City Council - Regular Meeting

2-1. Zone.

Very good.

Good evening everyone, it is Mayor Sio Jefferson who opens this ordinary meeting of the Municipal Council of Haïpoint, here with me in the stands. All members of the council are present, with the exception of our Deputy Mayor, Tim Peters. We also have Mrs. Lawyer and Mrs. Lawyer, but Mrs. Director is not among us because she is on professional travel. Before addressing our order of the day, we ask you to join us for a moment of silence and the oath of allegiance. Amen. I swear allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic which represents a nation under the aegis of God, indivisible, with freedom and justice for all. Absolutely. We have an order of the day to adopt, but before that, I would like to point out that the public audience previously announced for the Certificate of Rights Achieved VRC 2601 will not be held this evening in order to give more time to the personnel and demanders to work on this request. At present, we must therefore consider a motion to adopt our order of the day with this change. Is there one? I propose. Press. Press. Motion presented by Councilor Holmes, supported by Councilor Johnson. Is there a discussion on the motion to adopt our order of the day with this change? All those who are for, please indicate it by saying, for. For. Oppositions? It is adopted. At this time, the motion is adopted. Now, I would like to recognize Maberry Hubbard Martin, Brigade General of our American Army, who, I believe, is among us for a special recognition. Would you like to join us, Brigade General Maberry? Yes, sir. Join me or, please, at the pulpit. Yes, sir. Thank you. Yes. Well, good afternoon everyone, or good evening. I am here tonight to make a special distinction, in fact, to your mayor, and to inform you that I am the president of the ESGR, the support of guard and reserve workers. High Point is one of the cities that has been a precious support for our organization, the guard and the reserve. For example, to tell you a little more, your chamber of commerce, the mayor, your fire chief, your police chief have all signed what we call support declarations, which say, we really support our guard and our reserve. We follow all the rules, regulations and laws by supporting them because they know that it is such an important mission. « Bon, ce soir, permettez-moi d'ajouter que cette semaine, qui a commencé hier le 16, j'ai reçu une proclamation du gouverneur déclarant que cette semaine est celle du soutien des employeurs à la garde et à la réserve. » I also want to tell you that we had a wonderful time yesterday when your president of the High Point Rockers signed a support statement during the baseball game in Marbre and we had a great time and this old man tried to throw the first ball. So I had my arm a little sore, it's true. Anyway, I'm here to officially thank your mother. He signed a declaration of support and the fact that your city has supported us so much, these last years, we have held our annual meeting of volunteers at Condant Yard and we plan to continue. It is already planned, taking into account the high point furniture show and others, for April 23 and 24 next year. This is our plan. And now, with your new hotel on the other side of the street, our volunteers can come and stay there and walk there. Your community has been wonderful, so welcoming and supportive. I live in the north of the Davidson County, not far from here. Anyway, Mr. Mayor, if you could move forward, I would like to present this to you. I will read what I have prepared here on this price. It is written, the price of the seven jumps for the support of guard and reserve workers is awarded in recognition of exceptional leadership and remarkable support for the ESGR mission. named after the seven reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. This award honors the people whose dedication and commitment have considerably strengthened the support of our members of the Guard and Reserve Services, their families and employers who make their service possible. This award reflects a lasting commitment to those who serve our nation. Il est remis à votre maire, Jefferson, et il mentionne une initiative de leadership méritoire en soutien aux hommes et aux femmes qui servent l'Amérique dans la garde nationale et la réserve. Et il est bien sûr signé par notre président national, imprimé et remis, car nous faisons partie du ministère de la guerre. Mr Mayor, I want to thank you infinitely for everything you do. We will never say enough. And, if you have good pictures here, let's go there. Okay. And I would really like you to send me some too. We will also put them on our LinkedIn page. So, everyone, we are going to move and I will ask the municipal councilor Andrew. Of course, if anyone wants to join us, please. Who is also a veteran and we thank him for his service. Your municipal secretary and our e-mail address. So, if you could give me a few pictures on the occasion, it would be great. Absolutely. I appreciate that.

So, once again, thank you. Thank you. We thank the city of High Point and may God bless America.

Brigadier General Martin, we are very grateful to you and to your group. We can't wait to welcome you all next spring. Yes, sir. Okay, thank you. Very well. Our next presentation is a presentation that has always kept me in mind since we started doing it several years ago. I had the privilege of speaking this morning to a group of educators. And a brief comment I made is that if you tell me one day about the privilege of living in a big country, with an economy in full growth and a community where we have investments and developments every day that we announce and celebrate, At the same time that you do this, it means that you must also be so involved and invested in the celebration of education, because education is in the forefront of economic development. Without education, we have nothing else in the world. All those who have had a career have been educated to achieve it. It is therefore very important that we take a moment to recognize our extraordinary educators here in the city of Haïpoint. So I'm going to invite them, professionals who are here with us, who are extraordinary educators, and I'm going to ask you all to come and join us for this proclamation from Alanji Primary School in Chihuahua. He and I worked on it at the back. Allangy Preparatory Academy, Demetria Lemons. Tewingate Andrews High School, Cara Streit, Red Raider. Fairview Primary School, Brandy Price. Du Collège Fernel Candéis Johnson De l'Ecole primaire Florence Kelsey Williams Du lycée High Point Central James W.A. Jr. It's the one who is them. Master he has a special. Master chief sergeant. Master chief sergeant. That's right. I remember. We met him last week. They, Johnson Street Global Studies, Lena Hernandez. From the Carnes Academy. Meredith Smith. De l'école primaire Kurt Park. Nigga Simmons. Du collège Middle College au GTCC de High Point. Ena Mansanarz. D'accord, parfait, merci. Au fait, si vous êtes directeur et que vous représentez l'un des enseignants absents, n'hésitez pas à nous rejoindre ici également. Montl'Academy of Technology, Louisa Ortiz-Amana. Comment je m'en suis sorti? C'était correct? Vous êtes très aimable. De Northwood Elementary, Caroline Turner. From Oak Hill Elementary, Nifo, Dangala, Dangula. Do you remember me? Good. Oak View Elementary, Somaya Jarret. From Parkview Village Elementary, Aaron Bradley. From Pink Griffin School for the Arts, Brittany Stone-Kaiser. We have directors who are moving forward to accept in their own way. I mean, listen, your name could be Brittany, right? From Shady Brook Elementary, Datiza Wekes. The Southwest Guilford Elementary, Paula Loss. The Southwest Guilford High School, Mary Catherine Miller Nelson. The Southwest Guilford Middle, Jonathan Marsh. Pas de Cowboy. Sylvia Mendez, Newcomers Regan Dao. Triangle Lake Montessori, Alyssa Martin. Union Hill Elementary, Ethel Daniel, and the Wellborn Academy of Science and Technology, Kenisha Bowers Lawson. In a moment, I will read the proclamation, but before that, E, we had an event last Thursday, organized by the High Point Schools Partnership, and E, it was a fantastic event. We actually had all the teachers here with us, E, during this celebration. And, E, I must tell you that it is courageous of you to take the time to be with us to celebrate, because the school year has started for several of these schools and, or starts this week and next week for many of them as well. and they work hard in their classroom, already ready to serve our students. So I appreciate that everyone took the time to be here with us. I will also invite other people that I see here, who are part of our school system. I see directors here as well as representatives of the schools of the county of Guilford. Would you like to join us here too, please? And finally, I will invite our friends from the Highpoint Schools Partnership. Would you like to join us too? Considering that the schools of our city are made up of exceptional educators. And considering that they seize the opportunity to raise their students and remind them of their values ​​and their potential. And considering that through their commitment to their schools, this group of extraordinary educators has gained the respect and trust of their colleagues. Considering that these educators were officially recognized on Thursday, August 13, 2026 by their community, which includes the High Point Schools Partnership and other support. As well as the names that I read previously and the schools that these names represent, those that we are celebrating today. Therefore, I, Sister Jefferson, Mayor of the city of High Point, I recognize these extraordinary educators of the city of High Point and I call on the community to join me to express our personal gratitude to our exceptional educators for their remarkable work. Can we applaud them? Very good. Now, we are going to take this picture. And the best way to organize it is, if you are a first-row person, come to the first row. If you are a second-row person, go to the second row. And if you fall in the middle, I trust you to find your place. Okay.

Let's move on to the action. I think three rows. What do you think?

Two. Okay.

Very good.

We'll see.

Je n'ai pas dit ça. Je n'ai pas dit ça. Je... Vous ne m'entendrez jamais dire ça. Et je...

Et je vais demander à celui qui est juste au milieu. Oh, je suis bien. C'est... C'est la première fois parce que je... Peu me voir et je peux voir.

En ce moment. If you are on the tip of your toes, that means you have to be in front. Okay.

Okay, I may need you to come.

And I'm going to ask you to balance on this side. There you go, perfect.

On the count of three. One, two, three. Okay, making sure I'm not missing anything. Okay, this last one. One, two, three. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you very much. The warden asked if you could leave the room discreetly. He said, not me. The class, discreetly. I appreciate each opportunity to do this recognition. We are always grateful to the many residents, contributors and partners that make up the High Point community. It is a very special community, but taking a moment like today to celebrate our educators is something that I always appreciate and we wish them the best for the beginning of the school year. Very well. The first point on the agenda is our agenda by consent and I ask the Council to take the time to examine it, then, once ready, we will be able to present a motion. I would like to propose a motion to accept the order of the day by consent as it is written. I believe that Councilor Andrew makes the motion to accept our order of the day by consent and to approve it as it is written. Is there a second? Seconded. The second is recognized to the Mr. of District 2. E. Discussions on these points? All those who are for, please manifest by saying aye. Aye.

Against? The ayes win. And our order of the day is approved. E. The first point in the order of the day is file 2026-182. Public hearing concerning a demolition order at 312 Woodbury Street. The council is invited to conduct a public hearing. Adopt an ordinance to demolish a housing estate located at 312 Woodbury Street. Allow competent municipal officials. Execute all municipal documents. I will now open our public audience and we will give the floor to our code application officer, Kaylie Perriche. Good evening, Mr Mayor, members of the council. The local code division asks the municipal council to approve a demolition order for 312 Woodbury Street. The complaint and the hearing were held on December 28, 2023. The order for repair or demolition was issued on December 28, 2023 with a deadline of compliance to January 29, 2024. In August 2026, no repairs were carried out and no permits were obtained to repair or demolish the apartment. Some background on this file. The property was sold in February 2024. Some repairs were started but not finished. The property was then sold to the current owner in August 2024. In April 2025, the owner contacted the inspector to determine the permits needed to proceed with repairs. The inspection service met the owner in May 2025 to discuss the extent of the proposed repairs. No other contact has been received from the owner since May 2025, during this first meeting with the inspection group. Here is where the house is located. Here is the facade of the house. And among the major violations associated with the property, let's mention the repair or replacement of windows, plumbing, plasterboard, ground coating, and most importantly, the foundation which must also be corrected. Does anyone have any questions?

Questions for the staff at this stage? Thank you. By examining the people registered for this public hearing, I will call them in the order of the list. We therefore invite the first person to express himself. I believe his name is Damon Thomas. Yes, if you wish to speak, please proceed.

It's for the 1913 South Elm. I just presented the 312 Woodbury.

Yes, the file for the 312 carries your name. So, I guess you're here for the other file. No, it's good. It's good. And is it the same thing for Ongang? I will probably pronounce it wrong. We are here together. We are together. Okay. And here is his name here also for the 312. Okay, very good. So, I have no one registered to talk about the 312 Woodbury. Is there anyone here who wants to speak? Or oppose this point? Very well, I will close the public audience and propose a motion for approval. Is there any support? Supported. Supported. The floor is up to the municipal councilor Holmes. Other discussions on this motion, all those who are for, please manifest by saying, for. For. Someone against? The fores take it. The motion is adopted. The next point is point 2026 to 240. Another public audience concerning a demolition order in 1913 South Elm Street. The council is invited to hold the public audience, to adopt the demolition ordinance and to authorize competent officials to sign the necessary documents. Now, I open our public audience. The floor is Kaila Perich.

The Local Code Service asks the Municipal Council to approve a demolition ordinance for 1913 South Elm Street. The complaint for the audience was given on December 29, 2021. The order to repair or demolish was issued on December 29, 2021 with a deadline of compliance to January 31, 2022. To date, in August 2026, no repairs have been made and no permits have been obtained to repair or demolish the housing. For the context, between 2021 and 2023, the former owner expressed his intention to demolish the property, but finally decided to keep it, claiming that repairs would be made. No repairs have ever been started. The property was sold to the current owner in 2024. and we have been in contact with them throughout 2025 and 2026. They have stated several times that they wanted to repair the property, but no repairs have been made and no permits have been delivered. Here is the facade of the house and, as you can see, a bath is present. Current owners have begun to empty the inside of the property to move forward with repairs. Among the major violations, we quote the electrical system to replace all the plumbing of the house, the CVC system, and there will also be structural elements related to the property such as the carpenters, the roof and the floor tiles. Thank you. Are there any questions for the staff at this stage?

I have one, Mr. Mayor, Councilor Moore. They, Kylie, told you in this file that they had started the cleaning in view of La Benne, but that there was no real communication, no action plan or no permit delivered. Did I understand correctly?

Uh, yes, sir. There was a communication with the owners, and during our exchanges, they said several times that they wanted to repair the property, but without ever concreting anything.

Not recently, I know they said a while ago that there was an intention, but did you talk to them over the last six months?

Yes sir. Okay. Okay, but finish, I'm sorry, I just wanted to clarify the time sequence, but finish what you were going to say. Absolutely. So, we talked about it over the last six months. We talked about it a few months ago when they contacted us to repair the property, but to date, no permit has been obtained. and we have not seen any additional initiative to finish these repairs.

And we are, not with this owner, but in total almost 5 years of time and effort of the staff.

Yes sir.

Counselor Johnson, during the last 6 months, since you said 6 months, was the cleaning done? I forgot the dates, but was it in the last 6 months?

Yes, it was done in May 2026.

Very well, thank you. We have two people registered to speak. At this stage, I will give the floor to Damon Thomas. And after Damon Thomas, forgive my bad pronunciation, but I think it's Wong. I will not try to pronounce the family name. Je parle vraiment pour elle. D'accord. Donc, elle comprend. Donc, donc. Pouvez-vous juste pour le procès verbal, quel est son nom?

Oui, il parle pour moi parce que je veux m'assurer que vous compreniez correctement.

Mon anglais est E. Son nom est Mademoiselle.

Mon nom est Muen. Et je suis propriétaire de 50% de cette propriété.

D'accord.

Et il est comme mon mentor. He speaks English and I'm afraid to say something that would be difficult for all of you to understand. That's why I'm asking him to speak for me and I'm here next door. And if there are details to be added, I will do it.

M H M So for the property, she was co-owner at 55th and the other associate did not include her in the insurance. So when they killed the property and it was damaged like that, she ended up finding herself without knowing that she had no insurance. So now she uses her own funds to repair it. She had an entrepreneur who started but he stopped, so she found a new entrepreneur. I think it's what? New Generation.

New Generation Builder Inc. and the owner is Robert Taylor. He is the one who has to modernize my house and when he found out that I had difficulties with the previous entrepreneur. He arrived and he helped me. He has already seen the building and he says he will bring me the contract this Friday. So, she asked for a little more time to repair the building.

Questions? Uh, I have a question and maybe at the same time a comment. Hum, this action is accompanied by a 30-day delay. Hum, even if we move forward for changes, this is correct and is part of our policy. Correct, 60 days in fact, isn't it? Isn't it 60 days or is it done in 30 days? 60 days or 30 days, even if we have to consider that it is a restart at 60 days.

Other questions? Yes, yes, or 60 days, I think. Ah, I see. Okay.

Any other questions from the council?

Okay.

Uh, Miss Periche, if you could just come back here for a moment. We're going to ask a question to Miss Periche here. I think I think about what Councilor Moore wanted to come and I just want to summarize a little and make sure that we are all on the same wavelength if we approve this arrest tonight. 30 days ago before the arrest was actually executed. Your staff then has all the latitude over these 30 days. If there is a real movement, you could very well come back to us at that time or even suspend the demolition stop.

Absolutely, yes sir.

Okay. So, Mr. Thomas as his liaison agent, I think that was the word she used earlier. Hum, we're going to be fine. If this stop is approved tonight, 30 days before the demolition actually takes place, which means that everything she said she was planning to do, if it really happens, well, it will give Miss Perriche and her staff what they need, hum, to maybe suspend the demolition. But that means that if these things don't happen, the structure will be demolished in 30 days.

Mother, a question. So, what would constitute a sufficient movement? Would it be the entrepreneur asking for permits? Would men need some physical changes to the structure? What would be sufficient to delay the stop of demolition? So, what would be considered a progress, is that the general entrepreneur and the two owners come to the office and give us an overview of what they plan to do, like a calendar of repairs on the property. So, they would need to come, get a permit, deliver this permit, and start almost immediately the work so that we do not go ahead with a demolition.

I'm sorry. Is the second owner included or not?

Is he absent at the moment? I spoke to him this morning and I also explained the situation to him. He is in Virginia.

Okay. Okay. Is there anyone else who wants to express himself for or against this point before we close the public audience? Okay. In the absence of other interventions, I will close the public hearing. I propose to approve. Is there a second intervention? I second. I second. The floor is up to Councilor Moore. Are there any discussions on this subject? All those who are for, please manifest by saying for. For. Someone is against? Those for take it. The motion is adopted. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you.

We have reached the end of our agenda. Are there any announcements from the Council before we close the session? I have a few, Mr. Mayor. Yes, sir.

Well, as part of the simplified order of the day tonight, we have adopted the short-term transport plan. If anyone is interested in future changes concerning our transport, you can consult the director's note tonight or the presentation of the security committee last week, and the documents are also available. It is the national day of non-profit associations. Thank you to all those who work in these associations, and we have the train festival in a few weeks.

Thank you for this clarification. Any other announcements from the Council? You may want to check to inform everyone. I don't know. Our next meeting will not take place before the end of September. Yes, I noted it here. Our next meeting of the Council will take place on the third Monday of September. There will therefore be no meeting of the Council on the day of the Labor Day. The next meeting of the Council will take place on Monday, September 21. The ordinary meeting begins at 5.30 p.m. and a special meeting may precede this one. Any other announcements from the Council? Well, in the absence of another announcement, I will accept a motion to raise the session. Motion adopted, seconded. The floor is in the hands of the 6th arrondissement and the 2nd arrondissement, or rather the general advisor. My God, you look so much alike. Discussions, all those who are for, please manifest by saying, for, for, someone is against, yes, the motion is adopted. The session is raised.