Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Good evening and welcome to the city council meeting of the city of Lenor for Tuesday, February the 17th, 2026. We welcome you here this evening. Thank you for coming out. As we normally do, in a few minutes, we will rise for our moment of silence and remain standing as we salute our country with our pledge of allegiance. Going into that time, I have would like to mention a couple of families that I would like for you to keep in your thoughts and prayers as we go to this time. Uh first of all for the u uh family of Mary Patique. Mary was one of our longtime volunteers of the city and love being a part of that with uh uh the volunteer group and worked at almost every event and she will she will be missed. But please keep uh her family Eddie her husband and their family in their thoughts and prayers uh as she has passed away. And also uh please keep our former employee Kayyn Horn whose father passed away in Florida. uh this past week uh down there and they're they are in Florida now taking care of arrangements there. But keep Kaywin and John and uh her family uh in their thoughts and prayers with the passing of her father. So, if you will please now join me for a moment of silence. Thank you. Please salute the flag. 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.

Thank you. We have a proclamation that we will start with tonight. Come down to the for podium for that and ask Mr. Har to join me here in this committee. Tonight we have a special recognition on behalf of the city council uh to present a proclamation to our communication and public information director, the honorable Joshua Harris, proclaiming February 20th, 26 as government communicators day. Joshua, you do a great job and we appreciate all that you do to keep everybody informed and all the things that go on and thank you for all of that. we uh we we always seem to know what's going on and sometimes I know that's hard to do, but we appreciate that and and that you work and attend so many of other government things that uh you keep up with and know what's going on with all that. So, I'm going to share this proclamation with you so we can celebrate this special day, government communicators day, February 20th, 2026. Whereas the role of government communications professions is in is to inform, educate and engage their communities. And whereas robust communication in government creates trust and inspires residents to take action and be involved. And whereas government communications create relationships and calls to action, build awareness and understanding through through storytelling, engage and foster engagement. Encourage I got it right. [laughter] You you got me right. Engage and foster engagement on civic issues and use all channels to include people in critical decisions. And whereas it is essential to have strong communications in government because it is a fundamental element of living in a democracy where

citizens have the freedom to make their voice heard. And whereas the city of Lenor is proud and has deep gratitude and recognition for the government, communications, professionalism, dedication, hard work, commitment, enthusiasm, and sacrifice. Now therefore, I as mayor of the city of Wenor do hereby proclaim February 20th, 2026 as government communicators day in the city of Lenor and encourage all residents to thank the members of the communications and public information department who have dedicated their careers to ensure Lenor has effective, impactful, and successful communication strategies that resonate and are relevant. This the 20th day of February, 2026. Thank you, sir.

Thank you very much. You're very welcome. I'll let you have the podium for me if you will. Thank you. Mayor, council, thank you very much uh for this recognition. I've been working in local government in North Carolina for more than 18 years now and I think this is the first one the first one that I've received. So, I appreciate your support. Communicating can be difficult at times. So, but I think at least here in Lenor and most of my peers across the state, I think they do a a great job and put forth a lot of effort to try to let people know about their cities and their counties. And as you know, there's a lot to know. There's a lot of programs. There's a lot of services. There's a lot of departments. There's a lot of people that work every day to provide those things. And our job as communicators is to try to put that before the public so they can see it, they can read it, they can learn about it, and they can engage. I want to thank the department directors um for all their assistance in news releases and things that I put out. So I come from the newspaper business and we work on deadlines. Newspaper business almost 20 years ago now. We work on deadlines. So, [snorts] you're always calling people up trying to get some information before you put the news release out, trying to get a quote, and our directors and council members are always very responsive, and that makes the job a lot easier. And I also want to thank uh there's staff in almost every department that does some form of well there's staff in every department that does communication all the time daily with the public. But there are a few members that work on social media pages for the various departments and help me when I need it like Ashley taking a photo today. So I want to thank them for all their hard

work. Um I appreciate them and I appreciate this recognition. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Cool down. [laughter]

Hands by your sides. You're still going to run. You got to tell us photographer.

Yes, sir. Congratulations. Thank you. I appreciate everything. I will. I will. Got it in my Thanks, sir.

Again, thanks Josh for all you do and helping keep everything moving along the way you do. We do appreciate that very much. Good job. Okay, we'll move on then to um matters scheduled for public hearing this evening. Tonight we have a community development block grant. This is a community CDBG uh grant. Western Pemont Council of Governments will hold a public hearing in order to receive citizen input in the development of the community development block grant disaster recovery uh CDBG-DR applications for the coming year. The uh funds may be used for disaster recovery and activities including support to help communities deal with recovery [clears throat] from Hurricane Helen, including housing. All projects must predominantly benefit low and moderate income persons. So, I will open the public hearing and I will recognize from the Western Pemont Council of Governments, Mr. Kyle Case.

Hello. Was good to be with you all. Um, the mayor's already done the hard work cuz I was going to read that, too. Um, so I'm Kyle Case with the Western Pemont Council of Governments. Um, we're just here to discuss uh upcoming opportunity for community development block grant funding through the disaster recovery program. Um, this is the first public hearing. All CDBG uh applications require two public hearings. Uh this first public hearing is just a general public hearing to announce the city's intent to apply uh a potential intent to um uh uh intent to apply uh sometime within the next 12 months. Uh so this public hearing is good for 12 months. Um the CDBGDR um guidelines have not yet been released. Um so we do not have specific guidelines on what uh grant activities will be um allowable. However, uh we do uh anticipate there being opportunity for infrastructure projects, potentially some housing projects and some uh commercial district uh revitalization projects. Um so, um once we know more about the guidelines, we'll hold a second public hearing where we'll speak uh more specifically to uh the specific projects. Um, but again, this one is uh just to announce to the public that the city does intend to apply uh once uh we have more information uh later in the year. So, I'm happy to answer any questions if you have any or um I guess

Thank you. Anyone have any questions for Kyle or concerning this u [snorts] community development block grant funding? All right, seeing no one, we are in the public hearing. There's anyone who would like to address the council uh concerning this public hearing uh about the community development w grant funds. This is the time to do so. Seeing no one, I will close the public hearing then and this will be of course this was the first one. So we'll entertain the next one when uh is it next month when whenever it gets ready probably a couple of months.

Okay, that's right. Well, we'll look forward to uh for you to come back for that one. Thank you. Thank you for being here. All right. We'll move on then on agenda to consent agenda items tonight consisting of minutes of the city council meeting of Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026. Item B are the minutes of the city council planning retreat uh meeting of Friday, February 6, 2026. Item C is the FY2026 audit contract. This would be approval of the FY2026 annual audit contract for the city of Lenor is submitted by C um Randolph. That's um Cindy.

Cindy, thank you. Cindy Randolph CPA PLC for audit services for the amount of $45,000. Item D is a surplus resolution. This is pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes 20-187.2. Staff is recommending the city council adopt a resolution to declare the following police weapon. This is a Sig Sour P-320 pistol, serial number 58J472282 and police badge of Sergeant Matt Spears upon re retirement as surplus and no longer have any additional use. The city of Lenor has submitted. Out of me is the proclamation that we did for government communicators day. uh for approval of that. Item F is the resolution. Staff recommends approval of a resolution to declare the city of Lenor support uh regarding implementation of a compliant national pollutant discharge elimination system uh municipal separate storm sewer system. That's hard to say to [snorts] discharge storm water inclusive of the requirement uh required storm water management plan prepar prepared by the city of Lenor and the western Pedmont Council of Governments and approved by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. Uh that's the NCDEQ as submitted. So those are the items for the consent agenda item A through F. And I will turn it over to council for any discussion, question or motion when ready. Mr. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion that we approve consent agenda items A through F as submitted.

Have a motion from Council Member Perkins, excuse me, Mayor Pro Tim Perkins, that we approve the uh consent agenda items A through F as presented. No other motion uh question. All in favor, please say I. I.

All opposed. Thank you. And that is 6 tonight. Missing one council member. Council member Thomas is out of town. Okay. We'll now move to um on our agenda for requests of petitions of any citizens. As we go to this time on our agenda, I would like to uh read a statement from the city council that has been prepared uh tonight. And this uh statement concerns u the uh sleeping pods that are located on on his humble hands uh property in downtown Lenor. This uh recently, the city staff met with the property owners of 532 Harper Avenue and downtown Lenor to discuss a non-permitted use. On January 23rd, his humble hands, the renter moved in some sleeping pods, which are not allowed at this location under city zoning due to the impending ice storm. City staff held off on any action on the sleeping pods. On January 23rd, the same day city staff visited, his humble hands told the city and the property owner that his humble hands would move the pods the following week. We completely understood everyone's concerns. None of us want anyone to sleep outside and certainly not to freeze to death. That's why the city gave grace to his humble hands and allowed them to use the pods during the storm. After a story on WSOC TV, there were many public accusations against the city and our city staff. These attacks were unfair and unwarranted. Our employees live and work in Lenor. We're we're your neighbors and friends. We go to the same churches and shop in the same grocery stores. We're as concerned about these issues as you or anyone else is. As a city, as a city, it's our job to ensure that everyone follows the

rules. Most people who live in Lenor wouldn't want their neighbors to build something or do something that wasn't permitted. We go we get plenty of calls from people about barking dogs, junk cars, fire hazards, abandoned houses, safety concerns, and many more. and as city council and all our employees jobs to address these issues fairly and with compassion where we can. Would you want your neighbor to open a kennel or a nightclub or a junkyard in your neighborhood if that wasn't permitted? Our employees work every day to provide great services and apply the law fairly to everyone in Lenor. We want to say that we appreciate everything our employees do. They are doing a great job and we thank them for it. As you may have read already, his humble hands acknowledged that they had made some mistakes. It happens. None of us are perfect. We appreciate his humble hands taking responsibility. We do wish people would have taken time to learn what was happening before making comments attacking the city and our staff. Our employees don't deserve to be slandered and accused over things that are not their fault. As you may or may not know, there are already more than 230 beds available in Lenor and Cwell County that offer various services to people in need. These include the Cwell House, Bethl Colony, RHA Health Services, the shelter home, [snorts] Highway to Hedges, Lean on Me Home, Jonas Hill, Quanza, and many others. All these groups have followed city, state, and federal law, and we're thankful that they are all here. While all of us want to provide help to our local community members in need, we must follow rules

and regulations that keep everyone safe. Just today, the faith-based community, [snorts] local nonprofits, and citizens met this morning to discuss ways to move forward to address the needs of our community. This group led by community members plan to meet again in the near future for the to work out some issues with this. Thank you. This is a letter from the city council. Thank you all council for being involved in that. And now I will open this up to anyone who would like to address the council tonight. Uh if you will please come to your uh to the podium and give us your name and address. If you will, we would ask if you would to please kind of keep it short. We we have may have several people that would like to speak. We generally allow about three minutes for everyone to speak. So, thank you, sir.

How y'all doing? My name is Joseph Twist. My address is 107 Forest Hill Drive. Um, I'm just speaking on on the behalf of uh his humble hands. I think what they're doing is a great thing. I mean, I'm I invite each and every single one of you to come down and volunteer two hours of your time. See what they're all about. See what they do. Then maybe you'll have a change of thought. I can tell you right now, I've been sober four years because of them. I have a home. I got three cars because the help they've put they've done for me. They can do it for everybody if you just allow it to happen. You know, I'm I'm I I look at myself as success success story. You know, now I'm a part now I'm a part of them. You know, I do the homeless outreach form. I go out there and I pick up the homeless. I take them to their doctor's appointments and I don't see nobody else doing that. I make sure they get to their their social security uh appointments. I don't see nobody else doing that. You know what I mean? We do a lot more than what y'all think. You know what I mean? We need to get a lot more credit than what y'all giving. You know, I mean some pods. Is that for real? That's all just some pods? I mean, we're not simple-minded. Let's look at the whole picture. Look at all the help that that is actually coming out of this. You know what I mean? We're out. We're out for to help people. I mean, like I said, I mean, if it's just pods, let's grow up. Let's look at the big picture. Let's look at the help that we can give these people, the help they need. You know, I mean, like I said, if it wasn't for them, I'd be dead. I'd be dead. I mean, they found me dead in a tent and then, you know, I got sobered up.

I've been clean four years now. Like I said, you know, I mean, we I got a house, three cars, and it's all because of them. I mean, now I serve them, serve God. You know what I'm saying? I I mean, now I want to give back. You know what I mean? Because I'm I'm looking at the big picture. I see what really goes on. That's why I said I invite each and every single one of you just two hours come down, give two hours of your time. You know what I mean? A and really get the good picture of what goes on in there. You know what I'm saying? I mean, God runs to them. God runs to them. God runs to them deep. You know what I mean? And and like I said, I I would really love to see each and each one of you to come down there and and just give give it a chance, you know? Let's look at the big picture here. I mean, I understand it's pods, little city thing, but you know, it's we're doing it's more than that for us. It's the help we can give them the love we want to give them, you know. That's all I got to say. You know, I mean, just um you know, I mean, I mean, pod is kind of silly, you know what I mean? But that's it. Like I say, thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [clears throat] Uh

yes, sir. Come on up. My name is Mark Allen. I don't have an address because well I'm homeless. But uh anyways uh I tried highway and hedges, whatever I call them, but but they never give me a room. So you know I even tried RHJ, but whatever. They didn't give me room either. But um I come here well I don't even know their names. Can't remember. But uh but uh I came there and uh they they let me in. They fed me and they give me a bed and I ain't been there for three days and I and and and they already have me a job and I already [snorts] I already offer me transportation back and forth. So, uh you know I don't know much. All I got is what is what's on my is what you see here. I got a phone without service. But I mean, you know, well, they offer Wi-Fi, you know, uh out there and they're good people and they've uh they fed me every day and you know, uh I help whenever they ask or whatever they need. And I was just saying that, you know, I don't have much, but I mean, I've only been there 3 days and they've already got me a job and uh everything and take me to my appointment tomorrow, you know, for my drug test and everything, but you know, I will pass. But uh you know they but anyways uh yeah they're uh good uh good people. I mean I mean that's come for me and I'm I mean I I I got a criminal history about a mile long. So I mean you know it's you know but anyways uh they're they're really helping me. So I just wanted to say that. So I appreciate it. Thank you.

Let's see who. Yes ma'am.

[clears throat]

So, my name is Beth Wisnet. My address is 2134 Harper Avenue here in Lenor. Um, I have been volunteering alongside of Denise and Patrick with his humble hands. Um, there's a great need for housing, of course, for everyone in this area. I actually manage the Old Lenor High School apartments for income-based housing. I work there. I volunteer for different organizations. However, there is not enough housing in our area to help the overflow with these people. Y'all mentioned um RHA, Jonas Hill, but if you're not in the middle of a mental health crisis, they will not take you. I've seen it firsthand just working with the kind of work I do. I've seen people that actually have a need. You do have things like Kwanza and the women's shelter, but there again, if those are full, there's nowhere else to go. Um, Miss Denise and Patrick did have the pods. They were supposed to be used for a different project for transitional housing, but when they were, they got the phone call to come pick them up. it was we either had to pick them up or they went on to someone else. So with the ice and the snowstorm that was forecasted since we had hands on those they did use them and I understand there is city zoning codes and all that we all do have to adhere by that. I'm not upset by that at all but when they were put into place they're they're in the process of being moved. We do have some land that is under probate that we couldn't use at the time we received the pods. So, we are going to follow the commands of, you know, getting those removed. But when you go in there and you volunteer daily and you see one and two and threeyear-old kids, this isn't adults only that has chose drugs and other alternative. This is children. DSS

has recommended people to come to this warming station to get out of the cold. We were told that firsthand. So, I see you're the side of it from this standpoint as being, you know, with the zoning and all that, but again, we are closing it today, but it's going to be a little transition for the next couple of days to get everything moved. But these people really are doing a great work. I have a 8-year-old daughter sitting back there whose father froze to death at the walking park two years ago due to being homeless. I look in the eyes of a child who does not have a father for the rest of her life because he was homeless. So this is very personal to me. So with that into consideration, I understand that there's zoning codes. I understand that all the rules were and wasn't met, but at the end of the day, there's people in our own community that are suffering. So as of now, our only option is to pray because there's nothing else we can do at this very moment. getting them in a pod to get them out of the cold was just temporary. But then I look back to a few years ago when the warming station was down in Hudson at Pastor Ry's church. There was a gentleman by the name of Bill who had frostbite on his feet. We took him in, did what we could do to help him. I placed him in housing. I got him a rep pay. He is independently living two years later because somebody held out their hand to help him up. That's not the case for everybody. We can't save everyone. But at the end of the day, just having a loving heart and trying to offer them the resources that we do have means more than anything in the world. So, like I said, I just I want y'all to understand that what we're doing is a good thing.

That's all I know. Thank you.

I'd like to speak if that's okay. Yeah. Go ahead. Give us your name and address. My name is Denise Aristia. I am the CEO of His Homes. Okay. You'll have to pardon me because I'm sick. Been sick all week.

Can't be. Um, this happens to be Lucas. He's one of our pe children from the shelter, the the warming station right now. So, he will be I I won't say what's going to happen, but as of tonight, if some steps have not been taken put in place, he would be homeless again out in the cold with no car with his sister, this one-year-old, and she's out in the hallway. And these their mom's not on drugs. She's just made some bad choices. DSS brought them over here. She's a 21-year-old female on her own with two kids. Don't know how to be alone.

Okay, Patrick Cowsky, I do want to say we are very sorry for what we did. Um, it was never our intention to open a warming station for anything more than the storm. The pods were for a transitional housing program that we had as a secondary project that we were working on. We were they just happened to end up in our parking lot the Friday night before the storm and we utilized them and there's no doubt in our minds we saved somebody's life that night especially the night that it was 8°.

Um they are being moved. We've got two different tow companies that are working with us to get them all moved. We've moved some already and we would like to continue with this program about housing. uh the meeting that you had, we weren't invited, so we didn't know anything about it. We'd love to attend to that. We don't have to be in charge, although they do respect us because they know we work from our heart. We don't get paid to do what we do. There's no salary for it. But since we've been open for three weeks, three and a half weeks, we've assisted over 120 homeless people, including children.

This is not the only family. We have three clients that are sober now and have been for several days. We have many of them reporting to us that they're have slowed the use of drug consumption because now they have something to do because they help in the thrift store or in the back in the warehouse etc. There's we're working with other people. The methodone clinic wants to work with us. Social Services has brought families to us because there's nowhere for them to go in this county and they need something and we're just begging y'all please make it possible where we can help get at least help the ones that want to help themselves. We cannot save everybody and we're fully aware of that. But all of them are not drug addicts. There are just some people that made bad choices. Seriously, we even have some that are currently employed. They can't afford rent. and that's why they're homeless. I mean, it could happen to any of our children. It's happened to me in my lifetime and I imagine it's happened to most of the people in that out here in the So, I just wanted to say that thank y'all for allowing us to do what we did. We appreciate it. We don't mean to cause any problems. We just want to see something happen in the whole not here in Lenor, but in the whole country. We just we think that there has to be more that can be done by somebody. Not us. We're not we're not special by any means. And thank you for allowing me to speak, sir.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Hi, my name is uh David McGuin. I live at 317 Penel Street Northeast in Lower Creek. Um so I'm not affiliated with uh his humble hands in any way. I just felt moved to come here um as a citizen um as a taxpayer and a Christian. Um, you know, we're all just one bad accident away from being homeless. Um, and many of us uh know somebody or um know and love somebody who may be facing a housing crisis. Um, what the city of Lenor really needs to prioritize right now is compassion and a way of being able to support uh organizations such as his humble hands. I was very moved by the comments of u my fellow citizens over here and there is clearly a huge need in this city and the broader region. Uh the price of housing has gone up exponentially uh since co it's been rising for a long time and the housing crisis is reaching Leno and Caldwell County up the mountain. Uh, of course prices are a lot more expensive than they are down here, but a lot of folks are relocating down uh here in Lenor because

of the price of housing uh further up 321. So that means that housing down here is becoming more expensive as well. Now we're becoming a popular city and county and that's a good thing. Uh however uh it means that a lot of folks here in the city are having a much harder time affording to live here than we used to. So there's all kinds of issues at stake here. We need to be working on finding uh solutions for the homeless and unhoused uh population here. Whether that's uh supporting our nonprofits with their uh efforts to uh provide emergency and transitional housing, also be able to find uh subsidies for uh folks who want to live and work here and also um provide uh support for those who may be at risk uh for losing their housing. Uh so I do uh thank you all for um your effort in this regard in the future and I do understand that this boiled down to um zoning issues and uh you know the rules are the rules um and I respect that. However, um I do think that uh regarding the temperature um that drop that we saw uh during the last ice storm, those were deadly temperatures and we really need to [snorts] um have some flexibility when it comes to saving the lives of individuals that are um living outside right now because uh it could be life or death.

Thank you. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING.

My name is Amber Bradford. My address is 1266 Reed Court, Lenor. And I want to just go ahead and tell you that I wrote this down because I am super compassionate about this topic and this will keep me on task. So I want to read this to you because I was also a part of that discussion this morning which I think is extremely extremely important. Um, it's clear from the number of people here tonight that this is an issue that deeply matters to our community. And when a room fills up like this, it's usually because people care. And I think that's something worth recognizing. We may come from different perspectives, but I believe we share the same goal, wanting individuals in our community to be safe, supported, and treated with dignity. So, let me give you an introduction. So, my name is Amber Bradford and I'm the homeless response manager. So, all the things that you guys have said tonight, that's kind of my job, right? So, I work with Western Pedmont Council of Government, but I'm also the unsheltered access coordinator for North Carolina Balance Estate. That's a big deal. We cover four counties. Cwell is one of those. So, my role and the purpose of the homeless response team is to help bring these perspectives together so we can move forward towards solutions that are both compassionate and sustainable. You may have heard the statement that homelessness is complex. At first glance, that can sound very, very simple. But when we take a closer look, as most of you have said tonight, it becomes clear how many factors are involved. Housing affordability, absolutely. Behavioral health, employment, transportation, access to services. It rarely has a single cause and it rarely has a single solution. Homelessness is one of those issues where everyone sees a different piece of the problem. Law enforcement may see a crisis. Service providers may see unmet

needs. Residents, our community residents may see the impact on a daily life. And families may see someone that they love that is struggling. None of those perspectives are wrong. [clears throat] They're just simply incomplete on their own. That is exactly why a coordinated response matters. On any given night in North Carolina, more than 11,000 people are experiencing homelessness. Nearly 40% are living outside without shelter. And that's in a car, a tent, or a place not meant for human habitation. In rural communities, much like our own, those numbers are often less visible because they are just as real. Most individuals experiencing homelessness become homeless in the communities where they are currently living. They're not our strangers passing through. They're our neighbors. And many are only one crisis away. I think that was the best statement tonight. Many of us are only one crisis away of being in the similar mode. A medical issue, a job loss, a rent increase. That is one thing that can send you into housing instability very, very quickly. Mhm. Without coordination, people fall through the cracks and systems like law enforcement, EMS, uh, hospitals, and emergency services often carry that burden. The purpose of our team, the homeless response team, is to bring those partners together, improve communication, and create effective pathways to help people forward, which also reduces those strains on those emergency systems and improving outcomes for everybody. As we talk about solutions and compassion, responsibility, responsibility and compassion should not be in conflict. Lasting lasting solutions require both. My role is not to oppose solutions but to help ensure that solutions are safe, coordinated, sustainable so they can succeed long term. If organizations or community groups

want to provide shelter or transitional hi housing, the goal should be supported in those efforts to connect them with resources and guide them through the requirements to help them build something that can last. Regional collaboration, we spoke about that the last time we were here. Regional collaboration matters because when so when services operate in isolation even with good intentions the burden often falls to the individuals trying to navigate those systems. There are organizations, churches, outreach teams and regional partnerships working every single day to connect individuals to shelter, housing, and services. Is it enough? It's not. Is there room at the table for everybody? There is. That urgency is very real. There is always room to to improve, but pro progress builds on coordination. I have also heard concerns about that concerns that shelter is needed, particularly during cold weather. That is a very true statement. We actually have the ability to visit his humble hands and what they were doing is pretty awesome, right? Um when temperatures drop, immediate response matters. At the same time, establishing an ongoing shelter requires planning, staffing, funding, and coordination. Our community has experienced this before. A previous shelter effort closed due to sustainability challenges. And that is not criticism, it's a lesson. It shows that success depends not only on need, but on structure and long-term support. If expanded, shelter capacity is needed. Then the path forward is working together safely, sustainable, and in coordination with regional systems. Urgency and oversight are not opposites. If we care about people, then the path forward is collaboration, bringing compassion and coordination together so solutions can last. This is not about stopping anybody that wants to help.

It's about making sure that when help is provided, it's safe, sustainable, and positioned to succeed long term. We all want the same outcome. People being safe and supported. And that happens most effectively when efforts are connected, compliant, and built in partnership. I I want I just want to say this very quickly and then I'm going to wrap it up. The city got a really terrible rap, right? I seen the Facebook post. Um we kind of went through those um pretty pretty quickly. And what you don't see behind the scenes are are a law enforcement or code enforcement or people calling our team to get people connected. I deal with that every single day. I get people that call from uh organizations every single day, churches, faith-based ministries. We are all on the same page working towards the same goal. And we have to remember that because we need each other to move this in a direction that it needs to go. So with that being said, we can be compassionate. We can be a compassionate community and a responsible community at the same time. And when we work together, we can create those solutions that are stronger than one effort alone. If people are interested to get connected to the homeless response team, we have a line that you can call. We have an email that you can forward to. We have four people on our team that work as cogs. We we work to connect people to available resources so one group doesn't have to do it. And I can provide that information to anybody that would like to have it. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. [applause] Is there anyone else that would like to address? Yes, but I think this young lady was waiting. She's been waiting. I'll let her then you can come after her. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Susanna Miller. Um, I don't have an address. I'm staying at His Humble Hands. I'm actually the mom that Miss Denise and Patrick were telling you about. That's my 2-year-old and my one-year-old daughter is also out there. If it hadn't been for my social worker finding the number for his humble hands, I would have nowhere. We called everywhere we could. The women's shelter, RHA, most of the places you named. Nowhere had room. and we got a last second chance with this place and they were all for it. They they told my social worker, they said, "Bring her in. We've got her." I just had to make because of everything shutting down, us having to move, which I understand rules are rules. You have to follow them for everybody's safety. If it hadn't if I hadn't made the hardest decision I have ever made in my life, I probably would be losing my children tomorrow. But they helped me and they're still helping me. I don't know what I'd do without them. [snorts] I just I hope you can find it in your hearts to have a little bit of compassion with this because this really has helped a lot of people. I've seen it. [snorts]

Thank you. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Do you want it?

Hi, my name is Lynn Elliot. I'm the um manager of the thrift store at His Humble Hands. Um, I used to run a disaster center in California. So, I'm very familiar with the the problems of the homeless and what's needed in a disaster. Had if if not for the storm, the pods would never have been put into use. They were never planned to be used at that location. They were only going to go to uh an area that we were setting up for transitional housing. However, um what we were going to do at the location that we are now because of the emergency is we were not going to house just the homeless. We were going to house anyone in the community that had lost power or lost the ability to heat their home during the ice storm. And it could have been an epic storm with uh many people at risk. Um children, the elderly, um the medically fragile, and we were going to allow them in our in our building. Uh having seen what happens in um a disaster of the proportion that they they said could happen, um it would have been it could have been horrible. So, I I want you to remember that it's it wasn't just the homeless that we were trying to help. It was the entire community. Um, including any of you that could have lost power and been at risk.

Thank you. Thank you. [applause]

Yes, sir.

[clears throat]

You got to pardon me because I'm kind of passionate about it as well. U my name is Corey Howard and I'm currently homeless. I uh came to Patrick with a 2-year-old. I'm one of the families there. Um without them, I don't know where my family would have ended up. um I brought them there in unity but ultimately due to the limits and the pause not being there um my family separated now you know um I'm not originally from this community but since I've been here looking from the outside in on the homeless issues I I asked myself like I know and understand like some people have mental issues or substance abuse issues that hinder them from wanting to take the steps to to get help But like one person said, everyone's not um under in drugs and stuff like that. I for one are one of am one of the ones that uh have a 9 to 5 job uh at his humble hands. I've been working before that. Uh I was living check to check and I couldn't afford to miss a beat, but I did. And uh ultimately I end up getting evicted during the uh house storm, lost my vehicle and everything. Um, but I'm taking steps towards uh getting that together. And the food, clothing, and shelter that his humble hands has provided is phenomenal. You know, I witnessed uh Patrick put his foot down and to make that place a good place, a safe place for people. I know and understand that there's rules and regulations with the city. um when it comes to the housing crisis and things of that nature, you would think money wouldn't be the overall deciding factor when helping people because at the end of the day, it's enough funds to help people. You know, it just got to be orchestrated somewhere else or whatever. But um

in comparison to the location and the surrounding area um and what they have done, there's no comparison to that building or them being compared to a junkyard being next to a junkyard or a dog or no one's in their animals or we don't have junk cars. So, uh, yeah, I I just to reiterate, um, like I said, I'm really passionate about this and I appreciate everything. One thing I would like to know and try to figure out like if there was a zoning issue and everybody bear witness that he was doing great things in his humble hands have has a good standing in the community like and all these other nonprofit organizations, where's the partnership? even though zoning was a problem, you know, and people take a look at what they done and what they do, you know, where's the partnership moving forward is I would just think that, you know, they're good people and they deserve uh chance and opportunity and platform to continue what they're doing in all respects to the law and zones and stuff like that. And uh yeah, that's all I I have to say. I have more to say, but I'm going to leave it at that. Thank you, [applause]

Chief Jacobs. Will you uh come up for us? Thank you.

My name is Chris Jacobs. I'm the fire marshal for the city of Lenor. Uh and just wanted to cover some things. Uh it seems like we we cross this bridge every couple three years. uh we have a organization that that is doing the right thing. Uh many times that's what happens. I've I've dealt with lots of leaders of organizations. We're all good people. All right. Uh and sometimes what happens is it's I don't want to use the word doing the wrong thing. It's doing it in the wrong way. So uh on the fire side a lot of times we run into things just like we talked uh the day before the ice storm hit. I went to each of one of these uh warming stations and we had a discussion on what the rules are, what can you do, what can you not do, trying to be that proactive source that we all need. All right. Um so let's say that I want a warming shelter. Well, what is that? Uh is that a place where I can spend the night? Is that a place where I can set up a bed and and rest and that thing? The answer is no. All right? Because a shelter is going to require a sprinkler system. It's going to require a fire alarm system. It and that's for the protection of those people. It's it's not about, you know, I' I've got a hard heart or I'm not a Christian. It's that if and I told Pastor Willong this. If one of these people that are homeless die out there in the freezing cold, guess who has to live with that? That's me. If they die in this same building that doesn't have a sprinkler system, that's still me. All right? So I have to meet in the middle and figure out well how do we how do we accomplish that goal of protecting the homeless or those people that the power went out because that ice storm could have done that and and we have to plan that out. Uh we work closely with county em uh their responsibility is shelters for those

type situations. How do we put those in? Which ones do we put in place? That kind of thing. Um, and uh, like I said, I just want to give you an idea of some of the bridges that we have to cross along with zoning. They've got laws that we have to abide by. You know, it's not about the situation. It's about the long-term result of what may be going on. Okay. So, that's why we make those decisions sometimes. And I would open up for questions if if the council would like to ask me something or the public either one. I understand we need a water sprinkler. Never argue that. But y'all could have got water hose out quicker than you could have moved your fire trucks. We're right beside you.

Yeah, and that's true. Location is everything. But that fire sprinkler system is designed to put it out on us immediately. I get it. I get it. And I'm not arguing with you. You've been good to me. So, I'm not arguing with you. I'm just making a We're right next door. [laughter] Yeah. I mean, it might have been somewhere else around the fire department. It been a different thing. [clears throat] Right.

Thank you. Thank you.

Anyone else that would like to address the council? I see a hand, I think. Yes, ma'am. My name is Tabitha Barrier. I'm homeless. I'm just now got there. If it wasn't for these people, I would been dead right now. I was up in the mountains in a tent homeless for a year. It snowed ice and I was still in a tent. Didn't have nowhere to go. If it wasn't for these people bringing me in like they did, I would be dead right now. and my husband cuz we was up in the mountains, deep in the mountains of Moberry. If anybody knows where that's at, in a tent, the guy that was with us got drunk and went off the handle and smashed my tent in and I didn't have nowhere to go or anything. Took everything I had, all my food stamps, everything. He didn't care if I was to die or lift or anything. If it weren't for these people, me, my husband would be dead right now. There's babies in this place. that don't have nowhere to go.

And that's what gets me. That's all I got to say. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else who would like to address [clears throat] the council?

Thank you. We certainly appreciate all these uh comments. We understand uh how it is and what's going on and and understand we all here sitting on this podium and and living in this community all have hearts and we all believe and we want things to to be but we do have to follow rules in what they are not not our laws. These are state laws. There's a lot of things that go into play and we certainly don't want anybody to get hurt in any way, shape or form. So, we just try to do the the best we can and I think our staff try to do a good job of working with that and we thank you. Thank you for all of that. Okay, we're going to move on. We still have some uh meeting to do. We appreciate that. We don't have any uh reports of our boards and commissions this evening. So, we'll move on to the report and recommendations of our city manager, Mr. Hildebrand.

Mayor Council, just two items for information this evening. Uh you have a comm the whole meeting next Tuesday, February 24th, 8:30 a.m. Third floor city hall. Uh also the Foothills Regional Airport Authority will meet on Wednesday, February 25th at noon at the airport. And that's the only meetings I have uh for your information. Thank you. Any questions of manager? All right, we'll move on. Report of the city attorney. Mr. Roar. Anything? Nothing to report.

Thank you, sir. [clears throat] I do have a recommendation. uh uh well at least let you know about a recommendation will be coming for the we have an open u seat on our planning board uh for an unexpired term ending in June of 2027 and I would like to recommend to uh to the uh council not uh tonight for your for your consideration Mr. John Arnod uh who has uh had an interest in serving on it u in the community um has talked with uh Hannah u our u planning director about Hannah Williams our planning director about uh serving and I have had a conversation with him think he would be a good fit to our board seems to have a lot of knowledge uh in in this in this line and everything so I will make that recommendation to you at our next meeting but I just wanted to let you know the consideration of that tonight on that. All right. I will then turn it to any council members. Any recommendation of any of our council members tonight concerning anything? Seeing none, nothing else to come before us, we stand ajourned.