. Yeah. Hey, Ronnie, can I just say one thing? Sure. Number one question I'm being asked, people come in, they park at 8 o'clock in the morning.

They leave at 10:00 and they go do something. They come back at 3. Okay? And then they stay till 400 or 4:30. but they park in the same area, the same stretch of road, the same block. Okay, that went over your three-hour limit. Just because you moved your car and went away doesn't mean that you haven't violated a three-hour stent. Okay, I know that's hard. We've never But this system doesn't it reads it that way. And so it knows that you've left and it knows that you've come back and you're in the same block. So that's not going to change. Are we still in the warning ticket phase or we today went to full-fledged tickets?

Okay. Because I had a call this afternoon, so I [laughter] uh just want to make sure we're ready. I'm sure. Uh any other questions? Uh let's see. Do I have a motion? What's the wish of council? I'll make a motion to approve a resolution approving the recommended amendments to downtown parking regulations. Thank you, Chris. I have a motion to have a second. Second. Thank you, Butch. Any discussion? If not, all in favor say, "I." I need a second motion, please. Motion to adopt an ordinance amending appendix one of the code of ordinances to remove certain timed parking designations and to add a designated handicapped parking space.

Thank you, Randy. I have a motion to have a second. Second. Thank you, Chris. Any discussion? All in favor say I. I. Motion passes. Uh we do not have any more budget amendments now. Correct. We are not doing Helen budget amendments this time, but that means I can assure you we'll have some next time. Okay. Nothing to look forward to. Uh we have consideration of appointment to the fireman's relief fund board. And so uh what's the wish of council? I will make a motion to reappoint Jesse Paris and Israel Gib Gibson to the fireman's relief fund board for terms to expire January 15, 2028. Thank you, Chris. I have a motion to have a second.

Second. Any discussion? All in favor say I. Motion passes. We have an expir some vacancies that will exist on the Morgan Housing Authority. Two seats. Brian Black and Teresa Dehart are members of the expiring terms. Kazunhite, whoever that was. [laughter] Um, so those are a 30-day notice that there will be vacancies. Anything else to come before the board? If not, we're adjourned.