City Council - Regular Meeting

Are they going to do any kind of surgery?

It's not like it used to be. I think it used to.

Thank you. I'll just read that in grammar as well. Oh, you were coming from a circle. Yes. She's 32. Stage four, they all do this. Thank you. Thank you. It's not like that. . . . . .

Thank you.

Are the insurance .

. . . . .

Thank you.

. . . thank you

thank you

Come on.

Thank you. . . . .

I'd like to call the order of the scheduled meeting of the Rockland City Council meeting. At this time, I'd like to ask our fire chief, chaplain,

to offer a prayer on our behalf. Please stay.

Elijah felt that he was the only one. Because he felt like he was the only one, he became depressed. He felt defeated. He felt like what if he was all hurt? So as we stand here today to pray, I'm praying that the Prince of Peace will come in the midst of us. Our city do not need a lot of prayer. There have been a lot of mistakes. But in the midst of it all, grace is always the powerful resource that all of us depend upon. So whatever disagreements that you might have on today, as we come together to reason, as the word of God declares unto us, as we pray, whatever issues that you might have in your heart, I pray that you would have grace and peace as you mount this podium and be able to declare whatever situations that's upon your heart. Father, in the name of Jesus, we bow our heads and we give you our hearts on tonight. We invite the Prince of Peace to come into the midst of this meeting on today. We pray, God, that you will use each and every individual who comes to speak. We thank you for these leaders. Though they may have issues, all of us do. We ask you to help us all because our city needs us. They need role models. They need prayer warriors. They need people that have the mind of Christ. I pray, Father, in the name of Jesus, that you will give us the grace to be able to get through these hurdles that have been presented in our lives in this city. Father, you know what you have planned for us, but it's going to take a people who love you first, a people who are committed to doing your will. And this is what we ask in this meeting on tonight, that you will come in the midst of us and that you will settle the disagreements and the troubles that may be ahead. We're asking you to refinance. We're asking you to cause finances to come back into our city. We're asking you to bless the workers that work favorably and feverily in this city to keep it going. We pray that the citizens of this city would band together like never before, never recorded in history. Let us leave a legacy. Let us leave a landmark that a miracle has happened in the city of Rocky Mountain, the city that is on the rise. We pray that you'll bless our police department, our fire department, all the laborers that labor in the city. We pray even now, God, that as we get ready to have this meeting, that you will speak to the ones that will come and share. This we ask in Jesus' name. Everybody say amen.

Thank you. Thank you.

At this time, I will receive a motion to, from consideration of the minutes of the regular scheduled City Council meeting, which was held on June 22nd, 2046. Is there a motion? So moved. Motion made by Councilor Walker. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman Harris. Is there a need for discussion? If you're done, all in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those in favor sign. Okay, there's additions and deletions from the agenda. There is a request that we remove item K. the consent agenda and postpone it until the time to convene the next meeting. The nomination needs to be made for the African community and I'll recognize if you'd like that. Thank you, Mayor.

Yes, that actual board is utility. I'll send it to you, Mayor.

I would like to nominate folks to share a ratio for that September 28th meeting with Dr. Cook. Free word for recommendation.

So we've added Dr. Cook to the list of nominations, voted on the 928. We're removing item A from the consent agenda, which is item A. Are there any other items to be added or deleted from the agenda tonight? I'm making an adjustment from the scheduled meeting agenda. I need a motion and a second. Second motion. Motion made by Councilman Dodd-Ridge. Is there a second? Second. Second by Councilman Robertson. Is there a need for discussion? all there please say aye aye this time i'll turn the meeting over to our city manager elton dance all right good afternoon thank you for coming here yeah we can't hear you can't hear this

Thank you, Madam, in your words, because I think mine is projected. Are you going to hear me correct?

Yeah, we got it. All right.

Well, let me start over. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The city of Rocky Mountain was recently placed on the Local Government Conditions Unit Assistant List based on the financial condition reflected in our fiscal year 2025 audit of financial statements. We recognize the seriousness of this designation and remain committed to transparency. accountability, and working collaboratively with the LGC. In anticipation of being placed on the unit assistant list, I proactively completed the mandatory fiscal management training required by city and county managers earlier during the year. It is important to emphasize that the fiscal year 2025 audit reflects the city's financial position from July 1st, 2024 through June 30th, 2025, not where we are today. I want to repeat that. This reflects the city's financial position from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, not where we are today. September of 2025, the city had approximately $20 million in total cash and was projected to be in the red within 10 months. Today, we have more than $30 million in cash and are currently projected to exceed $45 million by the end of this calendar year. This progress is a result of difficult decisions, disciplined financial management, stronger controls, expenditure reductions, and the hard work of our employees, financial team, leadership, and city council. We are not declaring victory, but we are demonstrating meaningful progress. The state treasurer actually just stated just a couple days ago that we have made good progress. That said, there's still work ahead, and our focus remains on sustaining this momentum, rebuilding our reserves, stripping our financial position and achieving long-term fiscal stability. Next, I want to recognize everyone who participated in Saturday's Battle of the Badges basketball tournament held at the Rocky Mountain Event Center. Believe it or not, I had the opportunity to participate as well, playing with our Rocky Mountain Police Department team. The chief just stated that I was walking a little bit better today and I didn't make any baskets, but it's all about the team spirit. Our police department and our fire department went head-to-head with the Rocky Mountain Fire Department, and coming away with the win was the Raleigh Fire Department. They made it to the championship round against North Carolina Central Prison, and then they played in the championship game, and the North Carolina Central Prison ended up winning the championship. But the overall winner was the city because no one got injured, and we had a lot of participation, and then the good cause of us winning. making all the funds and proceeds went toward the American Heart Association. Finally, I want to highlight an opportunity for our young people. The Rocky Mountain Area Youth Council will hold an interest meeting on Wednesday, September 16th at 6 p.m. at the City of Rocky Mountain Administrative Complex. The meeting is open to students and grades 9 to 12 interested in developing their leadership skills, learning more about our local government, participating in community services, and becoming more engaged in the community. I encourage any interested students to come out and learn more. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you, Mr. Manager. Is there any questions or comments for our manager? Okay. So we'll move on to petitions to be received from the public. This is an opportunity for public comment, and we thank you for coming to the City Council meeting tonight to share your views. We value all citizen input. Speaker comments are limited to a maximum of three minutes during the public comment. At the conclusion of three minutes, each speaker shall leave the podium. Comments must be directed to the full board, not to an individual board member or staff member. Although the board is interested in your comments, speakers should not expect any comments, action, or deliberation from the board on any issue raised during the public comment period. At the board's discretion, it may refer issues to the appropriate city officials or staff for further investigation. If an organized group is present to speak on a common issue, please hesitate one person to present the group's comments, which shall be limited to a maximum of three minutes.

I'd like to invite Kathy Ricks to the podium. Good evening, Councilman. Good evening.

My name is Kathy Riggs, and I live at 1304 MacDuffus Road. So on December 11, 2025, I left the house and I went to make an errand. And I come upon this manhole that the cover was slanted in the ground. And nothing was broken about it. It was just slanted in the ground. And I didn't know when I hit it. It knocked my back tire off the rim. And that's when I went to my right. I was trying to turn to my left. And I just went straight. I didn't want to, you know, go into nobody's house. I just tried to turn my wheel, my steering wheel locked. And I went straight across the bushes and went into Mr. Pete's garage. And I was more scared and hurt. I wasn't hurt. You know, I thank God for that. I wasn't hurt. So Mr. Pete wasn't home. So I had to call officers. Officer Amy Ashley Rodriguez, she came. And another officer came. They stood there the whole time. The people next door, Mr. and Mrs. Sellers. They lived next door. They came out because nobody came out when I went into the garage. Nobody came out. I went next door and I'm walking on their door and they came out and I told them what had happened. And they were saying that they was complaining about that manhole on that street for the longest. So they had called Mr. Pete and told him what happened. When he came home, I went and talked with him and he said, are you okay? I said, I'm fine. So he said, you know, I'm glad you're okay, because I know that was scary for you to hit that manhole, and it took your tire off your rim. And I went airborne, you know, trying to turn this way, and it went airborne that way. So I said, well, you know, I didn't get hurt. Like I said, I didn't get hurt, and I thank God for that. But, you know, I had been calling. I wrote letters to Councilman Knight. I sent pictures and everything on my truck that my rear was broken and the hood was smashed. So I said, well, you know, the police department put this amount up here. We never had it estimated. So I don't know how they come about this, but y'all have to discuss that with the police department, you know, because the officer, Rivera, Rivera. She's supposed to call me today and let me know.

Thank you, Ms. Riggs. If you have something prepared, you'd like to give it to our system manager. That would be great. We'll pass that along to everybody. Mr. Mayor. Yes, sir. Do we have a, is there an ask? What is the ask? Ms. Riggs, is there a specific ask? Are you asking for compensation? If you would note that on the piece of paper, that'd be helpful. Thank you.

This time I'd like to invite Mary to the podium. Long time no see.

I didn't have to work tonight.

Okay. My complaint now has to do with the dog park.

Or as popular a place as it is and as many taxpayers and visitors that use it, it needs a lot of work. There are places where the fence doesn't even meet the ground anymore and we have little dogs going under and getting into the big dog area. And we had one little dog almost

almost killed by that.

And we just would like if somebody could come out and take a look at it and see the work that we need to have done in the dog park. I mean, goodness gracious, Nashville down the road has a dog park that's not even a fraction of the size of ours. And they have a porta potty. And we still don't have a bathroom. At ours, you guys took away our porta potty. We've got holes out there to where we were walking around the area with our dogs. If you're not real careful, you can twist an ankle because some of the holes are covered by the grass and you don't see them until your foot sinks. And we appreciate the fact that they finally started mowing our grass again. We appreciate that. There are a lot of things like that that need to be done in our park. I mean, we get out of state visitors all the time through there. All the snowbirds coming down and going down to Florida and coming back from Florida. That brings money to this town because they stop, they stay overnight. They probably go to at least two or three restaurants during the time that they're here. But they're going to stop coming if we don't make some improvements on some of the stuff that's gone downhill in the last, I mean, I've been going there seven years. And I can tell you it's not as nice as it was when I started going there. And I'd like to see us be known as we were when I first started going there. visitors would come come through and they'd say this is the prettiest dog park on the whole east coast they don't say that as much anymore and i kind of like us to do something about it get fixed thank you thank you i recognize you mr ranger thank you mayor i'd just like to comment that the dog park was actually closed for uh upkeep and maintenance on just last week september 10th

So many of the things that you stated, staff was out there inspecting and addressing. I know we had several complaints about fire ends and a number of other issues that were addressed on September 10th. So we do monitor that. I will also say that our dog park is 11 acres, which is almost triple the size of what Nashville and Ash County has. But we do take those complaints seriously and we are addressing them. Thank you.

Dr. Coon, I'd like to invite you to the podium.

Good evening. Good evening.

Recently, an August heat map, Pearl Hall, reported that six out of every ten Americans strongly oppose hyperscale data center. A football celebrity placed an advertisement asking people to pee in jars and mail them to the nearest data center to emphasize the water shortage. Our two neighboring counties have already put in place moratorium on hyperscale data centers until further studies could be done. Why is Rocky Mount lagging behind? Why are all of you waiting for? What are you waiting for? Are you hoping that sometime, somewhere, a study will suddenly appear that you can wave at us, that such large data centers are okay, and then you can rake in the millions offered for the city-owned land by the procurement agencies, this study is never going to happen. You cannot mitigate their destructive effects no matter how many regulations you put in place. It is not for lack of trying. The question is mitigation for whom and which class of people. When industries are available to those who only see profits as the endpoint, they will never use the surplus for human or environmental protections. All the money goes to the shareholders, and even if we have enough infrastructure or water resources to support the hyperscale data centers, which we do not, the benefits to the communities and workers are minuscule compared to the billion-scale rate gain. Moreover, you cannot depend on the regulations to control their worst offenses. Whatever regulations you put in place are never going to be enforced. either from lack of manpower, funding, or legal manipulation. The billionaires get away with murder in this country. Corporations run roughshod over people, and workers weep over pay cuts and benefit losses. We are already experiencing the devastating effects of climate change, and yet many of the so-called influencers are still denying its existence, maybe until the floodwater or the wildfires come to their front doors. and also because their interest lies with the existence and extension of fossil fuels dominated our world. The hyperscale data centers will exponentially add to climate change from its insatiable energy and water consumption and its toxic noise and air pollution. As a matter of fact, I've not seen any statement by you all on climate change, and why is that? Finally, let me ask you the question again. What are you waiting for? Why is there no resolution to put in place a moratorium on hyperscale data centre in Rocky Mount? Is Rocky Mount still the centre of it all? Or will we become the hypocrites of this region? Thank you.

Thank you, you're welcome.

I'd like to invite Muntaz Shahid to the podium.

Mr. Mayor, council members, ladies and gentlemen, As data centers rapidly emerge across the US, communities nationwide are protesting the catastrophic environmental and public health impacts, as well as skyrocketing utility bills. I urge you to oppose the proposed construction of data center in Rocky Mount. These are not just toxic installations in community backyards. They are a prime mover of global wars and instability. They keep the U.S. tied to the endless cycle of violence and wars for fossil fuels that provide 60 percent of the power for data centers. Control over fossil fuels is a driving force behind U.S. regime change efforts in Iran and Venezuela and other resource-rich regions, and the extraction of needed minerals for data centers such as silicon, gallium, lithium, et cetera, requires both the destabilization of sovereign countries in which they are found, and inhuman mining practices, including the use of child labor. More reason to oppose these poisonous structures. Data centers are now machines of war, the nervous system of a global war machine that collects and distributes data that fuels conflicts locally and globally, surveillance of all of us, and yes, forever bloody wars, all funded by our tax dollars, every single time. While we struggle to fund schools, hospitals, and housing, and face mounting grocery and gas prices, billions are poured into data centers owned and funded and weaponized by billionaires who profit from wars. They invest in deadly weapons, in 24-7 surveillance in data to kill and slaughter humankind and destroy the planet. Every data center that comes to your community is a monument to this terrorism. Ban all data centers. We must oppose the rule of passion. Take your fight everywhere. Crush data centers. Persuade the younger generation to join in. They are the ones who will inherit the fight against our swift extinction. Thank you.

Thank you.

I'd like to invite George Berth to the podium.

Mr. Mayor, good evening to everyone. My name is George Berth, and I own the King's Royal Real located 1023 East Royal Boulevard. I just want to thank all of you all for working with me during that time. And all the partners that worked with me when I worked with them. It was an experience, but I enjoyed it. And I did a good job. And what happens is that I'm going to have a ribbon cutting this coming Thursday at 9 o'clock. All y'all are invited. including the department head also, and come back and enjoy a free charcoal real baby back real dinner for everybody. And I hope everybody that can come, that are able to come, and you did a wonderful job working with me. I really appreciate that. You did a fantastic job. And I enjoyed working with you all. I'm going to leave some flyers here that we pass out to all of you. Thank you very much.

Thank you. I'd like to invite Donnell Peoples to the podium. Yes, sir. Councilman TJ Walker, I'll recognize you.

I'd like to say congratulations to Mr. George Burke, a long-time citizen of the city of Rocky Mountain, ex-professional baseball player, coming back home and showing the possibility of being an entrepreneur, businessman, opening up business in Rocky Mountain, especially on the Exmoor County side of town that desperately needs for economic development and economic opportunities. I appreciate you and I thank you for coming back to Rocky Mountain and allowing your footprint to be heard and seen.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Good evening. Good evening. My name is Daniel Peoples and I'm up here again, probably a 308 target screener. From the beginning, the guy in the mic, He keep coming by, telling me he was going to evict me, this and that, this and that. So then he gave me a lease, but he didn't have the right amount on the lease, so he had to go redo the lease. Okay. I could never get back a lease from him, so he tried to evict me again. Okay. So then he came back, said that I got to get a $5 million policy. Okay. I can't get a $5. He wanted to sell that. I don't work with CB, I work for myself. So my thing is, why is it that it's so hard for me to get him to give me the right to rent the building? I've been there ever since 01. And now he wants to try to push me out. For what reason, I don't know. But to me, I know it's not fair and it's not right. I'm doing everything he's asking me to do. I even have the brokers that call him and tell him the same thing he's telling me. That's not good enough for him. So, like I say, I've got a $2 million deposit. I've been had that. I presented that to him. He want to sell it. So, I don't know nothing else to do. I'll buy it. And like I say, I had been here about one time before. Even down when I was telling you I was cutting the grass, he's going to go to the people about me cutting the grass. He never did that. So then he called me and told me, don't worry about that lot no more.

We're going to bring that to the post office. You know, stuff like that right there, that's not right.

That's not right. So I need somebody to talk to him, get him to get on the same call with everybody else. because if things is gonna be done right, let it be right.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to invite Dale Esterling to the podium. Mr. William. Yes, sir. I recognize you.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

I will get up with the city manager and Mr. Bond. And the interim was, I mean, this people's assignment has to be evicted in the interim.

You know, what are the powers to help? Is this a city on property?

It is.

Okay, all right. I will get up with the city manager and Mr. Vaughn tomorrow.

This is probably not the forum to get into more specifics on that, but happy to talk with you after if that'd be helpful.

Thank you.

Yes, sir. I'm sorry. Just a quick question. If he's been cutting that grass for over 10 years or 15 years, he can apply for adverse possession. I'm working on it right now. What I want to say is just basically we need to find some money for Rocky Mountain, some honest money. And that's the only thing that matters right now. I know you can pray for it. Prayer helps. But you guys are the businessmen that are supposed to be watching out for Rocky Mountain. So I haven't written this to write it down. Money is the thing that motivates the process, and all you know that. Everyone that works hard deserves it. And I would think everyone would agree with that. Everyone who pays in deserves for it to be used wisely by those who control it. This council is the overseer of the money that comes into Rocky Mountain. Business leaders that do not put Rocky Mountain first need to figure it out or step aside. You know, they're talking about bringing young people in. Bring them in. Let them take somebody's job that isn't doing what they're supposed to be doing for the strength of Rocky Mountain. The leaders are supposed to lead and handle the business of Rocky Mountain. And if that means cuts, which you guys have done before, there was a big uprising about that, people getting cut from middle management and all that. You don't need toadies to help other toadies. If you can cut everything across the board 10%, that's a start. 10%. Go through everything. And I'm not talking about the trash services and stuff like that that we actually need. But if you found out where that $80 million went, you can pay those trash guys plenty of money. You can pay the parks and recreation people plenty of money. Anybody that depends on Rocky Mountain for income, you can pay them a little bit more, and it's more about helping the people than helping yourselves. So what I'm suggesting is that you sell off the properties that you have that you don't use like a vacant lot that somebody could put a business on. Sell it. And then make it turn into some viable business. Let it evolve. Let Rocky Mountain evolve. Let's not stay in the same ditch that we've been in for a while. I'll praise you for what you've done. You said that the money's going up a little bit and a little bit and a little bit. Progress is slow. I understand that. But, I mean, make the cuts you need to make. Sell the vacant lots you own. Sell the car washes that you own and the car lots. We were going to build a legal system there or something, a courthouse or something. The money can be saved and used to assist those who really need the money. Think of the people you can help with that $80 million. That's a lot of help. That's what makes Rocky Mountain shine. So weed out the fraud, waste, and abuse. Use the money for firemen, policemen, I mean firemen, policemen, and public services. Give those guys a raise. They deserve it. So target all your government. Clear it out.

Thank you, Mr. Swain. I'd like to invite the Vincent Phillips. I don't think I'm reading that right.

That's right, Vincent.

My name is Vincent Phillips. I am the president of the Joe Fajardo Station Food Pantry. Here in the city of Rocky Mountain, I received this plaque from the Food Bank of Central Eastern North Carolina that I partnered with in 2020 cities. They have given us 47,225, that equips to 39,354 meals that I partnered with the Food Bank. I have been trying to get help with the city. I've been doing this for about seven years. We've been operating for about seven years. We're located at 1136 South Church Street. I reached out to several council members talking about it. So I'm just asking help to be pointed in the right direction. Running a non-profit organization is not easy. It's a lot of work. I spend my money. pick the food up to bring back to Rocky Mountain. I'm also picking up the local food lines here in the city. And it's been like pulling a team trying to get help from my own city leaders. I know they talk about the money tight, but you don't know what it's like when somebody calls your phone saying we have nothing to eat, stuff that we take for granted. But you don't know what it's like to see kids coming up to you when you're trying to unload Saying, we hungry. There ain't no food in the house. You go there to bring them a box. It's dark in there because the lights is off. This is what I see. Some of my volunteers say, I like the purity cry carrying a box over there. But they're not used to seeing this. I said, you got to have tough skin to see stuff that I see. I also employ with the Edgecombe County School System doing maintenance. I see these kids all the time. When they leave school, They don't eat no more until they come back the next day. I know we take it for granted because we got food in our refrigerators. But this is a big help. The only reason, I know I've been doing this for seven years, the only reason why I'm back in there is because I'm asking for help because of the need that has increased so much. I spend money out of my pocket, rent a U-Haul trailer to go to Raleigh, bring the food back. When my pantry's full, my freezer's full, I'm calling churches. I'm calling other people. Hey, I got extra food. I'm dropping off food to other places, but maybe they can help somebody on their end. I don't care if it's in Ward 3. I had a conversation with Mr. Robinson before. Still ain't seen him yet, but I believe he done it. I need help down there with the passing box. I don't need nobody to come down taking pictures or anything like that. This is something serious. I need people with hands on, passing boxes out.

Thank you, Ms. Phillips. I'd like to invite Regina Townsend to the . Regina Townsend.

I come to you this evening with voting. Rocky Mountain has seen a lot of personal success. Personal success meaning that the personal goals were not for the community. They were for themselves. There were no corrective strokes to reunite the community to do better for ourselves. I have not seen that. Now, we have voting that's coming up. Early voting, mail-out ballots have already started. Early voting starts on October 15th and October 31st. The main vote will be November 3rd. We need our people to come out. We need our torch for our community has gone down. We are walking in darkness. We need to relight that community torch for rocking out communities. Because the ones that passed it to us, they're looking at us. They're gone. Some are gone. Some are still here. And I talk to them. The torch has not been passed to us, but we're sitting here with a dim light, almost like we're in the Olympics. When they pass the torch, the games go on. Our things are not going on because our city has a personal game for themselves. That's their personal goal. I'm going to do this for myself, not for the community, no corrective struggle. And one thing about our community have always been there and it has never left. It has been pushed to the side. You sell your people out, you cannot buy them back.

Thank you.

I'd like to invite Ms. . Good evening.

Good evening. Thank you. Not much to say tonight. Just want to thank Mr. George Berth for always being an icon in the community, for always raising money, selling dinners on Saturdays and Fridays on Fairview Road in the parking lot to help support the Little League and the football leagues and things like that. So his work has not gone unrecognized. So therefore, I'd like to support him with his new endeavor of his restaurant, Mr. Ribs,

on Raleigh Boulevard. Also, I want to thank Mr. Phillips with his nonprofit, Feeding the Hungry. It came before you looking for assets, support in any direction that you can give it to. And that's about it.

Thank you.

Thank you. I'd like to invite Frank Henderson to the podium.

Hey, everybody.

How y'all doing?

Good to see you again. I still trust you. I still believe in you. Let's keep doing what we got to do. Make this city the great city that it is. I do want to address something. I want to talk about it because I think it's important. So I'm going to go with it. Here we go.

I don't know who's phone that is, but I'm sorry. Please go forward. Not a problem.

Not a problem. So here we go. Good evening, Mr. Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, members of the Rocky Mountain City Council. My name is Frank Henderson, and I'm speaking tonight on a foundational issue that directly threatens the democratic fabric of our city, the growing effort to eliminate Rocky Mountain's war-based election system. In recent weeks, organized petitions have begun, certainly aimed directly at the General Assembly in Raleigh, to disband our seven single-member boards and replace them with an at-large system. We must name this for what it is. an attempt to undo decades of hard fought neighborhood representation under the guise of municipal reform. Our current seven ward structure, formalized in the municipal charter, exists because Rocky Mountain followed difficult historic voting rights struggle in the early 1980s. Before single member wards, an at large structure allowed a single affluent or politically connected pocket of the city to sweep every seat on the dais. Entire neighborhoods were left completely invisible and without a voice. The ward system guarantees that whether a family lives in Ward 1 or Ward 7, they have an accessible neighbor sitting at this table who answers directly to their streets, their infrastructure, and their community. Moving to at-large elections will ensure that only candidates with the biggest citywide campaign war chest can compete, effectively silencing working class and minority communities. We must be honest about where this push is coming from. Residents and utility customers across our region have real valid frustrations regarding state audits, utility building, and financial oversight. Those concerns deserve aggressive, serious administrative solutions, tighter internal controls, independent audit reporting, and genuine fiscal transparency. But you do not fix administrative problems by stripping people of their right to local representation. You do not burn down the democratic foundation of a house to repair the plumbing. Dismantling our wars will not lower a single water bill or balance a municipal budget. It will only remove the very representatives everyday citizens need to fight for accountability. So here's my ask. The council cannot afford to remain silent while outside efforts lobby state lawmakers to alter our city's charter over our heads. Tonight, I'm asking this body to take a proactive, unified stand. One, introduce and pass a formal resolution defending Rocky Mount Seventh Ward single-member election system. Two, there's... Your time is up, but I...

Thank you all. Yes, sir. I'd like to invite folks . Good evening, everybody.

I feel like I'm a member of the council here since four o'clock. But I appreciate what goes on in the Committee of the Whole meeting. And like I said before, if people come to the Committee of the Whole meeting or look at it at night, you know, they have a lot of power to watch their mouth. These meetings are just preliminaries, but really what goes on in the Committee of the Whole meeting. I just wish, first of all, thank y'all for the good work you're doing, sitting around and talking about where you stand as a race to The money they have on hand now. But I wish you would, please, would first make accusations about where the money went. You know, it's in a state audit. I got it posted as a thin post on my page. When you go to my page, it's first name you see. And I get so sick and tired of people talking about where the money went. It's spelled out. A Republican auditor did it. It's spelled out in the auditorium. I used to wish y'all would sometimes, because everybody don't know, and it needs to be reiterated. I had made up my mind that I was not going to comment on some stuff I see on social media. I didn't tell them to repeat myself. When I came to the conclusion last week, I'm going to have to repeat myself until I die, because people just don't get it. And it's embarrassing. Where did that come from? It's spelled out in the audit. I'm trying not to come and say stuff sometimes, but when I stopped at Borg Daniels on the way to the meeting today, a guy saw me in Borg Daniels. He said, you put your mask on. He said, I see you on TV. So that's the reason why I come. I got to continue to do what I do because I know people are watching me. And like I've said many times, I have been coming to this meeting, and I found out, I thought about it last week, the city council meetings, Inco County Commission meetings, school board meetings. I've been going to all of them, longer than anybody that's there in Baltimore. In that capacity. But everybody else is getting paid. I ain't never got paid. But I do what I do because I'm a community activist and try to be a voice for the voices. And the main thing is to make sure the facts are out there. That's the main thing. People say stuff. They got all the answers. Don't come to a city council meeting. And it just bothers me. I just look forward to the day when I can wake up every morning and go out and fight, fight, fight to make sure the facts are out there. I do the best I can right now. But it's disgusting to me how people say things, and sometimes y'all just need to, y'all need to clap back and say, no, if you read the audit, you'll see where the money went. And then also, you've got to go online and look at where that dude, the former Senate manager, Keith Rodden, went to, and you'll see he's doing the same thing up there in Virginia. And look at them meetings sometimes. So if you really want to know what's going on, do your research. Thank you.

Thank you.

I'd like to invite Maury Menjes to the podium.

yeah.

Does my time start when I'm trying to get out of my chair?

It starts right now.

Again, then I had one man before me said, I'm still asking. I don't do that social media stuff or whatever, TikTok or whatever they're talking about. But where? Is anybody doing a company or something looking for that $80 million? I'm still asking. And what was the cost of Electric City Conference that y'all went to. I didn't find that on the Google thing. But I sure hope it wasn't anywhere close to when y'all went to the Omni Grove Park Inn that was like $70,000, $445 to find out. what poor people, the homeless, are doing in Asheville. Well, you could have gone to Durham or down the street and found out from those people. But I would think it's something, and I know when you go to conferences, you have to pay registration and all that stuff. But don't you think, even though the city manager said, y'all, the city is up a couple, you know, 300 million? I don't know, where do you get that money?

That's not what I said.

Well, anyhow, so we're on the rise, but still not in the dump. But don't you think when things are really, really extensive, y'all send one or two or three representatives and they go up and they find out what's all going on and bring it back to y'all so we save some money. And couldn't the fire department, when they go to the grocery store, not take those big old fire trucks and take one of the smaller trucks to get some of their food. You know those big old trucks suck up a lot of gas.

But something ends, I'm sorry.

I went to see that play or the film about the I've got a dream thing. And you know what really worked? It was very interesting. But when I was a kid, I saw those hoses squirting people and sticking dogs on people, and it scared me to death. And I had somebody in Rocky Mountain that grew up about my age, and I said, did that really happen in Rocky Mountain? Did they really fire, you know, hose people down just because they were black? I mean, I saw it on TV in Greensboro, but Greensboro didn't do that. And this guy said, no, that didn't happen. So why would you put that in a film that looked horrible that's happening right now?

Thank you. Thank you. Good evening.

there, town manager, city councilman, and each of you in your respectable places on this afternoon. I just want to come with some goodness. Congratulations to our city. Congratulations on the great job that you all are doing to get our budget settled, on track, and our city moving forward. I know that we all have had a hard week, the citizens and our leaders. But it comes to times when we were trying to move forward. We don't need anything added to the agenda. That is a lie. It's a privilege to be able to stand before you all and express ourselves. But even we as citizens, we need to remember that what we say here, that our future generation is listening. When we're saying that we want the young people to take over and move forward, well then we got to make sure that we are the example when we stand up here and we repeat things that are lies And we know that they are just outright lies. That's not helping us as citizens, and it's not helping us as a city. I believe that we're moving forward from here, even though there is still a lot of work to do. And no, we must not forget where we come from. And whether you believe it or not, but there are those of us that we are connected to people whether if we was holed down or if you was holed down. But I know one thing, my ancestors went through some holing. And I want in moving forward that none of us have to be holed down. It doesn't matter what color our skin is, and it doesn't matter where we come from. We need to make sure that the prayer that went forward, it went forward for all of us. not to separate us, but to put us in a place we're in that, yes, we can stand here and discuss things, but yet move forward in this city. I want to thank Mr. Burke for all the things that you've done for this city over the years, and congratulations on your business. I want to say to Mr. Phillips that's doing the school bank, I know what it is for hungry children to come to you, and they're hungry. I had children this summer. from Ward 1 in the Hillsdale community, knocking on doors, trying to find resources just for food.

Thank you, Scott. I'd like to invite Earl Jones to the podium.

Good evening, Earl Jones, Ward 6. Tonight, I'd like to share information regarding the $47,704 utility account write-off that benefited a sitting councilman. Here's the thing. I didn't realize that not just one, but actually two utility account write-offs occurred. The first write-off occurred in May 2013 in the amount of $11,096. The second write-off occurred in March of 2017 in the amount of $36,608. and 11,096. The 36,608, the sum is $47,704. The second write-off amount of $36,608 resulted in the councilman receiving an average of $795 per month. in write-off credits from May of 2013 through March of 2017.

That's 46 months at $795 per month, and all at our expense. One write-off expense might constitute an incident

Two such occurrences can be construed as a pattern. A pattern of undue political influence and failure to pay your debts. And you can't ignore the IRS. They want their money too. Even if you don't receive a Form 1099-C cancellation of debt from the city, you are still required to report that the given debt is taxable income. And the explanation based upon billing adjustments is bogus. Those are called credit demos, not write-offs. Someone needs to address this situation once and for all and put it to rest, paid in full. I'd like to thank, let's close tonight on a positive note. I'd like to thank All citizens should speak truth from this podium and utilize social media for good causes.

Thank you, Mr. Jones. Mr. Blackwell, do you still wish to be recognized?

I certainly do. Thank you so much. I was going to hold my comments, but I've heard too much tonight to do so. First of all, I want to thank Mike TJ, our hometown hero, for a minute. Not just because you opened up a restaurant, that's a serial entrepreneur. You've always done it in Rocky Mountain. We appreciate that. You've been a model for me and many folks have followed the footsteps and we'll be there to eat your ribs on Thursday. Excuse me.

At 9 a.m.

Packed parking lots. Second of all, I just want to also appreciate the challenge that I heard from Reverend Henderson about not sitting by silently. And I'm going to say I've been one of those people. I try to speak up when I think it's important. than people to put together. You can put together a whole bunch of random facts and create any kind of story you want to create. It still doesn't mean it's the truth. And we've heard a lot of that in this public square and a lot of that on social media. And personally, I'm going to speak for anybody else, I've tried to be respectful as best as I could. I get a little deep sometimes because the level of disrespect and the comfort in telling lies is amazing to me. So I get it, but I thank you Reverend Henderson for speaking into my spirit tonight. I thank you for that. This movement to dismount the ability for people in neighborhoods to elect who they want to elect to represent their interests does not come from a place of empowerment. It comes from a place of control. And that's the entire reason that this city rose up in the 80s. Think about that in the 80s, 40 years ago, to say we need to change this system. And To go backwards because you don't agree with people's worldview means that you do not believe in America. There is something that the constitutional amendments begin with, which is the freedom of speech. It begins with the freedom of speech. That's the first amendment. And to try to strip other people because you do not agree with them means you fundamentally do not believe that we are all created human. And I won't belabor and say everything I feel like saying tonight, Mr. Mayor, because this is not the right time to do it. But I am going to say, I'm going to do my own podcast on the regular. where I can say what I want as much as I want about anything that I want to say and address all these inaccuracies that continue to create this incorrect perception of who Rocky Mountain is and what we have done together. Rocky Mountain is a phenomenal place. We've done some tremendous things. There's no place I've ever been, I've traveled throughout the world, continue to travel throughout the United States and I do not apologize for that because God has blessed me in Rocky Mount to be able to see that and do that. And when you look at Mr. Phillips and go all the way to Mr. Birth and go all the way to this entire platform, there are tremendous, phenomenal things being done in this city which get covered over and overshadowed by negativities that people select to choose. There is no city There's no municipality, no town, no family anywhere on this earth that is perfect. Every place needs some work. And every place has the opportunity to get better and be better. You just got to make up your mind to do it. And if all you look at is what is not right, then that's what your eyes will see. But there are plenty of things that are great about this city and we one of them so i just want to thank you mr mayor for giving me this opportunity i would like to say mr phillips see me after the meeting if you would and um let's talk about what we can do together thank you

I know we take our citizens' concerns and comments to heart, and sometimes we act and move on those, but there was one comment tonight made about the fire department not taking their truck. I'm praying wholeheartedly, and I'll support us not doing that because our fire department, we never know when an emergency arises, and they need to have access to their tools and equipment at all times. So I hope we're not taking that to heart of what was asked tonight from the public. Well, I just want to be clear, a little bit of clarity.

First of all, no one on the fire department is taking the fire trucks to go shopping. They're not doing that. However, when they are out, in order to reduce the time of services, if they are in a vehicle and they're coming back for someone, they may make a pit stop somewhere. And that is their work vehicle. So that is something that they may have seen and misunderstood what was going on. But no one in the city department is taking a city-owned vehicle to go do any personal things. And the other comment that I want to clear up is about the $300 million. The city's budget total is only $269 million. And so what I stated was that the city, as of today, has approximately $30 million in total cash. Last year this time, the city had about $20 million, and we projected within 10 months we would be in the negative. And I was proud to report that by the end of this calendar year, we are projecting to have over $45 million. which is still a long ways to go, and we still have a lot of challenges ahead of us, but it does not take away from the progress that we've made under my administration.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I just want to be clear. I'm in support whether they're taking the truck or not. I just want to make sure they have everything they need to assist anybody in a time of emergency. I don't want us taking that to heart, the comment I was making. I think we need to make those changes. Whether they're in the big truck or not, whatever they're I don't want to make any movement to that. Do we know, sir? If the parking lot is big enough to hold you. Any other member of council wishing to speak? I see none. Moving on to item number eight, it's considered to please remember that we removed item N-H-K.

I would not need a motion to approve the gratification of street clothes and the gratification of application for funding to the 2027 SNAP program, approve tax releases, approve to apply the fiscal year 2026 JAG grant, approve the contracts and autographs of the mayor, city clerk, finance director to execute the contracts on behalf of the city and adopt ordinances. Adoption and approval of the program year 2025 paper was submitted to HUD. to authorize the mayor and city clerk to execute a map of the city. Is there a motion? So moved. Motion made by Councilman Jamaris Walker. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman Harris. Is there a need for discussion? Hearing none, all in favor please say aye. Aye. All those like sign. That brings us to item number nine on our agenda, which is consideration of the recommendation of a regular scheduled painting bookie, which was settled August 11th of 2026.

several of your request recommendations by director phillips with all the services that he has made if you would give us a brief and then i'll look forward to the public hearing sure good evening um this request is for a property located at 1490 uh northwestern boulevard your request is to result in a single parcel no less than three acres from a commercial corridor bt zoning to conditional commercial services or B5CD zone industry. There is a condition proposed by the property owner to prohibit operation of a salvage yard at the location. Staff has assessed the request and recommended approval to the planning board who unanimously forwarded a recommendation There were no supporters or opponents to speak at the planning board meeting, just for reference. But they do, again, plan to recommend approval based on the fact that the request can be consistent with the adopted comprehensive plan. I don't have to answer any questions you all may have.

Any questions for Mr. Woodruff? Yes, sir. Councilman Walker. He's already towing the cars at the location.

I guess now he's just trying to change to B5. Yes, sir.

Regrettably, somewhere in the past, the city did approve occupancy of the property as a towing and storage for vehicles. However, that is not permitted in the B2 zone as presently

as is presently settled.

Thank you. Any other questions for Mr. McClure? Thank you, Mr. McClure.

This time, I'll open the floor for any member of the public who wishes to speak to the following rezoning request, which has been recommended for approval and government compliance with the comprehensive plan by the Planning Board.

As to the request by Wesley, Herbert, and Sutton, the property owner to rezone,

2.7 acres located at 1490 Wesleyan Boulevard from B2 Commercial Corridor to B5CD Conditional Commercial Services. Not all land uses within the proposed B5 zoning district shall be permitted except for the following as a salvage operation or junkyard.

Is there any member of the public who wishes to speak on this matter?

Is there any member of the public who wishes to speak at this comment period related to the rezoning request? Okay, seeing none, I'll move on. And is there a motion to adopt the ordinance? So moved. Motion made by Councilman Walker. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman Daltridge. Is there a need for discussion? Hearing none, all in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

All opposed, light side. Item number 10 on the agenda is consideration of approved Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina as the city's health insurance carrier for the 2027 grant year. The approximate budgetary impact is $15 million. The adopted fiscal year 27 budget includes an appropriation sufficient and intended for this purpose. Is there a motion to approve Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina as the city's health insurance carrier for the 2027 fiscal year? Second by Councilman Blackford. Is there a need for discussion? Yes, sir. Councilman Deltridge, and I'll recognize you, Councilman T.J. Walker.

Thank you, Mayor. I just would like for the City Manager and staff, once we do this, we're talking about going to actual fiscal year, I believe, and I think we need to explore that in a timely manner so we can come to this body so we don't have a essentially a three-hour turnaround between the time we are receiving presentations and when we have to make a decision. And I think there needs to be a full review, even if it is bidding out everything from the insurance to the broker as well. So I just want to make that statement.

Thank you, Councilman.

Councilman T.J. Walker, I'll recognize you. you man um likewise i support uh councilman dr cinemax uh i just i don't feel comfortable tonight uh to support this uh hearing the mutation that they committed to hold um full run uh we haven't heard from etna about some of the you know concerns that were made in today's meeting uh i So for that information, along with, you know, collaboration of said entity along with Blue Cross Blue Shield, that sort of concerns me a bit, even though we heard Councilman Blackwell ask some questions that verify the integrity tonight. And I don't question that, but it kind of throws me for a loop just from hearing the presentation. So with that information I received today, I can't support the agenda as stated.

No, if they're like, is that dorm? I support that. Any other members of the council? All right, I have a motion and a second. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, like so. Aye. Motion carries. It brings us to item 11, which is consideration of development and operation agreement between the city of Rockstown and the North Carolina Children's Museum. Is there a motion to approve the agreement and authorize the mayor to execute the same on behalf of the city? So moved. by Councilman Blackwell. Is there a need for discussion? Yes, Mayor. Yes, sir. Councilman Harris.

Thank you, Mayor. We've got some positive news to announce to the city tonight. I really want to thank the board of the North Carolina Children's Museum and all of their efforts in collaboration with the city manager, the election department, department manager, and other staff members, this is going to be a win-win for Rocky Mountain. The future is bright for our young children, especially. And my only other comment is, I hope we can see some positive news on WIDN, WRAL, and WNC2 about this transaction.

Thank you. Thank you. Does any other member of council wish to speak before we vote? Councilor Blackwell?

Mr. Mayor, I don't do this a lot. I'm going to give you some kudos on this one. I appreciate that. I don't do it a lot because I'm at this area, but you earned this one. And thank you for bringing this opportunity to our attention. Thank you to the Mid-Carolina Children's Museum for sending the power and the pride Yes, thank you. All right, Councilman. City Manager, too, I want to thank the museum for coming. I'm looking forward to seeing the local schools on the bus, having the local kids come in and participate. So we're excited about it. But City Manager, whenever you do your statement, can you please, I got a text and an email already about what type of money we could be saving if you could tell the citizens that part of it when we get to Oxford.

You don't mind. Sure. I mean, right now, based on the agreements and what we have negotiated, the city will see a savings of approximately a million dollars based on our current operations.

Thank you.

All right.

I do have a motion and a second on the floor. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, like signed. Okay. That brings us to item 12, which is consideration of the Postal Department to Downtown Major and Senate. renovation of 224 Rose Street. It's a Memorial Hospital project. The amendment reflects the following. All work must be completed no later than September 30th, 2027. Extension of up to three months be granted with written permission by the city manager. Any further extension of the deadline shall only be approved by the city council. At this time, I'd like to receive a motion to approve the amendment and authorize the mayor and city clerk to extend it throughout the city. Is there a motion?

No move.

Motion made by Councilman Walker. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman TJ Walker. I will note that in this case, I do have a recusal on file from Councilman Member Blackwell for accusing himself of this particular vote.

Thank you, Council.

I have a motion and a second. Is there a need for discussion?

same thing, just like we heard earlier from one of our long-time business owners from 2001. It's difficult for me to believe that we are making an extension here of number 12, but possibly looking at eviction of another item from a long-time business owner in the downtown area. that we're looking to extend and to help everyone and not looking to, especially when they're able to be able to work with our customers and clients. Thank you.

Yes, sir. Councilman Dolchers.

This is more of a question, I think, to the city. This is coming before us, as my understanding, not necessarily as an extension of the grant as much as it is. It is an extension, but it's more of due to the circumstances of the city of Rocky Mountain, because I think we're gonna hear from the other grantees that have received this Downtown Major Investment Incentive Grant. It's not just the OIC, it's the other ones. And if you could expand on that or correct me, I would appreciate it.

Yeah, thank you, Councilman Daltridge. That's essentially correct. The city has four of these Downtown Major Grants that are out there. When the city rolled through the discovery of the financial issues as well as the most recent budget season, a lot of these were put on hold. What staff has done at the instruction of council following the adoption of budget is approach each of the four grantees, not just this one, and work out extensions that make the payments more predictable and stable from the city side. This one just happens to be the first one that's hitting the agenda. Sorry. The second one. I missed the first one. But there are more coming.

So to put this in layman's terms or my terms, I can understand it's more helping out with cash flow in the city than anything else. 100%. Thank you.

Any other member or council wish to speak on that?

Yes. Yes, sir. Councilor Robertson, I'll recognize you.

I want to say, you know, I'll support what these grants can do for downtown. And also I want to say, you know, we have a plan that I've been talking about, a complementary plan that includes downtown. So I hope in addition to these grants that we invest money to do that plan, because, you know, we had $3 million that our Congressman Butterfield gave us to do a pedestrian bridge downtown. We had some other grants that we received that we're not going to be able to act on so in addition to um this grant and what it's going to do for downtown i think a comprehensive um downtown plan will help us as well so well i support this i hope that the council will support doing a plan so we can continue to build on this progress thank you councilman all right all right i guess we're down to the vote all the favor please say aye aye aye all those lights off

Okay, item is approved. I ignore the business to appear before the right of my city council and I am now adjourned the meeting. No, we just removed the appointment. We did that at the beginning. September 28th, we added the discussion.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.