City Council - Regular Meeting

Welcome to the meeting tonight, City Council Annapolis, April 27th, 2026. Um, if you will please silence your cell phones at this time. Uh, Miss Miss Dixon is going to lead us in the pledge. Please join me in saluting the flag. I pledge algiance 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.

At this time, I want to read a statement here on the city about the recent water notice. We understand how disruptive and concerning the recent water notice has been for our residents, businesses, customers, and community partners. I want to address you directly to acknowledge the inconvenience this situation has caused and to reaffirm our commitment to your safety. Out of an abundance of caution, a notice was issued following a tier one water quality violation that required immediate action. While these decisions were never taken lightly, protecting human health must always come first. We recognize that this situation disrupted daily routines affected local operations and created an understandable frustration. Our water resources and emergency assistance teams worked diligently to distribute water to our customers, correct the issue and ensure that all water water quality standards were fully restored. We conducted extensive testing beyond standard guidance and continue to coordinate closely with public water supply officials to ensure our system is in full compliance with all drinking water standards following rescending the boil water notice. Just as importantly, we're carefully reviewing what led to this situation and identifying improvements to reduce the risk of it happening again. This includes evaluating infrastructure, operational processes, and communication so we can respond even more effectively in the future. We're committed to providing timely, transparent, and accurate updates. We want to thank you for your patience, your understanding, and your cooperation at this time, and I'd like to ask our city manager now to share more detail regarding this.

Thank you, mayor. First of all, I would like to address some of the rumors that some of you may have heard regarding the situation that occurred uh that the city actually knew about this on Tuesday, April the 21st. Uh that information is inaccurate. On Wednesday, April the 22nd, our staff began doing routine samples throughout the distribution system. This is a standard practice that we do uh in our to to ensure that water quality is safe throughout the city with those samples. It takes 24 hours in incubation in order to get the results from those samples. So on the 22nd we pulled the samples they were and we tested and on the on the 23rd we recognized that one of those test results was positive. So the standard practice after that if you have a positive test result then you go back and you have to resample to ensure that there wasn't some error that's in that in that test cycle that took place. So we resampled on that same that that day again 24 hours after that we have to let those samples sit in incubation period on Friday the 24th is when we realized that again that same sample was positive again. So we began the process at that point of notifying the state of North Carolina. So the department of public water supply which is the standard protocol in this case we notified them and began to get guidance on what the next steps should be in order to make notification to the public. Obviously what you what we have to do under law is you have to make sure that the public is properly notified that now you have a positive sample that's in place that has to go out in your local media. Uh so it's your newspapers, your news media outlets that are in place also on our web page, uh

Facebook, social media, and we also have what is a reverse 911 system which we call Everbridge. Okay, so that that system allows us to push information out to customers that are registered. Now, I say that to say that I hope everybody's information is updated in the system. That's not something that we can do. That's something that you have to help us do to be able to make sure that information is updated in our customer service records so that we can contact you and make sure that that information is pushed out. I've heard from some in some customers that yes, we did get the notification, but there are many others that didn't. And that's perhaps because we don't have the most accurate information in the system for you. I encourage you to please make sure that that information is available. It may not be a water situation that we're trying to reach out. It could be anything else. It could be another emergency. So, I strongly encourage you if you haven't done that, please make sure your information is updated. The other thing is in the system, it requires you to opt in. You have to opt in if you want to receive these notifications because there there are a lot of customers and people that don't have landlines anymore. If you use cell phones, you won't you you've got to opt in to say that you're okay receiving text messages and voicemail messages or emails that come from the Everbridge system. So, please help us to make sure that we can get that timely, accurate information to you. the state. Once we notified the state, the state then notified the health departments as well as our utility providers, Concord and Landis. They didn't they didn't do that or they didn't ask us to do that. They did that on their own. That's their standard protocol for doing things. And then the health departments notify the restaurants and schools and everything. I know there was a lot of uh concern about, well, how did the schools know before I know? Well, if that information directly comes from the state, it's very well possible while we were talking with

the state deciding and determining what are the next steps to get the information out to the public that there were other staff members at the state level at our regional offices, making contact with the health departments and getting that information out to the schools. But we did that just as soon as we were able to do that and got guidance from the state. I want to also say that our water resources staff worked diligently uh to make sure that the entire system was flushed uh and that we could restore things back to normal. Our staff has taken over 60 samples. It's well above what the state general guidance was when we first talked and we continue to take samples beyond the time that was required to make sure that your public health and safety is first and foremost. So I thank everybody for their hard work. I know that we had many many team members from water resources to fire and police and others uh staff members, council members, myself and others out handing out water to make sure that citizens had the valuable resource at least while we were cleaning the system and getting it back to normal. So, I thank everybody for their hard work and effort uh throughout this time and I truly do apologize about the inconvenience.

Mayor, thank you, Mr. Mel. Council, we have an agenda in front of us. What's your pleasure? Move for approval. Mayor. Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Second. Second by Miss Dixon. All in favor, if you'll raise your hand, please. Okay. Now, we've got a very special moment of recognition here. I'm going to call Mr. Eddie Smith up.

Thank you, mayor. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, council. So, I'm going to have our soon to be retiring former city manager, Mike Lake, to come front and center. This is not a surprise to him. By show of hands, how many of you were able to be here earlier for the 3:30 to 5? Great. Awesome. So, you got a lot of repeat offenders. I'm glad my remarks are different. Okay, hold this. Don't look at it. Okay. We're here to celebrate Mike's 30 plus year legacy with Canapapolis. He served more than two decades as city manager, an accomplishment rarely seen in this profession as a public servant, which Brian Hyde alluded to earlier. Mike had the rarest of qualities that made Canapapolis the city that others in the Charlotte region and the state admired and wanted to emulate. Many of you know him for his external qualities. Many were shared earlier at the reception, but I'd like to speak briefly about the Mike quote Mike we saw internally away from public view. He was a manager, never a boss. He led with respect, not fear. He was a collaborator, often soliciting input from staff and department heads to ensure that all viewpoints and opinions were heard. There was rarely a decision he made without everyone understanding how and why he reached that decision. Man, that hurts the flow. Sorry. While the elected officials came and went, Mike mentioned there were 28 during your tenure and you worked 28 since since uh we became a city. You worked at 25 of them. So while elected officials came and went, Mike was the one constant that kept the city moving forward during times of uncertainty and prosperity. His superpower was communicating with people, especially elected officials, about the pros and cons of their ideas, providing alternatives, speaking to their conscience, and guiding them to their goals without creating collateral damage

or alienation. Tonight, on behalf of our wonderful city, I have the privilege of presenting Mike with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. It is No, you're not supposed to look at it yet. Sorry, I have to read it to you in a minute. It is one of North Carolina's highest civilian honors awarded by the governor to individuals who have made significant lasting contributions to the state and their communities. These aren't one-time contributions or an award granted based on popularity. Recipients have a proven record of service that benefits North Carolina at all levels, reflecting on decades of dedicated service, consistency, reliability, and sustained excellence. Some of the accomplishments during Mike's leadership include, you heard some earlier, but I've got some new ones for you and some repeats. Construction of the train station. The Canapapolis Albamoral Concord waterline, Salsbury waterline, village park improvements which include amphitheater, rotary train, carousel, splash pad, greenways, public private partnerships with the North Carolina research campus, Kelswwater, Hos Racing, Gordon Foods, Amazon, Vita, Lakeshore Business Park, Canapapolis Crossing, Overlook 85, Mixed Development. I could have added many, many more to that list. the downtown revitalization, including North Carolina's first social district, which we were working on before social districts became legal. Construction of Atrium Health Ballpark and retention of a minor league baseball team, which you don't know this, but had we not been constructing the ballpark at the time that we were, Major League Baseball took over minor league baseball, changed all the player development rules on construction. So had we not been in the middle of construction, our old ballpark would not have met the new standards.

And we're pretty confident that they would have taken the team away. Construction of fire station 5 and reconstruction of stations two and three and two more, one more I put on here, construction of this city hall and police headquarters. Based on that small sample of projects, you can see that Mike had a career that went far beyond his job duties into meaningful comp contributions. If there was ever a hall of fame of public servants, and there should be, Mike would be a first ballot inductee. So, Mike, this is the official part. On behalf of Governor Stein and the city of Canapapolis and everyone here tonight, please allow me to share aloud what the order reads. Yeah, we'll do this. This be for pictures and everything. Josh Don Governor reposing special confidence in the integrity learning and zeal of Michael B. leg. I do by I do by these present pres presents confer the order man I need more glasses. The order of the long leaf pine with the rank of ambassador extraordinary privilege to enjoy fully all rights granted to members of this exalted order among which is the special privilege to propose the following North Carolina toast in select company anywhere in the free world. Now, I'm not putting any other recipients of the Order of the Longleaf pine on notice because you're not going to have to repeat this. But do we have other recipients of the Order of the Longleaf Pine who may be willing to stand or raise their hand? I know we have one at the deis, Mr. Doug Wilson, Miss Jean Dixon. Fantastic. Oh, we got one. Mayor Daryl Henn over there.

Bridget's back there. Ready, Bridget. Bridget. Bridget. Bridget. Bridget.

Oh, Bridget. Okay, she's filming. All right. She's She's never been one for the limelight. Congratulations, Bridget. Stand. There we go. Here's to the land of the long leaf pine, the summer land where the sun doth shine. Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great. Here's to down home, the old north state. Governor Josh Stein. Congratulations, Michael B. Le. So I said stay there and let them take pictures of you. Did you get pictures? Everybody get enough pictures? Family? Kelly, Rachel? Everybody got pictures? Okay, great. Uh you have any words you'd like to share with everybody? No. Okay. All right. Congratulations. Thank you, Mike.

I'll just say it's been a a pleasure uh to serve in this community. Um I've said all along that there's really only one requirement to do what I do. One major requirement that is undeniable, a requirement for everyone sitting at this day, uh all of our staff is you need to love and care for this community. Everything else works itself out. uh you can you can do a lot of great things but at its core if you love the place you work in um the love the community that you live in you can do great things. Everything else is secondary. We'll disagree a lot. We'll go through a lot of trials and tribulations have a lot of opportunity but at the end of the day if you just love this community great things can happen. And that's what I've been fortunate to be a part of for three decades is a community that loves being here and being a part of this community and elected officials that feel the same way and a high octane city staff and an entire community that feels that way. So, it's been an honor and a privilege. Um, I can't imagine have having spent my career anywhere else but Canapapolis and I thank the community for all your support. So, I've asked Mike to stay up here. We have one more presentation of which I am not conferring. So, Yep. Wilmer, you want it?

So, yeah, I'm going to start and then I'll I'll I'll join everybody else. Mike, we we want to thank you again for the years and years of your service to Canapapolis. Uh I've had the honor of working alongside you for many of those uh 30 years. I know you and I have worked together in a variety of capacities. we mentioned in the the uh the room next door that you know we've had a long long tenure again I won't name all the projects again but uh as I think about some of those projects we wanted to do something in your honor as as all of us started to think about how how best can we honor Mike what what can we do for such a great public servant and really we started thinking well what about a portrait here or what about you know uh uh maybe a renaming at a And as we began to think about it, one of the things that came to mind was, well, what about something significant downtown? Can we name a concourse or can we name, you know, maybe a part of the downtown area? But one of the things that we all saw is we thought about the roundabout that was out front. And what does a roundabout do? It's a connecting point. It connects communities. It connects the area. It connects where the mill once was to the research campus that's there today with everything that you've worked on and done been a part of downtown. So that's that's what we felt was maybe that was one of the things is he is that connecting instrument to all of these things that we just heard and we talked about in all these projects and here at city hall with the team and I know that everybody else that's out in the audience would share and agree that you've been that steady hand and I know I have tall shoes to fill and certainly uh have had the honor of working alongside you and we're going to miss you for sure. So, that said, I'm going to ask Tina to come forward and she's going to give a recognition and then we got to make a motion.

Oh, I'm sorry. Before Tina, before you come forward, I'm going to turn it back to the mayor. I'm sorry. Uh and then and then please come forward. Before I do this, Mike, let me let me say this. This none of us will tell you this is easy, and anybody's ever done it. I see Mr. Gathers out there somewhere. This is not easy, but you make it as easy as it possibly could be. I I'll give you that. And I appreciate that. Uh, we need a motion to name this roundabout after Mr. Leg. So, I will ask for that motion. Mr. Jackson, Miss Dixon with a second. All of us in favor, please raise your hand. Okay. Now, Miss Tina, thank you, Tina. I'm sorry. I got a little ahead of myself. That's all right. He couldn't wait. I was excited.

In the center.

Oh, man. That center. Um, if I could ask the other staff members to come forward, the department head has other managers to join me and Mike. While they're coming, let me just say that I'm really honored to have been asked to present this resolution. At first, I said, "No, I can't do it because I'll get emotional. I'm not going to do that. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. So, I'm Let me just focus on reading. So, um this is a resolution dedicating the Laurier Way roundabout in honor of Michael B. Le. Whereas, Michael B. Le began working for the city of Canapapolis in 1995, first as the city's planning director and then as deputy city manager. And whereas Mike was appointed city manager in 2004 and has made meaningful and lasting contributions to the city and its community. And whereas Mike provided steady, effective leadership during challenging times, guiding the community through the closure of Canon Mills and helping transition Canopoulos from a textile-based economy to a more diverse nationally competitive one, now recognized as a top 25 city in the United States. And whereas as city manager Mike played a critical role in the property acquisition of approximately 50 acres and eight blocks of downtown properties which resulted in developing a strategic downtown master plan and the downtown revitalization project including the atrium health ballpark and west avenue treat streetscape. And whereas as city manager, he was a prominent leader in the development of

the North Carolina research campus in partnership with David Murdoch, Castelin Cook, Cabaris County, and several state universities. And whereas Mike led the planning and construction of the city's first city hall, establishing a central hub for municipal services and civic engagement. And whereas Mike ensured the city's investment in infrastructure along the Interstate 85 corridor where numerous companies are investing in both residential and commercial development with thousands of jobs created in six major industrial areas. And whereas his commitment to Canapapolis has included serving in leadership roles with a significant number of nonprofit and professional organizations. And whereas Mike was instrumental in building a nationally recognized team of employees who are dedicated to providing highquality service to the 63,000 residents of the city. Now therefore, be it resolved that the city council of Canapapolis, North Carolina hereby dedicates the Laurier Way roundabout in honor of Michael B. leg and his numerous contributions to the city and for his service to the Canapapolis community. Adopted this the 27th day of April, 2026. And we're going to take a 15minute recess here for time to spend with Mr. Le.

If I can't have your attention, we're going to start back up now. And our next item is some proclamations. Uh the first is going to be Naomi Hatchel with Lupus Awareness.

So test. Okay. from the office of the mayor, Canapapolis, North Carolina proclamation lupus awareness month. Whereas lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks healthy tissue causing inflammation, damage to various parts of the body including the skin, joints, kidneys, hearts, lungs, and brain. And whereas in North Carolina, thousands of residents are living with lupus related autoimmune conditions with the majority being women. And whereas the symptoms of lupus can range from mild to life-threatening and often mimic other illnesses, making diagnosis difficult and delayed. And whereas there's no cure for lupus and those living with the disease face ongoing challenges that require lifelong medical care, support, and understanding. And whereas increased awareness, education, and research funding are essential to improving early diagn diagnosis, advancing treatments, and ultimately finding a cure for lupus. And whereas organizations such as the Fight of the Butterfly Foundation along with health care professionals, researchers, community partners, and other advocacy organizations play a vital role in amplifying the voices of those impacted by lupus through awareness, outreach, education, and patient support. Now therefore, the city of the city council of the city of Canapapolis, North Carolina does hereby proclaim the month of May as lupus awareness month and encourage all citizens to join in raising awareness, supporting those affected, and promoting efforts toward better treatment and a cure.

Thank you, Naomi. Diane Barry, please. Minister Park, it is hard to juggle all this. So Pam Skask, I'm going to ask you to hold the proclamation, but I've got something I got to say first. I served as a certified municipal clerk for the Cabaris County Board of Health, and I heard it over and over from the UNCC School of Government that municipal clerks were the hub of the wheel. But this never fully resonated with me until Pam Skaggs became our city clerk. She came in with big shoes to fill following behind our long-term longtime clerk um Bridget Bale. Pam has already become the indispensable and much appreciated core of keeping the mayor, city council, city manager, and all of our administrative departments communicating and coordinating smoothly. Thank you, Pam Skaggs, for being the central driving force around everything within our city revolves. our historian, our anchor, our municipal lifeline. We are extremely grateful for your positive attitude, dedication, hard work, and commitment. I proudly present this municipal clerk's proclamation to you and hope you will display it proudly. So, let me go

from the office of of the mayor, Canapapolis, NC municipal clerk week. Whereas the office of the municipal clerk is one of the oldest public service positions in government and a time-honored vital part of local administration exists to provide professional impartial and ethical service to the residents. And whereas the municipal clerk serves as the official recordkeeper of the city, safeguarding public documents, preserving the history of the Canapapolis and ensuring transparency and accessibility in government operations. And whereas the municipal clerk supports the mayor and the city council by preparing agendas, maintaining official minutes and facilitating the legislative process in accordance with North Carolina law. And whereas the municipal clerk plays a critical role in promoting open government by ensuring compliance with public record laws and fostering trust between the city and its citizens. And whereas municipal clerks continually pursue education, professional development to en enhance their knowledge, skills, and service to the community. And whereas it is fitting to recognize and celebrate the significant contributions and accomplishments of municipal clerks. Now therefore, the city of the city council of the city of Canapapolis, North Carolina does hereby proclaim the week of May 3rd through the 9th, 2026 as municipal clerk's week and extend appreciation to our clerk Pam Skaggs along with all municipal clerks for their invaluable service and steadfast dedication to the communities they serve. In witness thereof, Mayor George Douglas Wilson on behalf of Canapapolis City Council has caused the great seal of the city of Canapapolis to be affixed this 13th day of 27th day of April 2026. Thank you, Pam. Appreciate you so much.

No, I don't. Don't bless. Thank you.

Thank you. But now, Miss Gags is going to continue her duties as we do speakers from the floor.

Good evening. So, I want to um make a a reminder. If you want to address city council, you need to fill out one of these cards. They are on the other side of that door. Once I get down to the last card, I'll make a note that I am down to the last card. If you decide to speak, fill out one of that card and get that to me before the last speaker is done speaking. You have four minutes to speak. You'll see the lights up here as they are on your podium. When you get yellow, the end of your time is nearing. So with that, I'll start with the first speaker, and that is Miss Barbie Jones.

Good evening, Mayor Wilson, members of Canapapolis City Council. I'm here to read a letter from the chamber's board of directors. The Chamber Leading Business in Cabaris's board of directors is writing to respectfully request that you reconsider your limit of 70 $732,788 for CK Rider in the city's 2026 2027 annual budget and consider extending your current full investment for one year to give adequate time for the CK Rider staff, city of Canapapolis and city of Concord staffs to work together to judic judiciously ly plan more efficient and effective transit options. We are aware of the pressures you and the city staff face as you prepare your budget and we appreciate the time and effort given to ensuring the best investment of precious tax dollars. However, we are concerned that the proposed 50% cut to your transit funding will result in economic impacts for residents and businesses. Recent studies show that 72% of transit riders use our buses daily and 88% use them weekly. For 68% rider is their only means of transportation. And most report using it to get to and from work. 93% of passengers report an annual household income of under $40,000 and 64% report less than $20,000 annually. they would not have the financial means for a third-party option like Uber or Lyft. Additionally, the suggested change to the interlocal agreement with City of Concord will result in an an additional unbudgeted $800,000 increase for Concord and incrementally more in the years ahead. With deadlines for annual budgets looming, it does not seem routes and other options can be

fully vetted to ensure those dependent on public transit will have the have affordable options. We would ask that you please reconsider your plan and extend funding for an additional year. Thank you for your service and thank you for your consideration of our request.

Thank you, Miss Jones. The next card I have on uh is Jacqueline Anthony. And I just wanted to make um another reminder to please state your address, your name and address, please. My name is Jacqueline Anthony, 1563 Kingston Drive, Canapapolis. I am going to read a letter on behalf of the KMAC board of directors regarding welcome center history museum conceptual design and community inclusion. Good evening mayor, council members and city staff. On behalf of the Canapapolis African-American Museum and Cultural Center, also known as KAC. We would like to begin by expressing our appreciation for the city's leadership under city manager Wilmer Milton and in advancing the concept of a welcome center and history museum in partnership with organizations such as the Canon Family Foundation and Canapapolis History Associates. We recognize this as a significant and timely opportunity to preserve and present the history of Canapapolis in a meaningful and lasting way. Our purpose this evening is constructive and straightforward. KMAX seeks to support a successful and inclusive project while also ensuring clarity, transparency, and equity in the planning process so that the full and diverse history of our community is represented. At the same time, we would like to respectfully highlight several considerations that we believe are essential to the long-term success of this initiative. First, there is a need for clarity regarding site selection and overall project direction. It remains clear whether the Wells Fargo building has been formally selected and whether decisions regarding the occupancy and participating partners have been finalized. While there appears to be a momentum, the absence of cl clearly communicated council action has created uncertainty in within the community the community sorry. Second, with respect to

inclusion, KAC seeks clarity on whether we are formally included as a partner in the proposed facility and how space will be allocated. There is concern that the facility may not have sufficient capacity to accommodate multiple organizations alongside a welcome center which could unintentionally limit participation. Thirdly, governance and operations are critical. Questions remain regarding who will manage the facility and how decisions related to programming access and representation will be made. We believe a clear and transparent governance structure reflecting a broad community representation is essential. for we strongly recommend the establishment of a historic preservation commission or advisory body. Such a group including local and external expertise would help guide sightings decisions strengthen transparency and build up public trust. Additionally, with approximately $2 million allocated for conceptual design, we encourage careful evaluation of the facility's capacity and long-term viability to ensure it can effectively support its intended purpose. Finally, clear and consistent public communication is vital. Recent discussions have created confusion and a perception that decisions may already be made. Transparency will be key to maintaining community confidence. From a strategic perspective, KMAC does not view this effort as competition, but as an opportunity for collaboration and completeness. Municipal efforts tell the story of place. KMAC ensures the story of people is preserved. Together, these efforts can create a more comprehensive and inclusive narrative for Canapapolis and the broader region. In closing, we respectfully encourage clarity, inclusive planning, defined governance, and fully participation of KAC and other cultural partners. We stand ready to serve as a committed partner in building something that reflects the full history, identity, and future of our community. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Miss Anthony. Virginia Krauss. Good evening. My name is Virginia Krauss. I live at 1501 Debbie Street, which is on the other side of town. And I'm here because I'm very concerned that the council and the city itself has spent a significant amount of money doing studies, I'm sure, and making proposals for a park over in Midlake. And that money has been, I believe, received by the city. I don't know where it's being stashed at the moment, but I don't see any progress on the park that is supposed to be being completed this year. and the year is rapidly coming to an end and I would like to see some progress on that in particular. Also, when we were discussing the water issue earlier, I didn't quite catch all of what you were trying to say regarding how to get ourselves signed up for this emergency notification. Uh I know what process there is for that. Perhaps some notice could go into the bills that come out in the next month or two explaining how if you want to be uh notified in an emergency that your phone numbers and things could be added. So it would be helpful to get a little more information in that respect. Also the street the sidewalks along Little Texas I believe that's been an ongoing project as well. I don't know if that's a state funded project totally or if that also includes Canapapolis money, but I have not heard anything on the progress in getting those completed either, which I think is already behind schedule by at least a year. So, I thank you all for your time and your service and have a good evening. Thank you.

Thank you,

Debbie Vavra. Okay. Aaron Shu.

Good evening. My name is Aaron Shu from the Cabaris Health Alliance. Address 300 Moresville uh road. Members of city council and city leadership, my name is Aaron Shu and I have the privilege of serving as the Cabaris County Public Health Director and CEO of the Cabaris Health Alliance. Early in my career, my first role at Cabaris Health Alliance was working alongside employees impacted by the closure of Pillowex, individuals who had suddenly lost both their jobs and their health insurance. I helped connect families to prescription assistance programs so they could continue managing their health despite profound disruption. 22 years later I find myself again advocating for access just a different kind. Today that access is transportation. I rise to respectfully ask that you reconsider proposed reductions to public transit service at least until additional research and viable alternatives can be fully explored. The current system is not perfect and is in need of reform, but please do not remove a piece of the puzzle until we are able to replace it or feel com confident with changes. For many in our community, public transportation isn't simply a convenience. It really is a lifeline. It connects individuals to medical care, employment, education, and essential services that sustain health and stability. Here in Canapapolis, we are fortunate to live and or work in a community that invites us to discover a healthy life. That vision is powerful, but I would argue it depends on access. Changes to transit routes or availability, even

when well-intentioned, can create unintended barriers for those who already face challenges. Before making permanent reductions, I urge you to allow time for deeper analysis and community input, writer input. What are the downstream impacts on education access, health care access, employment access, food and nourishment access? How might service gaps be mitigated? Are there innovative or collaborative solutions that could preserve access while still addressing fiscal realities? A thoughtful pause now can prevent unintended harm later. By ensuring that changes are informed and accompanied by clear alternatives, you reaffirm this council's commitment to the health and vitality of residents and to ensure that every resident truly has the opportunity to discover a healthy life. Through my role with Cabaris Health Alliance, I too am navigating a year of difficult fiscal decisions. I understand the weight of your responsibility and want to conclude by expressing my respect for your role. Thank you for your consideration and for your leadership in shaping a community where access and opportunity remain in reach for everyone. Thank you.

Thank you,

Bill Meyers. Hello, my name is Bill Myers, 2003 Angela, Canapapolis. Um, I want to thank city council and the mayor. Uh, I apologize. First public speaking thing here. Um, before last year, I never really got into the whole city politics and that's all it was. Uh, getting a little ugly on the last one. And um sorry I um I see that y'all want to do change. I'm my family here. I want to see the positive things that you guys are doing. Um, but I also want to say, you know, this um this whole YouTube thing, I'm glad for it because I was able to see last week comments just uh was made towards our city council and our mayor were just ridiculous. I see um very diverse group up there and uh for for I must put it this way, but to to see our former leader of our city stand here and call y'all racist was just disgusting. And it hurt my it hurt me. really did because I see what's up there and I see that these these people up here are really trying to move our our our city in the right direction. They're making hard decisions, especially with the finances, but uh you know to to to

to hear that come out of a former leader's mouth was sickening to me and I personally think an apology is owed. Thank you very much. Bye.

Thank you, Bill. Ron Flanders, U. My name is Ron Flanders. Um, my address is 1675 Barbarian Circle, Canopapolis, North Carolina. Um, council, thank you for having me. Um, I'm the also a resident and also the chairperson of the Little Texas Community Watch Group. I am here today to keep on the agenda fresh. I will need for the completion of our sidewalk on Little Texas which have been in progress for um about 12 years. Um we have a Cabaris uh health alliance another walkability um assessment. This is going to be our second one and um in the community which is coming up in May. Um we we hope that by us, you know, continuing to try to keep things fresh in the council's mind about getting the completion of the sidewalks for we'll have a better place to walk. Um my the other agenda I'd like to talk about is the east side park. I really would like to see um that kept on the agenda. the money that was um that you had wherever it um it's um stashed at that we could hold on to that and and come up with ways. I know it's a big responsibility and budget and all that, but I hope that y'all will come up with a solution so we can have a park on the east side. And um if you can please try

to find a way to fund that. Um, the other thing is also finding the funds to to keep the bus system running in our community. There's a lot of people um that need and depend on that ride system to survive um to go to work, for medical, for food, and for recreations to come downtown and enjoy um the city that we have here. Thank you for your time. Thank you, sir. Juanita Duncan.

Good evening. My name is Wanita Duncan. I live 14:30 El Paso Street and I always want the bus connection because I take the bus and I'm a senior citizen and um you know don't I don't want to cut out the rides and different stuff like that cuz that's my entertainment to get away from the house not stand in the house and I can get to go and do what I need to do and the park and uh the sidewalks because it's kind of hard walking in the street or walking the side on the grass or whatnot when you know being older it's a little kind of hesitant and I appreciate everything. Thank you.

Thank you ma'am. Justin Lutter.

Uh, good evening council mayor. Thank you for the opportunity. Justin Lutter, 1832 Marwin Court here in Canapapolis. I wanted to speak concerning our transportation. I think a great city always has a impactful and strong transport public transit system. That's one of the things that makes most cities great. I think we should go in the opposite direction and we should work to improve it, increase it, market it better so that more people would take advantage of it. I also believe that uh presently gallon of gas is $4. Uh most of the people that take public transit probably cannot afford to come here tonight. Uh so we need to be more compassionate in our decision making regarding this public transit. And I also believe that uh I would well I'll tell a personal story. I had a friend who fell upon hard times. He stayed in my home for a couple of weeks and because of his work schedule, there was no one there to be able to take him back and forth, drop him off to work. So, he would either have to Uber, which would essentially make his work, he'd be paying Uber to work uh and not make enough money to sustain himself so that he could eventually uh move out of my home and back into his own way of being. He was able to walk to the bus stop on Sagrove, take that to uh to the hub, and then work in Charlotte where he's doing now. He's doing well. He's got his own apartment. He's off on his own feet. But that's because he had a public transit system that he could depend on. I'd be open to smaller vehicles with more frequent stops, more frequent pickup. Uh if people were more confident in our public transit system, they would gladly take it. considering that uh experts are saying we're not going to have a decrease in gas for a long time coming. And so you might find more people interested in a public transit system uh as the summer months hit and then as we roll into the winter uh who knows what happens with this war in the Middle

East. But if things continue as they are, we are likely anticipating higher gas prices, more people seeking alternatives to driving and uh having a strong public transit system could be the difference and it could be a change maker for a lot of the folks that are making uh minimum wage or barely above minimum wage. Uh it's very very uh uh very arrogant of us to assume that we can do without a public transit system when so many people are dependent upon uh public transit. Thank you, Mr. Lither.

Nancy Anthony Good evening. My name is Nancy Anthony. I live at 333 Esta Circle in Canapapolis and I'm also a member of the Little Texas community and I would also like to speak on the premise of having a park on the east side for at least the last 10 years. We've had areas that was supposed to be designated for a park in that area but something happened in and it it just didn't come to fruition. So that's one of the things that will really enhance our neighborhood and also with the sidewalks being commi completed and the bus routes. We have a lot of people in our area that depend on that bus and if any routes are affected, it would deeply deeply cause problems for those people who are trying to get to jobs or whatever they have to do. And my last thing is um with the Eli the contamination this weekend, everybody the communication in my opinion was not what it should have been. I know a lot of people, especially elderly people, they don't have Facebook. They don't have computers. And the communication could have been a little bit better. Everybody in Canapolis that has a water bill, your telephone number is on it. So it should be a system, some kind of robocall so everybody would know because a lot of people including me did not hear about it for a day after and though it could

have been a contamination or somebody could have gotten sick. Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you, ma'am. Okay, this next one, I apologize if I if I mispronounce your name. Foria Allison Good evening. My name is Flora Allison. I stay at 1528 Kingston Drive in Canapapolis. I am also a member of Little Texas Community Watch. I have been with them ever since 1996 when it first started. We have seen a lot of um positive thing that happened in our community. But the one thing that we really would love to see is the sidewalks on Texas road. The cars drive so fast up that way. Children are out there playing. People try to walk. You can't walk on that road because you're afraid that um somebody's going to hit you. At our church, we've had several cars to jump that ditch, come across, and hit our yard, tear it up, and tear down phone posters and everything. So, we would very much appreciate if you consider uh continuing the sidewalk. And also for the bus area is u a lot of people that travel that way too. And also we like to

um also think about the park as which we can have a place to take our children because there's a lot of families that stays in this community and it's all family oriented. And so you see children out walking and the parents walking them and you just feel so scared because you're scared somebody's going to hit them with the way that they travel up and down the river. So please consider continuing the sidewalk and the bus and the park for Little Texas area. Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am. Terry Clark. Good evening to all. My name is Terry Clark. I preside at 203 St. Joseph Street, Canapapolis, North Carolina. As I was sitting there and I hear the people of Canapapolis speak about what we would like to see and it's a repeat after a repeat. With that being said, I hope our city council could help make things come true. One, transportation is very meaningful to a lot of people. So by cutting funds for that is not helping the city as it grows to the sidewalks. People do have to walk. And with that being said, accidents happen. Do we need sidewalks? Yes, we do. for the safety of the people. Do we need transportation? Yes, we do. For people to get around and especially with our city growing, do we need to do some rrooting of our bus system? Yes, we do. Because we have elderly people who use this transportation that really can't because they have to walk a half a mile to get to the bus or cross a major highway. And that's important to people.

We the people would like to see these things happen for positive reasons to help our community to continue to grow. Now on the water behalf that we had, I myself am standing here and I'm still sick. As far as the communication of the word getting out about the water, I could say I was one who had accurate receiving of the information and I thank you for that. I would like to know exactly as uh the new management may um management said you detected it on a Wednesday. That's just like a storm coming and you say, "Okay, this is a warning, but we're not going to say nothing because we're not sure of it, but we do have a positive test." I would have took myself different procedures of getting the word out or saying, "Okay, let's stop it now. We'll still continue continue to do the test as the protocol calls for to be more safer." And I feel because of some different angles maybe we could look into in the near future to help people be aware of what's going on in our city and the needs that we need. Thank you.

Thank you

again. I apologize if I mispronounce your name. I have Sonia Bohannan Thcker. You did well. I'm Sonia Bohan and Thacker and I'm with the Cabaris Health Alliance at 300 Morrisville Road. I have worked with the Cabaris Health Alliance for more than 30 years and over that time I have found many opportunities and avenues to advocate for those people that we serve. And tonight I would like to ask you to consider the transportation situation and funding for our public transportation. Each day over the past number of years, I have worked with clients who have no other way to seek very vital services rather than use public transportation. For many years, I advocated for a public transportation system. And we're so thrilled when we were able to get that system in place. Currently, clients come to see us at 300 Moresville Road for clinical services when they are pregnant or have just had a baby. for behavioral health services when they are depressed or anxious or had a death in their family. People of all ages when they come for wick services, when they come for environmental health services that we provide and many of those people use the bus system, they use the brown route. They step off the bus right at our organization and it is very important to us that they be able to get to us and it is very important to them. I know you've heard many people

talk about why they use the public transportation system or how they do and I'll share a personal story of my own. I grew up in Winston Salem. My grandmother did not ever have a driver's license. And everywhere that she and I went together, every time she bought groceries, every time she visited a local business, every time we went out for an outing, she and I walked down the street to the bus stop, got on the bus, and went to do her business. It's one of the most joyful memories of my life. public transportation contributed to that as well as getting us where we needed to go. I respectfully ask that you reconsider your funding of our community's public transportation system. Thank you.

Thank you.

K. Grant Raider Rucker. I'm sorry that was an easy one and I messed it up. Good evening. My name is Kate Grant Rucker, 816 China Grove Road, Canapapolis, North Carolina. I thank you for having me again. and this is my second meeting and I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you all. Um, I know that it was addressed at the beginning of the meeting and I did take a little minute cuz I had to find parking and I walk with a limp right now. But I want to say on behalf of many of our older residents, as many has already presented this evening, the communication system for emergencies such as what took place this weekend, there has to be a better solution, even outside of what you're all proposing, because whether we realize it or not, a lot of our residents, especially older residents, don't have those kind of resources. They don't have smartphones. Some of them don't have TV, don't have Wi-Fi. If a neighbor doesn't tell them or some kind person that communicates with them frequently, how will they get this information? Not only that, a lot of them don't have transportation. And if you look at the ones whose budget does not allow them to maybe have the access to funds to be able to get resources when there's emergencies such as this, what are we doing for them? Do we have people taking water to them? We had people that were able to access locations to get water, but did you think about that person who may not have the ability to do it? They can't pick it

up, don't have transportation or somebody kindly to bring something to them. Also, with the water distribution, you only gave out one per household. So, what if someone wanted to be kind enough to consider that person that they knew wasn't capable of getting those resources? What are we doing moving forward to make sure we are not leaving them behind? Secondly, I live on the east side of Canapapolis with four children. It's about 8,570 residents on that side, which when I do my calculations and we look at the percentage, it's about 13.6%. That 13.6% 6% deserve the opportunity to have a park that allows our children to be safe and enjoy not having to travel so far. I mentioned before most residents that live on that side of town have to travel 3.2 miles or more to access a park and that's when it's available. We need transparency. We need you to be truthful and we need you to be considerate of those things because it's important that we have resources, we have activities and access to what others have in Canapapolis. Not saying we're limited, but everybody doesn't have transportation. Everybody doesn't have the ability to just up and go all the way out there. So, please consider those things. Lastly, I'll say it again. I advocate for my older population. They don't have means to get shared rides. How would you feel if your parents lived in the area? They only have if they have Medicaid or Medicare transportation access, but outside of that, nothing else. How would you want them to get to where they need to go? You have to look at the bigger picture.

is not just the funding aspect, but you're looking at everybody involved. These individuals are important. They need to be able to have recreation. They need to be able to go to the store when they want to. Even the parents who don't have transportation to get to work or take their kids elsewhere. If you're cutting that, you're stopping them in their tracks. Now, you're trying to build a community, have people to trust you, and want people to believe in what you see for us. But if you're not believing in what they need and those needs that are very important, what are you doing? A waste of time. Thank you. Thank you,

Reverend Theon Smotherson. Good evening, city council. My name is Reverend Theren Smotherson. I am the president of the Cabaris County NAACP. I reside at 614 North Jun Juniper Avenue here in Canapapolis. Um, as a lifelong resident off and on of Canapapolis, I've seen how much Canapapolis has grown. And I can remember there was a time when if you didn't have a vehicle, you had to walk where you needed to go. Well, those days are long past because that is no longer feasible to walk where you need to go because everything is so spread out. What I will say is this community is speaking to you guys and I hope you are listening. They need this public transportation. Healthy Cabaris put out a um invite for the city council to give y'all opportunity to ride the bus and see for yourself firsthand. Only one took that opportunity. Thank you, Miss Jean. To see for themselves, I as a person that that has had to ride the bus at one time myself, um it is needed.

Can it be better? Of course. But nothing in life is perfect. We do the best with what we got to improve it. If you cut this funding and they lo and people lo in this community lose route, what you're saying is the most vulnerable in this community does not matter to you guys. Those are the ones that you need to be thinking about. And I will say this, you're speaking on cutting funding, but yet still I see all this construction going on out here at the corner across from my house. out here on Canapapolis Parkway. Take some of that money and invest in the uh public transportation. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay, I really don't want to butcher this one, so I'm just going to say J. Phelps or T Phelps, I'm sorry.

Ta. Thank you. Good evening. I won't be long because my allergies bothering me, but I want to just say thank you. My name is Tatisha Phelps. You can call me Ta. Um I live at 510 Falls Lane in Canapapolis. I'm here to speak on behalf of the Second Chance Initiative. I am opening up a re-entry house in the city of Canapapolis. We're talking about uh teaching people who are a part of the prison system how to be successful, how to thrive after incarceration. Um, we're talking about the mental health. How do they get to the different jobs or uh mental health services that they need? I went and I researched Ryder. Um, writer travels from the city of Canapapolis all the way up Jackson Park all the way down to the university area. I've made partnerships with these people so that these guys can come home, not just survive, but being able to thrive, being able to afford job opportunities. That's not just paying them minimum wage, but paying them a sustainable income. If you take away the bus system, you put them right back to the lack of confidence. You make them be um positioned in a place where they can't thrive, how can they get to where they need to go? We talk about feeling unsafe. We're trying to create a place where these people are no longer a liability, but an asset. So, I'm asking for the support to keep the funding so that this can move forward. I find the unity in community and I'm asking that you do the same. Thank you.

Thank you. Daryl Hennet. Thank you much. Darl Henn, 1106 Sunshot Drive, Canapapolis, North Carolina. Let's talk transit. You eliminate the brown route, you modify the blue route, saving $733,000, less than one penny on the tax rate. Have you asked CHA, Rowan Cabaris Community College, and Atrium how this will affect them? All of them appear worried. Have you agreed to Concord's request for a councilto council meeting to discuss the future of transit? Did I understand that your response was no need to discuss those things? It's just about the money. Your phase 2 strategic plan suggests that you're going to consider ondemand transit. You know that ondemand transit is the more most expensive. You're playing with vulnerable people's lives who need to go to work, get groceries, go to doctor's appointment. All four almost 400,000 trips last year and the year before, more than a 100,000 people. As those comments suggest, is it about the people or is it about saving money? Last night or last Thursday night, Mary and I walked out of the ballpark. Behind us, someone called my name. It was a business owner downtown. I asked how things were and the very strong answer

was bad. I said, "What do you mean bad?" The response was, "Very, very bad." I was asked if I knew that the owners of downtown had been told that the city was not going to support a marketing plan for any of downtown. Many downtown businesses are fragile. It seems as though you're pushing them out of downtown. Phase two of the plan that you're going to show tonight suggests that you have told Parks and Recck that they have three years to get the gym theater to where no taxpayer subsidies are required. You told them to raise prices for attendance and concession sands or concession or reduce the budget by $77,000 each year. You are telling people who love the gym that costs are going to go up substantially at the gym theater. Are you going to ultimately have to sell the gym if the deficit is not offset? Your plan is the same for the Swany. You you want Parks and Wreck to reduce $525,000 deficit in three years. You instructed them to cut back on live performances and to increase rental rates. How can you cut back and still get more revenue coming in to offset the deficit? The last time I spoke here, I spoke about your killing East Side Park where 10,000 citizens live within a mile and 25,000 live within 2 and a half miles. At the end of the meeting, one council member suggested that you're not killing East Side Park, that you're saying just not now. Well, you might fool citizens with that, but you can't fool me. Your almost free sidewalk along Mid Lake is going to take seven years to get

completed. If you're going to work on East Side Park, it's going to need to be financed by geo bonds. Geo bonds frequently require increasing taxes to pay for them. Are you going to tell citizens that you're going to increase taxes so you can get bonds to build East Side Park? No. You really have killed East Side Park. I'm speaking to citizens tonight. This council is quickly moving ahead to eliminate the things that you needed or wanted so that they can cut taxes. Have you seen the 29 pages that is attached here tonight? Look at them and see how quickly you could absorb. Thank you. Phil Goodman and and that is the last card that I have. So after Mr. Goodman speaks the portion of speakers from the floor will be over.

Phil Goodman, 105 Central Drive in Canapapolis. I feel like a pastor that changes his message when he walks up to the pulpit. Uh, I've said this multiple times, but I really believe with all my heart, and I hope the people that are hearing this or seeing this will will believe what I'm saying. I think I know pretty much everybody I'm looking at up here pretty well, some more than others. I don't think there's a dishonest person on this council. I don't think there's a person on this council that is out for no good or trying to take advantage of any class of human being, any race of human being, or any neighborhood. I I think you're honestly trying to do what's right for the city. Now, whether there needs to be changes in your game plan or not, that's not up for me to decide. I would challenge anybody that's listening or anybody that's behind me to volunteer to go fill one of your seats for one month and see what it takes to be a council person for a city that's growing like this. We do have problems. We do have some things that need to change. By the way, my clock didn't start. It's still sitting at four. So, just tell me at 3 minutes. Uh so, um yeah, there needs to be some changes. Maybe we need to re-evaluate some things. But the most important thing I want to convey today is that I and and I'm not putting down anybody that's come up here and spoke tonight. I think some of the comments were very well spoken. Some were nervous and that's perfectly fine. But I do believe this. We as citizens have a tendency to walk in here with the gun pointed at all the problems in the city. I think it's time that we look at this person. I need to look at me and everybody in the sound

of my voice needs to look at me, whoever me would be. Some of the comments tonight address that very thing. But the one thing we can all do and it takes only time to do it is to get on our knees and pray and ask God every day of our life to be with you folks to give you wisdom, to give you guidance, to give you direction, to give you conviction if you're doing something wrong, that it comes together. Uh some people may not like me saying this, but I'm still living in a free society. And without God, no city will survive. Without God, no individual will survive. There are needs in this city for sure. There are transportation needs. There's medical needs. There's food needs. There's financial needs. So, we as a city need to come together and believe that they can be worked out and keep open communication with our city council. I don't agree with everything, but I certainly agree with a lot of it. And I can promise you this. I'm not looking at nine people up here that have any ulterior motive or have some underlying motive or some prejudice toward a group or a person or a city or a area of the city. That's a tough tough job you've got. And I've been to s plenty of the meetings. I've been to the uh uh the two meetings that we had for the uh retreat. Tough tough decisions. So, I will continue to pray for you. I think you're doing a fantastic job. Do we need some changes? Yes. But I want to commend you for doing a good job. I don't appreciate anyone coming up here slamming the bucket down. So, thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Goodman. That's it, Miss Gag. Yes, sir. All right, council. We have a consent agenda in front of us. What's your pleasure here? You make you make a motion. Second, Mr. Jackson. All in favor, if you will, raise your hand. Thank you, Miss Dixon. Okay. Business agenda. Mr. Melton.

Thank you, mayor, members of city council. Uh, I'd first like to thank the council for the item we're going to talk about first obviously is our strategic plan and initiative. I want to thank all of you for your time that you committed several days going through a number of uh projects and initiatives. We reviewed and discussed had great conversation about these particular projects that were in the general fund. And then on the second day, we worked through a lot of the enterprise fund initiatives. And for those of you that don't uh in the audience, what enterprise fund means is those are your that's the water and sewer fund, storm water funds, those those that operate much like a business uh as opposed to your general fund dollars that are largely funded by taxes. So on that first day, I want to just kind of go through some of those projects and initiatives uh that council uh considered uh and before you tonight, obviously you have a resolution uh should you choose to approve that would allow us to proceed forward with these various projects and initiatives. Uh on day one, we focus largely on transportation, public safety, uh quality of life and economic development, as well as uh operations and services for our city government. I'll just hit a few of these projects that we talked about. I won't go through each and every one of them. They're in the packets that you can certainly that you've had a chance to review. You spent a tremendous amount of time as well as uh the public being able to see these online. Uh some of the ones that are on this on the list that I' I'd love to hit uh is uh enhanced street paving. That's one of the projects that council uh has for consideration tonight. That would be $1.7 million additional that we will put towards our street paving as a one-time initiative uh to pave some of our muchneeded infrastructure that's out. The Midlake sidewalk that was talked about this evening. We were able to get a grant for $5.8 million. 4.8 of that was in STBG uh grant dollars and the city will put $1.1 million toward that

project. It will take some time. Anytime you're dealing with federal dollars, it is it is not a quick process. Uh I had a chance and opportunity to speak with the Little Texas community talking through uh just the time it takes and everybody's truly excited about sidewalks until you start to get right away and work through that process and how it truly impacts your property. And that's the point where sometimes it slows. Engineering goes quick, construction can go uh relatively quick for the most part, but when you're dealing with rightway and property impacts and acquisition, those are always a challenge. So that was that's one of the projects that's on there. Public safety, there were a number of projects that we had on the public safety list. Some we've already proceeded forward with. We talked about it one of our prior meetings, the adaptive response vehicle, but Western Fire uh fire protection and life safety. Uh that's that's one of the initiatives that's out. We're we're working uh well on that. Western Communication Tower, we had grant dollars uh for that. We had a uh trans uh a training tower that we also had some uh funding uh from the city on as well as a fire department fleet storage and maintenance building um on quality of life. Uh there was a summer concert series council elected to proceed forward with the summer concert series although with some modifications to the budget uh in that in that area. gym theater operations. We are continuing forward with that with some minor modifications uh in the budget on that on how we can change some of the cost and things like that uh from the general fund that are hitting that that budget. Historic preservation program, downtown history museum, uh Bakers Creek Park building, we had a $500,000 grant for that as well as city dollars in the amount of $700,000 that we're putting to be able to rehabilitate that Bakers Creek building uh and facility. And then downtown business support. We're talking about what that means and what that wants to look like. Uh in fact, the mayor has had some meetings and I've had

some meetings with the business owners on how we move forward, how can we work together, how can we support uh operations and service. Obviously, one of our largest largest key areas is uh our employees. That's the most critical asset that the city has is our fire, police operations, our our staff here at at this facility that serve the citizens in Canapapolis every day. and then capital outlay program. Uh mayor, I won't go through each and every one of those, but before you tonight, you have a resolution that would adopt us proceeding forward with your initiatives as a part of this uh strategic plan. And and I'd like to note I think it's important that uh again just appreciate council taking the time that they did going through all of these projects on a Saturday uh several Saturdays uh a couple Saturdays you guys came together and we worked through all of these various projects on behalf of the citizens of Canapapolis and this will truly be our first if if approved tonight your first adopted strategic plan.

Thank you. Any questions? Uh Mr. Mayor. Yeah. I move to approve the strategic plan uh excluding the section regarding the Swany theater operations. We still have more to talk about that based on the last budget retreat. Okay, I'll second that. All right, any other questions? I have comment for uh for Wilmer. Uh where are we now on the negotiations on the transit? What what is our next step? Um

thank you, Councilman Jackson. So, uh, Eddie and I had a meeting with, uh, Concord staff about a week and a half ago, and we're waiting on some revised maps to come back. Uh, what we heard from council during that time is that we didn't want to cut out service to certain areas. So, we are looking at the blue and the green routes, those are going to remain the same. A lot of the comments that we heard tonight, it wouldn't change the eastern part of the community. the brown route. There would be some minor modifications to the brown route uh and eliminating some stops in areas, but we heard loud and clear that we wanted to maintain service to critical areas, and that's what we're waiting on and working through right now. We we did have an opportunity to see that. Uh and we asked for some minor revisions. Uh obviously, we're not going to be able to capture all of that, but we want to capture those critical core services and areas that we heard from city council.

So, we should have that. We hope soon. Yes, very soon. Okay. Miss Barry, you have anything? Yes, sir. I don't. We have a motion on the floor to make a resolution excluding the Swani. All in favor of that. Thank you very much. Um, thank you.

Okay, Mr. Smith. Good evening, Mayor, members of council. If you'll recall at your last meeting, I did a presentation about the possibility of establishing a voluntary process for acquiring city services. Uh I showed you this map. It actually shows our future growth areas as designated in the lighter blue color there. Um and of course the areas outside the city that actually has uh utilities and areas in existing city limits that has the utilities as well. And then the county zoning that applies. And I made a note to you that the county zoning Cabaris County in particular uh two of their three zoning areas actually do not allow municipal services unless they are in the city limits. So uh with that we have it for you tonight. the resolution for you to adopt or consider to adopt uh based on the conversation we had at your last meeting. So, I'll be glad to answer any questions you have on that.

Anyone have any questions for Mr. Smith? No questions. Okay. Do we have a motion to adopt M Dixon? Miss Hatchel second. All in favor? If you will, please raise your hand. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, sir. Chief Bryant.

Good evening, Mayor Wilson, members of council. Uh it's my pleasure to come to you tonight to give you a quick update on our efforts in the downtown area. Uh if y'all recall, I presented to council back in November some it resulted due to a few incidents or two incidents specifically that had occurred. It raised a concern and a lot of social media post of people saying how violent the downtown area of Canapapolis had become. Uh I went in and did a statistical analysis and determined that uh that narrative was untrue. While there were two incidences specifically, uh the data did not support u the narrative that was being pushed out in social media. I know that's a great shock to you all. Um I wanted to kind of give you a quick update and walk through a couple things specifically as to what's gone on over the last four months. In our very first slide here, um I want to draw your attention to the bottom. talks about total dispatch calls for service in our downtown area over the last four months was 428 calls for service. Now, we removed any calls for service here to the PD because that could be somebody coming here to file a report with the address location being here, but they live somewhere else. Um, and we also removed any duplicate call that may have generated. So that's 428 actual calls for service that we were dispatched to in the zone 9 area. The reason I wanted to show you this list, these are the top 10 locations. That accounts for 46% of the calls for service. Specifically, the very first one is what why we are in the downtown area. It gives you a little idea that a lot of people when they make the assumption of downtown, they're referring to Main Street, West Avenue, Cannonball Way, Oak

Avenue, specifically not Oak Avenue Mall. This is a little bit of a breakdown of the calls for service at the food line, which equated for the 48 calls for service specifically, which was our top call volume. The reason I wanted to kind of give you an idea on what this type of call breakdown was that not every call that we respond to is criminal in nature. It could be welfare checks and any number of this. So that does not stop us from responding in the times that we are spent on these types of calls. I want to try to go back and let you see because I think it's important to let you see the amount of time that we were spending on these calls for service. And that is from the time that we first arrive till the first officer or primary officer is cleared. The average time that we're spending at Oak Avenue Mall is around 25 minutes. That's a pretty significant period of time that we are not in the what generally people would call the downtown area. Um that eliminates a lot of the time that we could be other areas within the downtown area. doesn't always equate to an arrest being made, but I will get into some of that in just a few minutes. Oh, wrong way. I want to draw your attention to our call and response time specifically to zone 9 and how it relates to the rest of the city over the last four months. Calls for service dispatch. That's the calls that we actually got dispatched to. Like I said, now this one you'll see there's a little bit higher number as it's on 617. that would include calls that were generated here at the PD or any type of duplicate call an officer dispatches themselves. So that all that comes into place while there's a little bit of a variation in that number, but the total cost for service in zone 9 from this year to last year has gone up slightly and I'll give you a reference

as to why that has occurred here shortly. Citywide, our numbers are relatively the same uh over the same period of time. Our response times have dropped slightly from last year at this time. From 2025, it was 7 minutes and 40 seconds. That is from the time we have first receive the call to the time we're on scene. And that is for all calls for service. That's not party one calls. That is from somebody reporting a stolen lawnmower to it could be somebody breaking into my house. That is all calls for service. Uh while we would like to reduce that number, it's just sometimes it's not physically possible based off of the number of officers who are available. Uh our numbers have dropped in 2026 to 7 minutes and 22 seconds and comparatively we're still maintaining about the same average response time citywide at just under 10 minutes. The report data I think is really where the rubber meets the road when you start dealing with the types of calls, the types of offenses that are occurring. Part one offenses are the more violent that could be rape, murder, robberies, things of that nature. In zone 9, we have gone slightly up. Now, you're going to think this is a bit odd, but the reason that those numbers are higher over this fourmonth period from this year to last year, shoplifting is classified as a part one offense. We had seven more this period of time this year as opposed to last year. Well, if you deduct that out, I'm not saying shoplifting is not important, but most people don't equate shoplifting and sexual assault of some sort is equal in regards to the same type of caliber of crime. Part two offenses is pretty much anything that is not a u violent crime or crime against a person. All right. And the total number for part one and part two offenses have gone up and total reports have gone up as well in zone 9.

And that is a direct result of our efforts in the downtown area. Increased presence enforcement action has been taken. That's why those numbers have slightly gone up. Uh we've done saturation patrols. We've done surveillance operations the area. It's identified times and specific areas that we can help enhance. I know there were some complaints about people doing uh things with the vehicles parking over at Kimell Lutheran in the parking lot. Parking in the parking lot is owned by and shared with fresh prayers being tur church and the city. So we've done some concentrated efforts in there and it's resulted in arrest and citations being issued citywide. You can see our numbers have gone down. But the reason I wanted to draw your conclusion to this is overall citywide, our violent crime has dropped. And if you take away what I was saying about the shoplifting, our violent crime in zone 9 has also dropped. And that is pretty much in line with what's going on across the nation. Now, I'm not saying that there violent crimes down in every community, but is consistent with that and what's going on here. Property crimes have pretty much maintained stable. Our analysis from last year to this year is pretty much stable. Violent crime has dropped. Our arrest totals for this same period of time as I'd said what results in why reports go up. Our arrest totals have gone up. On view arrest is slightly increased in zone 9. Citations summons those are the tickets that could be deal with spinning wheels any number of things. Motor vehicle uh citations that are issued to motorists inside they more than tripled. I mean went from 3 to 37. Um our people who were taken into custody has gone up as well as total arrest. That could be for people being arrested on warrants and a variety of offenses. Same thing has increased overall. We are making more arrest. We're taking more active

enforcements efforts to try to abate the crime that is going on in our community. going into additional things that I told y'all that we had planned on to introduce and to try to abate because of some dealing with some of some staffing issues and make try to make a concerted effort to make sure we had somebody in the downtown area as much as possible. We had the zone sign off zone 9 officer was only being dispatched to party one's calls outside uh the ser for for outside this area. Saturation patrols and surveillance operations as I said has remained in place. We've used offduty officers to supplement uh downtown area as well as reserve officers when they're available and the use of park rangers. I'll get into something here in just a second, but I can tell you that I had an opportunity to meet with a bunch of the downtown business owners who were very appreciative of park ranger Chuck Ian and his presence specifically during the day and just coming in and making contact with them and checking on them, make sure they're okay. He is a park ranger. He's not a sworn law enforcement. He doesn't have the authority to make an arrest, but he is part of the police department in the city and is making a positive impact in that area. He also has the availability to contact us and we're there to be able to get there on site if we're not in the immediate area. Um, but I want to draw your attention specifically to the table down below because I think this is imperative. For the last four months, our offduty personnel who was supplemented the downtown officer has spent almost and this is just not one officer. This is collectively a group 1776 total work hours equating for just over just shy of $55,000. That's a lot. Um I'm not I'm not going to put that to you. If if you look at that and collectively do that times three, that would pay the salary of one officer and more. Won't quite get the vehicle and everything else to equip a brand new officer, but you're getting close to that.

In conclusion of what I drew from the the data and this crime as aspect, costs for service and violent crime, as I said, are relatively same or slightly below average in zone 9, even though the number of people in this particular area remains high compared to other areas of the city. The increased number of total reports and arrests in zone 9 is a direct result of the department's increased enforcement efforts and special operations. The data also reveals calls for service to businesses located in Oak Avenue Mall required a considerable amount of the zone 9 officer's time. Into the next aspect of this presentation, I wanted to kind of say the map on the left to you, the little highlighted green area is the zone 9. It basically covers all the Delarn heart north loop between Main Street at the south underpass and Main Street at the north underpass. Well, I conducted a survey with as many of the business owners that I possibly could or business managers. That map to your right that's highlighted is the section that I would refer to when I asked them specific questions in the survey about the downtown area. You can see that it excludes Oak Avenue Mall. Basically, it's the social district to include the stadium, the train station, the train station parking lot, and additions coffee just to kind of make it symmetrical as we possibly could. It may be hard for the community to see this. I apologize for the font size, but that was the questions that were asked. Um, I'm not going to go specifically and read every question to you, but it was collectively to see did you recognize we had making an effort in this area. Was that impact positive? Yes or no? Then we asked, I feel like a very viable question. Do you feel safe in the downtown area for yourself, your patrons, and your employees? And if the

answer to that was no, then I gave them some options of A, B, C, D, and E. A, B, and C and D. And then I asked the next question that was related specifically to the mapped area that was highlighted of saying, "Do you feel that there needs to be an officer dedicated to that specific area of downtown every day and not leave?" If the answer was yes, then I provided them with two options on what they think is the most appropriate hours than which this officer would be present. The purpose of this survey was to gain direct feedback and insight from the downtown business owners and managers regarding the police department's efforts in downtown for the past four months. The results of the survey are as follows. I conducted myself either face-toface or phone call interviews with all the with 41 or 77% of the businesses uh or business managers or owners inside that highlighted area. 93% of those survey indicated they had noticed the police department's efforts. 90 stated they believe the efforts had been positive and had a positive impact in the downtown area. 32 or 78% of those business owners surveyed indicated they feel safe in the downtown area. It's important to note of the nine business owners managers who I surveyed who marked that I marked as no because if they said yes and no, I marked it as a no. But those who said that yes and no, their answer changed based on the time of day. In other words, they may felt very safe during the daytime hours, but as the evening approached, their feelings of safety changed to another. That's applicable. That's understanding to how we deploy our forces in that effort.

of those business managers that um answered no to question three, they provided um in to question four, they were provided, as I said, four options of what they feel like could help that we can make an effort to improve. Three indicated increased presence, two indicated increased enforcement efforts, and four suggested something else which included presence in the evening hours with specific focus around the Swany Theater and pump house and the development of an unaccompanied minor's orbits. 38 or 93% of those surveyed indicated they believed an officer should be assigned and not leave the designated and highlighted downtown area every day. Of those 38 business owners and managers who preferred yet answered yes to question five, 15 or 40% selected option A, 23 or 60% selected option B. for the benefit of you significantly the difference between only significance between option A and option B option A we arrived at 11 pretty much ending hours were 12:30 1:00 Monday Sunday Sunday through Thursday we come in at 11 Saturday and s Friday and Saturday and leave at 2:00 a.m. Same thing as the rest of the option be except we didn't arrive for work until or we didn't have officers in that area until 12:00 p.m. those times there's about an hour difference that the reason I selected that specific time frame there's a lot of businesses who don't open until around that 10:00 11:00 hour and I can tell you in my conversations with a lot of the business owners there's nobody in the downtown area I understand now I'm going be preface with this that is seasonal I know we're getting ready to approach the summer months and that time frame in which they would like our presence may vary as far as coming in

earlier because we're dealing with the summer months and there's a lot more people out. But a general rule while school is in session, it seemed to be probably from an 8 to about 11:00 time frame, most business owners did not see that it being a problem with us being there or just passing through. So the plan um and this is just some of this is reiterated but I felt like it was important um from the plan in the past and I felt like I need to differentiate between short-term and long-term what's sustainable and what's not. I feel like from a short-term aspect and what is not sustainable is maintain for the next six months of having that zone 9 officer remain in that zone and only respond out to priority one calls. Second officer as available staffing would also be assigned to zone 9. Continue with our saturation patrols and our surveillance operations to try to make sure that we have staffing allocated in the areas and in times when it's most appropriate. Continue to use our downtown officers for supplemental duty, our SRO's in the summer months, reserve and park rangers with focus coverage in the evening hours specifically around the Swany theater and the pump house areas. long-term solutions that we do think is sustainable. I'm not going to get into the specifics, but one part of that is the request for additional officers. There comes a point in time that if you're this is the plan that council wants to approve, you're either going to have to maneuver people away from other areas of the city to dedicate to here that they need just as many police services there in those communities, but you have to figure out where that balance is. That's what I was talking about. what's not sustainable is us going through these practices in the first half of this. The second part of this, and this is just me looking at it from a complete safety aspect. I am not a designer or

anything like that. I'm just telling you from a safety aspect and some of the complaints that our officers have had filled in some of the emails, some of the communications that we have had with some of the downtown business owners about concerned areas and as redesign of the pump house to eliminate the public restrooms which would eliminate the small covered area between the pump house and the bathrooms. The public restrooms could be included in a design of the old wellhouse of Wells Fargo building. Apologize. Uh currently being considered as a potential location for a welcome visited center and a history museum which would be man and monitored on a daily basis. Additionally, substantial tribute um to the trees and foliage where the Delarn Heart Tribute Plaza is. I've received numerous complaints about people not being able to basically at late hours that the teenagers and other people are be able to get into that door plaza and can't be seen. They're hidden. I'll look today. There is some foliage that could certainly be cut. I think Gary and his staff have done a tremendous job of trying to trim up some of the oak trees around the perimeter, but I think there's some additional enhancement. While I do understand and try to maintain beautifification, it's a beautifification and a safety option. As I said, I'm looking at it only from a safety aspect. Remove and replace the current lighting fixtures currently installed within the Delhart Tribute Plaza. These new fixtures selected should provide significantly more lighting and add additional lighting as necessary to provide more lighting than is currently in use to illuminate the entire Delon Hart Plaza. Lighting distracts nonsense. Just plain and simple. That's how that goes. Remove and replace the incandescent lighting fixtures currently installed at the pump house. Those canned lights, they do put off a little light. They put direct light down. It doesn't illuminate

all the way across the board. They're pretty. They're effective to some extent to provide you where you can walk, but not necessarily for a safety aspect. The new fixture selected should provide significantly more lighting than currently in use to illuminate the entire area, including the small walkway, as I said, between the pump house and the public bathrooms. Remove and replace the small linear trees. Gary, I apologize if I get this wrong on what type of tree it is. I'm saying cedar or fur um lining the sidewalk from Lee Cold Warehouse all the way to the Swany Theater. While these trees are spread out along the edge of the sidewalk, they're planted in groups of twos and threes. And it do and they do provide a place for cover and concealment. Additionally, they can and do obstruct the line of sight to and from the parking lots. Additional relevant data department just released the department just released the 26 uh first quarter crime report. This report can be found on the police department's page of the city's website. And I'd like to thank our communications director to working with me to get that posted. And a link was also shared to the department's Facebook page. The report shows part one crimes, violent crimes are down and part two crimes have remained stable as compared at this same time in 2025. The department is still currently beta testing the PowerBI software that will replace the PTOC police to citizen website. currently available to the community. The software has a lot more capabilities and will allow citizens to keep a breast of incidents that have occurred in their community while also ensuring confidential information such as specific locations and/or victim information is not released to the public. We hope to release this in the summer and will inform the community by social media and traditional media sources when it is live.

Significant research was completed in the development of a city ordinance relating to unaccompanied minors. Based on feedback from the city attorney, Mr. Kelly, and other legal adviserss, this ordinance would potentially expose the city and officers to civil action constitutional violations. The areas enforcement are publicly owned and banning a person or persons on public property must be attributed to acts and actions of individuals not a class of people designated designated by age as in this case. It's worth noting that Concord Mills and Burkedale Village where there have been problems with underage youth in the past are privately owned and ownership has agreements with private security companies and local law enforcement agencies regarding the enforcement of the unaccompanied minor policies.

Questions? Let me say one thing for us. Terry, great job. I know that took a lot of hard work putting all that together. So, well, I appreciate that. I know we all do. Miss Dixon, you got a question or a comment? Uh, yes. Okay. Thank you. I actually have three questions. Uh, thank you so much for this uh comprehensive report. Uh, my first question is of the number of offenders that you reported, how many are repeat offenders? Um, I don't

how many are youth offenders? cuz that's when I'm downtown. I hear um a lot of the offenses are uh done by youthful offenders. And how many are Canafus residents?

I would have to do some digging to try to try to decipher some of that. I can tell you that there what has happened particularly with citation of motorists. Um the majority of those people are not from Canapapolis. As far as physical arrest, juveniles specifically that we have taken into custody and then later releases parents uh for petitions for criminal charges. I would have to do some digging on that, Miss Dixon, and I will research that and get back to you. And I will try to focus on juvenile arrest specifically over these last four months. And and how what number um are repeat offenders?

I I off the top of my head, I don't know. Um I I'm I'll have to just go in and do the dig specifically on those arrest. That will be the easiest I can attribute to how many people have been arrested for the same offenses. I can tell you that it's not uncommon uh particularly with shoplifting cases. Um, I'm not going to, you know, people have certain positions in life and things like that, difficult circumstances. Uh, that's not uncommon for them to be arrested repeatedly for shoplifting from one location to another location. Maybe not in the same day, but I'll I'll research that data and get that back to you through Mr. Melton, city manager Melton, and if it's okay, I'll just share it with the entire city council.

Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Uh, thank you, Mr. Spry. I think you u I think you have a handle on it. I think you're you're moving in the right direction. The only concern and I think you understand the peak hours. Mhm.

You know, we have in the mornings from 10 to 3 or 4:00 in the afternoon, things are pretty subtle downtown, so you really don't need it. But a lot of people are that bring their families down there that enjoy walking and strolling through downtown are a little afraid or um uh was trying to think of the word that some of the kids that are doing the bikes and doing the the skateboards, they feel threatened um threatened by that. And a lot of the younger unaccompanied um children that are down there with without supervision um they they seem to between uh the pump house and the Swany Theater and down on that end, they seem to congregate down there and and people feel uncomfortable about about walking uh by there. And of course, we designed downtown to for family use and we want to continue to do that. Um, but again, the the peak hours, I mean, during the ball season, uh, when we got five, six th,000 people downtown, we that's when we need we need help. We need some some visualization from the police department that people at least know that that they're there. and and and I like the idea of having um one on a regular basis somewhere around the Swany area because you know things can if one instant could could kill it could kill the whole downtown and it it's be the same thing happened to North Lake same thing happened to Concord Mills we don't want that and um I think the only way to do it is and and I understand that takes money and um I think we need to look at it you're looking at it probably close

to a half a billion dollars has been invested by private and public uh entities downtown. And that's a big investment. It generates a lot of a lot of tax dollars. And I I want to protect it for the citizens because most people are really proud of what's happening downtown. It gives a a synergy for Canapapolis. It makes people want to live here, come here, and it benefits everybody. You know, it's it's um all over Canapapolis and in the uh Landis China Grove that everybody benefits from it. So, I appreciate what you're doing and I I think you got a handle on it and I think you're moving in the right direction. I

I will follow up to one thing. Mr. Jackson and and me and Mr. Kelly had a offline conversation earlier today specifically about one issue and I think he and I can work together. Um, and I'm going to defer to him to deal with the legal aspect of things. And if it comes to the data aspect of things, I can help provide that to him to get back to council. And Mr. Kelly, if you want to elaborate any specifically about what we talked about about age and it relates to the downtown area, maybe give them a little bit of insight on where we're at with that.

Happy to. Thank you, Chief. Um, I'd start by saying that uh the Federal Fourth Circuit has recognized um that reducing violence, protecting juveniles, strengthening parental responsibility uh for ch children are all important governmental interests. Um, and uh, the chief and I have had conversations about how data um, including not just the crime statistics, but also the survey statistics that he's um, obtained um, comments like Council Member Jackson have made as as a business owner in downtown well as well are really important in helping um, the city be able to have uh show any uh challenggers to a potential ordinance that it was u tailored to achieve those important governmental interests. So this data is going to be really important in kind of determining any of the uh potential additional um enforcement mechanisms or ordinances that the city could adopt. Um, and I'd maybe just add a note that the concerns about the unaccompanied minor ordinance principally uh surrounded due process concerns because we were really looking at um trying to hold the parents accountable for their children. Um, and that there were some due process legitimate constitutional concerns about challenges to that. And then uh also uh how officers would be able to even

implement that from a notice perspective to to the child to the parent. Um but we've got some other kind of irons in the fire. This data is going to be incredibly important to enacting any kind of thing that city council wants. Um, and hopefully I've, you know, given you guys some, uh, just speaking generally that this is important in kind of, uh, evaluating potential steps forward for you. Thank you, Mr. Kelly. Satchel,

Chief Sprry, thank you. Thank you for your presentation. Um, personally, one of my favorite times was riding with your officers just to see how much they care for our city. So, thank you for that. Um, sometimes what we hear is, "Oh, there's all these things going on downtown." If a citizen or resident down there or anyone sees something going on downtown, by all means, you want them to contact the police department. Is that correct?

Absolutely. Calls being generated goes into what we're talking about potentially giving us the teeth necessary to enact some type of ordinance that gives us the ability to enforce it. Uh, absolutely. You know, we're not in the world of Mayberry anymore. While we would all love that that's the world we live in, realistically in a city of 63,000 residents, that's just not feasible. But one thing that I have always strived for in my 30 plus years of law enforcement is I want everybody to feel like they're safe and they can put their head on their pillow at night is sleep sound. That's my ultimate goal. And I feel like everybody in the police department strives for that same goal.

Yeah. I I'll just personal story. The one time I was with your officer, someone actually pulled up alongside the car and he went and checked what they said as a, you know, he's like, "This house had an issue and they were there." So, anything that anyone sees, you definitely want to hear about it at the police department. Thank you. Yes, Mary. And chief, remind our citizens if someone does see something, they don't bog down the 911 number, they call the administrative number, which is non-emergency number, which is 9204,000. That is correct. Yes. Okay. All right. Thank you. Anyone else? I got one more com. Uh Terry, what's happening with our camera system down there?

So, we have access to certain Well, all of our supervisory uh personnel has access to all of the cameras if we need it for an investigative aspect. Our communications and work with our IT department and we have certain cameras that we feel like are hotspot potential locations that is monitored with our communication staff. So if they see something going on, they can get an officer that might not be in the immediate area dispatch down there to get in front of something because they're seeing it on the camera uh before the phone calls are ever made. So that aspect of like we don't have some like a true full monitoring like somebody's looking at the camera all the time because communication is 911 is still answering calls. But at least we do have somebody up there can look and verify some things. You may see somebody that's reported an assault and this is description of the suspect and they look and they've been able to backtrack where the suspect and the direction of travel to help get the officers there quickly.

So it is totally operational. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Yes, sir. Anyone else? Thank you, sir.

We have a presentation now on Cabaris County Transportation System. Alise Pew. Mayor, if I could take just a minute, I wanted to uh just th this is a presentation that council asked uh me to try to arrange uh a few meetings back and uh I had contacted Dr. Elise Pew and she was gracious enough to be here with us tonight to really offer some insight on what CCTS is, what services they provide. Uh, I know that we we have worked with uh the county now to try to get some of that information on our website so the citizens aware, but I I appreciate you and your team being here tonight to be able to share with us the services that you can provide to our our citizens. Well, thank you

and yours.

Thank you so much. And um, Mayor Wilson and council members, we thank you for affording us the opportunity to provide some information and education tonight to Canapapolis City residents. Um, as city manager Melton mentioned, my name is Aly Pew and I have the honor of serving as an assistant county manager and the human services director for Cabaris County. My colleague here with me tonight is Kelly Strong and she serves as our operations and training supervisor for the Cabaris County Transportation Services. We also have Jamie Smith here tonight observing and she's one of our transportation driver supervisors. So between the three of us, we should be able to answer all of your questions. Our transportation manager, Charles Ratliff, was unable to join us tonight. So um he um gave us permission to present in his absence. Um our again our goal tonight is to provide information and education about Cabaris County's small little slice of the transportation pie. um our services are very defined and individuals who are eligible for our services have to meet certain criteria. So again, that's our goal tonight is to provide that information. So if there are Canapapolis City residents who are eligible for our transportation services and haven't tapped into them yet, then they know how to access those services. All right, we're going to go ahead and get started. If I can I'm Am I advancing the right way? Do I push the button? There we go. Pushing hard enough. Thank you so much. Um, so this is our vision for our uh,

Cabaris County Transportation Services, which is to envision a community where eligible individuals have reliable access to critical medical appointments and essential services. I think that's really important for us to stress here because our transportation services is does not provide services to all the different indiv places that residents would um aspire to access within the community. But through dedication, teamwork and compassion, we strive to serve with excellence and make a meaningful lifechanging difference with every trip. So, who can use our services? That's the critical question. We serve Cabaris County residents through a variety of programs designed to meet different needs. Those individuals are Medicaid recipients who can receive transportation to medical appointments and pharmacy visits. Also for mental health services or behavioral health services. Work first family assistance participants may receive transportation support for job searches and employment related travel. So for instance to the Rowan Cabaris Community College site where they're providing some of those employment services. Adults aged 60 and older who are not receiving Medicaid can access transportation through adult and aging services for medical and pharmacy visits. and Kelly here will go over some of those different funding streams for you in just a minute. And then we do have some very defined services for individuals in Cabaris County who were in the rural areas. So through a state grant, rural residents who do not qualify for other programs may be eligible through the rural general purpose program. I want to emphasize that at this moment, Canopapolis City

residents are not eligible for that grant. that is exclusively for Midland and Mount Pleasant residents at this current time. Additionally, adult and aging services offers the lunch plus programs or the nutrition site programs providing opportunities for eligible seniors to stay active and connected and we provide the transportation services to those sites as well. And we have one of those sites in each of the five municipalities in Cabaris County. See if I can advance. Okay, wonderful. So for those residents who are eligible, how do they get started? First, they should contact our call center, our transportation call center. And again, Kelly will talk about that to determine eligibility. So there is a process to determine eligibility for this service that we provide. And that has to be determined before scheduling a ride. Once approved, scheduling a ride is simple. Residents should be able to be prepared to provide the following information. The name of the writer, the pickup address and the phone number, the appointment date and time because a lot of times we are doing it specifically for medical appointments, pharmacy appointments, behavioral health um services as I mentioned. Um the appointment date and time, the destination name, address, and the phone number. Um, other important information for riders to know, we provide door-to-door services. So, you think of our um, transportations as really shuttle buses. We're not big big um, box buses. We're little shuttle buses. Um, rides must be scheduled at least one business day in advance. and appointments must be between the hours between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. We are in the process of extending that um time in the afternoon from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Um but we

are we're sort of um rolling that out to certain populations at this time. So, right now in general, it's 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with some exceptions. With return trips requested and called in by 400 p.m., we have a call center that Kelly actually manages. And that's what their responsibility is, is to schedule those return visits. And riders must be ready 1 hour before their scheduled pickup time because again, we're doing door-todoor service. So, we walk to the door, help the individual get into the shuttle. Um, approved out of county trips require riders to be ready two hours prior to the appointment times. So, for instance, some of our Cabaris County residents that we're serving, their do uh physician or specialist might be in the Raleigh area. We coordinate those rides and we provide those rides, but Kelly and her team has to coordinate that to make sure that we have the resources to be able to make that long trip all the way up to the triangle area or wherever that appointment might be. CCTS is committed to safety and accessibility for all of our passengers. So, seat belts are required for all riders. Um, we oftentimes get the question about minors. Um, minors have to be accompanied by an adult, by a caregiver, right? We do not transport youth without the presence of a caregiver. CCTS does not provide um wheel we do not provide the wheelchairs although of course if there's somebody who utilizes a wheelchair we are able to provide door-to-door service um but the homes must have accessible ramps for uh wheelchair users without ground level entry and riders are responsible for their personal belongings. All right. Now, I'm gonna turn it over to Kelly who's going to talk more get a little bit more into the weeds about our services.

Um, thank you, Dr. Pew. Um, my name is Kelly Strong. Again, I'm the operations and training supervisor for Cabaris County Transportation. Um, our uh our team is comprised of uh four members of management. That's our manager, um myself, and then two driver supervisors. We have four call center representatives um and we have two dispatchers and uh they also schedule uh scheduled the trips for the next day. Um we have two 21 full-time drivers, one part-time driver and one fleet support coordinator that handles um the maintenance of all the vehicles. Uh these are uh the funding sources um under the FY26 year. Uh we have the 5310 which is comprised of um uh adults 65 and older. 5310 CHA is the related to the public health services. The COC is uh city of Concord. It's a direct recipient. Um the elderly and handicapped is 60 and older or handicapped requires medical provider approval. Um department of aging and then department of social services the 19 cap is Medicaid for non-medical appointments. The department of social services 19 is the Medicaid for medical appointments and our managed care is our broker for select Medicaid recipients which is our mode of care subcontractor. Uh we have a rural general public which is the RGP program. Um residents must live in a rural area and complete an application. It's partly subsidized by residents. Uh we have social services and those services to the social services office

is um we provide the transportation. Uh okay. Uh this is our Canopoulos FY26. Um this is what we did this year. During FY26, CCTS has provided 10,55 trips to Canapapolis residents. That number reflects trips to a Canapapolis address, whether it was going to a medical appointment or to their home. Each funding source has been utilized by a Canapapolis resident. And the Canapapolis lunch plus is located at 6020 Moresville Road, Canapapolis, North Carolina 28081. Um that program runs Monday through Thursday and participants are transported to the lunch plus site through the funding program under adult and aging services.

Thank you so much, Kelly. Um so that uh funding um I'm going to go back for just a second. So, just to clarify, these are different federal grants. So, those numbers represent federal grants that we apply for. And as Kelly mentioned, oftent times we are the subreient through the city of Canapapolis, aka CK Rider, right? So, CK Ryder is the main grant recipient. We're a subreient under them for a lot of these different services. And then the other ones, again, they're Medicaid funded. So, it's all through the Medicaid um health plans here in the state of North Carolina. And the Motive Care one, we are a subcontractor under Motive Care. Motive care contra is the transportation vendor that contracts with the health plan and we're a subcontractor under them where we're providing those services to Medicaid beneficiaries in Cabaris County. Okay. We did have a nice little video that we show um our prospective drivers, but um unfortunately we were unable to get the audio to work. So, we're going to invite residents to go to our website at Cabaris County to view that um fun fivem minutee video that shows um a little bit more about our services. And with that, we're going to open it up for any questions from the council.

Okay, council, do we have questions? Mr. Dixon, you got a question? You're always smiling. I think you got a question. Go ahead. Go right ahead. Uh Dr. Pew, thank you so much for your um for your presentation. Uh of the 10,55 trips for Canapapolis residents, how many residents uh would that equate to?

I'm not quite sure of that number. I could research that for you. um it is to a Canapapolis address. So whether they were a Concord resident and then going to a medical appointment in Canapapolis or the RCC campus um as I can research and I'll just add to that and say that a lot of our writers as you can imagine are repeat writers. So for instance we schedule dialysis appointments for a lot of different individuals. So those individuals are going to dialysis every single day right? So, a lot of those trips are repeat writers, if that makes sense.

Yes. And what what is the income guideline for receiving services?

Um, so it really depends on what funding stream you're referring to. So, again, what I would do is I would invite residents to contact our call center. Um, and my apologies I didn't put the number up there, but we will um provide that information so that it can be included in your meeting minute notes and it's also on our Cabaris County website. And then once they call in there, it what happens is there's a general screening. So when once that information is collected then our um eligibility specialists can determine which if any of the funding streams those individuals are eligible for. Does that make sense?

It does. Yeah. Dr. Pew, thank you so much for being here. Um what's the cost for the rider? There is no cost for the rider depending on the only exception as Kelly mentioned is that RGP grant which is again exclusively for Midland and Mount Pleasant residents. Those writers do purchase books at $3 per ticket per ticket. Um and there's it's $3 one one way, correct? $3 one way, but those are the only services that we actually collect any money for. Thank you, Miss Baron.

Uh, on on the summary here, it says that CCTS has provided 10,55 trips to Canapapolis residents during fiscal year 2026. Are we looking at July 1, 2025 through today? That there's that many already? Yes, ma'am. There is. That's So, what do you estimate the uh total will be through June 30th? So, this is probably about three quarters of the year. So you can um we probably will have another roughly two to 3,000 okay more rides before the end of the fiscal year for Canapapolis city residents. Thank you.

Mr. Payne, did you have anything? Okay. Anyone else? Dr. Let me ask you a question. How many people do you think actually even know you exist? This is something I'm sitting here wondering because we have had a lot of people here tonight. I mean, you've heard the the concerns, but it sounds like to me that some of these concerns you could feel if they even knew you were there, but I don't know the answer to that. Is that a valid question? It is a valid question, of course. And so, um, one of the things that we are working with our communications department is is to put the word out to the community because if a resident is eligible for our services, we certainly want them to utilize them,

right? Point blank. So, we are undergoing um really an an active campaign, a marketing campaign around to re-educate the community about our services. One second. That said, usually though, if they are eligible through some sort of case management service, either through their social worker or through their medical office, they have been informed about the service. Okay. Mr. Mountain,

Dr. Uh quick question. It how can we be a part of that? So we I mean obviously we would love to be able to place links on our uh our website as well as uh get information out to our customers uh and citizens so that they're aware of this service as well. Uh I I think that was one of the big concerns that we had heard that you know maybe people just didn't know that CCTS was an option and available for them if they uh qualify for those services. So, please tell us how we can we can be part of that, how we and and what can we do to get some of that information, work with your team to be able to get that on our websites, get that out where our citizens can take advantage of the service.

Yeah, thank you for the question. And um my recommendation would be that um if you are able to put me in contact with a good communications person on your end, we'll have them connect with our communications individual such that that information can be linked to your website if that is your option if that's what you would like to do. Thank you so much. Of course. Yes, sir. Mr. And I think when we're probably starting with the water bill would be a good place to

that's why I mentioned that and I thought website water bill we can push it out on social media but at least making it where everybody you know any way that our our residents can take advantage of a service. Uh I was uh Councilwoman Hassel and I were at a meeting uh in the Little Texas community and a 91year-old lady, she was riding the bus and uh it it was so interesting that you know I shared with her your service and knowing that she qualifies and she could utilize that service and go door to door as opposed to having to wait and her family was pretty they were excited that this is an opportunity that's available for her and didn't want her having to do that anymore on the bus.

Yes, absolutely. We certainly want any resident who is eligible for our service to leverage it. And I'm sure the health alliance is making people aware you exist. Oh yes, they are very aware. Okay. Okay. Anyone else? Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith is a double visitor every time we have one.

I am, mayor. I'll try to make this as quick and painless as possible. Don't let the fact that this says that there are 19 text amendments for you to hear tonight cuz I'll make them fairly quick. So, um there are 19 text amendments to the KDO. We have taken this to the planning and zoning commission. If you've ever heard the phrase of unfunded mandates, uh 11 of these changes are by statute. So, it's basically something we inherited by the general assembly to make the changes to in the ordinance. So, uh with that, I'll quickly run through these. feel free to stop me during the process or ask questions at the end and certainly before after the public hearing. Uh first correction is in the KDO these are some things that we noticed as we've been working with this ordinance for the last four years. Uh in the mixeduse neighborhood district unfortunately it did not recognize single family attached dwellings and that would include town homes which are very common in that district because that district is a mix of residential and non-residential uses. So we add the lot width there and then on the next slide you'll see in the table of use chart we add it as a permitted use in that table of use chart there. Uh next is standard specific to uh tobacco and vape product type stores. This came about as a result of comments I received from city council planning and zoning commission and the public. Uh at this point in time we have inventoried the vape stores in the city standalone vape stores. We have 17 in the city. So, uh, planning commission decided to recommend to you to, uh, establish some further standards, uh, in the KDO to kind of help eliminate that being such a common use, if you will, because there are concerns about proximity to schools, uh, churches, and those type of uses as well. My understanding is there's legislation that would is pending to possibly further change these uses. So, this will be a fix in the interim. uh if those um provisions do pass down from the general assembly then we would certainly change that further uh as part of what changes they see there. So

basically it it sets up a separation distance of these vape stores so they're not as common. They are very common along the common corridors like Canon Boulevard uh because they're allowed in the general commercial district. Uh and this sets up additional standards for that. The next few slides will be those uh unfunded mandates I mentioned from the general statutes and and what we have to change the ordinance. Uh there are multifamily design standards that we've been allowed in the past to have in effect there. Uh but now we've been told uh as a result of legislative changes which came down in 2024 but there was a grace period that came with that. Uh there was expected amendments to it last year but that did not occur. So we decided to go ahead and move ahead with changing the ordinance based on the outcome of that. So we can no longer regulate the exterior building color, type of style or exterior cladding material, style or material roof structures and porches, exterior nonstructural architectural ornamentation, location or architectural styling of windows and doors, including garage doors, nor the number of types and types of rooms uh or the interior layout of rooms. So that's a mouthful, I know, but I'll get into a little further detail. This these standards uh apply to single family detached, duplex, triplex, quad, and town homes which are single family attached. They do not apply so our ordinance still reflects this to anything that's considered commercial or any multifamily. And I'll I'll kind of give you a circle highlight if you will of five plus units. Anything that's five or more units, uh you can still apply standards to because you'll see that on the next few slides I have for you. Historic districts, you can still apply these standards to building safety conditions of participating in national flood insurance programs, you can still apply there. It can also be applied to manufactured homes. So, in the case of like single wides, you can apply shingle roofing and lap vinyl sighting as opposed to having metal and special conditional zoning. If it's voluntary, we can still apply these things. And then lastly, private covenants or HO

areas. You can still have that in effect, but we don't enforce those. That's up to the individual entities for that. So um so with that these next few slides will show where these apply in the ordinance and we have to change it each pl each place it was mentioned. So there it's uh crossed out where we mentioned design requirements. Next slide we basically uh remove it for accessory dwelling units. That was a heated discussion with our planning and zoning commission because they were disappointed to see that we can no longer require an accessory dwelling unit to look like the primary structure. Used to but we can't do that anymore. So we have to change that. um another case of the accessory dwelling unit and a applicable provisions there and that it just basically has to apply to the all uh provisions of the KDO. Next was uh we did update this to the industry standard because our old definition was a little wordy and not quite clear there. So we wanted to update that a little bit there to what you see in the uh surface requirements for single family duplex and triplex dwellings. Next, this is a typo. Technically staff could change that on our own because it's technically just a typo, but we feel felt like it's best just to go ahead and include that as part of the uh text amendments we have before you tonight. Uh building facades. So here's where we get into the five or more units. So we had to change all these next few slides the wording where five or more units applied that we can only apply these standards if it's five or more units and only in that case nothing that's less than that. So each of these will show that we can have standards for roofing. Again, uh you can have standards as far as facads go, but again, it has to be five or more units. Uh same there as far as those particular areas. And of course, lastly with the um compatibility standards, you can certainly match compatibility. So, and then of course you see it there with the overall facade requirements and this particular one. So, that's the majority of the general statute change there. So, we jump back into some catches that staff has caught over the last few years. uh where this says attached dwelling, it should be a single family detached because in this

particular situation, that's the only thing uh where it would be applicable in a non-conforming situation there. And then net floor area, we changed that definition to kind of simplify that because it was a little more complicated. It should have been um amend the definition of partial grooming or well-being service. We wanted to basically scratch through the uh or massage and add massage business. This is as a result of some work we did in the past with Canapapolis Police Department on a facility that was located on Canon Boulevard. There was some discrepancy in the ordinance, the way it was worded. So, we needed to change that because in that particular situation, there was some human trafficking going on and our ordinance didn't help that situation as far as enforcements go. Uh and then lastly, and this one looks like a lot, but it was just one of those typo situations where all other areas of the ordinance. We had this uh denoted in the uh table, if you will, but for some for some reason um as far as the um setup of the table. It did not pick up on any of those X's showing up. So, we need to go back and show those for the evergreen trees and kind of mark that out and then take the Astro Scout for that. So just a um correction if you will on that. So lastly, the planning and zoning commission did hear this at their most recent meeting. Uh recommended approval of this. They did recommend a adoption of a statement of consistency there. Uh and they also recommended that you approve these as presented by staff and of course staff recommends approval of these as well. So with that, I would request that you conduct a public hearing and then consider adopting the res resolution to adopt a state statement of consistency and then adopt the ordinance as well. So with that, I'll be glad to answer any questions you have.

You have any questions for Mr. Smith? Was that fast enough, Mayor? Yes. Pretty good. I lost you about two two paragraphs. U Okay. Nobody has a question. Miss Dixon, you always give me that look. I can't read it. I'm Okay. All right. You good? I'm good.

All right. I'm going to open the public hearing. If anyone wants to talk on this subject and this subject only, please come forward at this time. Okay. I don't think anybody's going to come forward, so we're going to close the public hearing. Council. Uh, we need a motion first on the resolution to the adopted statement of consistency for TA-2026-01. Some moved. Mr. Payne's got that. Second. Miss Hatchel's got the second. All in favor, if you will, please raise your hand. Now we have a motion on the ordinance u amending the KDO. So moved. Mr. Payne's got that.

Second. Miss Barry has that. All in favor, if you will raise your hand. Thank you. Now, Mr. Mountain, we are back to you.

Thank you, mayor. So, this evening we have uh an action item, actually two action items regarding appointments to the Wasach board. Uh one of the appointments to the Wasach board this evening is uh with the retiring retirement of uh city manager, former city manager Mike Le. Uh he was our appointee, staff appointee to the WASAC board. Um and it's recommended that city council uh appoint Alex Anderson as our representative on the WASAC board and with uh the former mayor Hennett that was uh a part of the he was our representative uh on the Wasac board uh that was filled that unexpired term uh with councilwoman Dixon. It is asked that Councilwoman Dixon be reappointed to the Wasac board as our uh representative from city council servant. So, um, with that, mayor, I'm happy to answer any questions that we might have, uh, with that, but those are the two actions before you tonight.

Anyone have any questions? All right, we need a motion to appoint Mr. Anderson. So move, mayor. So moved, Mr. Jackson. Is there a second? Second. Mr. Payne. All in favor, if you will, please. Thank you. We need an appointment to reappoint Miss Dixon. Mr. Payne, you going to do it again? So moved. Mr. Payne. Yes. Okay. Second, Mr. Jackson, would stand right together here. All in favor, if you will, please raise your hand. Okay. Thank you for that. And thank you for a long list of things here tonight. Mr. Melton, you've had a lot to say so far. You have anything else you wanted to share with us?

Yes, sir. Mayor, I have one comment uh or one thing to bring before city council. Uh exciting news, of course. Uh I know that many of you are already aware. We've talked, but this actually came out in the public today, and I think it's appropriate to share uh with city council and uh everybody else today, but last week uh in the Charlotte Business Journal, there was an article published that Google has decided to expand here in Canapapolis at Overlook 85. That's exciting news. We're very excited to have Google as a part of our business family here locally and look forward to our our continued relationship with them uh moving forward. Uh unfortunately I can't share with you specifics regarding their operations at this facility but what I can share with you this evening is that it is not an AI data center. Uh and I think that's important. I and you might ask how do I know that? Well I'm clear on that because the utilities at this particular site will not support an AI data center. So um without question it just cannot be supported there. But uh we are very excited to have them with the opportunity that they're going to bring for our citizens as well as our business community. And that's all I have. Mayor.

Okay. Council, any council members have any comments? Miss Hatchel. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I appreciate um Mr. Melton. I think there was some good concerns that some of the citizens brought up today um about our our alert system. Would it be possible if like in the next couple meetings we have like an in-depth how to sign up presentation steps that the residents need to take um why they need to take it like why do they have to opt in those types of things so that the next time that they will be fully opted in and then also just looking at different ways we can communicate that whether it's a presentation here and all that kind of stuff would that be possible

absolutely I think we can do that in addition to looking at uh and in any incident like this we do what's called an afteraction report and we tend to look through what went right, what went wrong, uh how we can improve uh and we can certainly do that and then bring that back to city council but we're in the early stages right now just working through all the details but uh in the coming meetings we'll get something back to council quickly.

Perfect. Great. And I and I do want to say too, um, one of my joys of being here is really the residents that live in Canapapolis. And I'm reminded of that a lot. And, um, even if we have everything set up, at the end of the day, I would rather 10 neighbors knock on that elderly person's door to remind them of something if it happens. Because I know in in today's age, um, there's those people that as soon as they get a notification, they get it off their phone. And then there's those that have like a thousand unread emails or a thousand unread texts. So we always want to be looking out for our neighbors and I heard a lot of residents did that and I I personally did it too. Um so I would just encourage people that's what makes Canapapolis great is we really do look out for each other. Um I did want to just say a couple more words about something. So just bear with me. I'm going to try to make this brief because it is a late night. I do want to just briefly speak on the transportation issue because I know it really does affect real people in our community. And I want to be very clear for me personally and I believe the majority of this board. We know that public transportation matters and there are residents who need those things for work and doctor's appointments and daily needs and it should be part of our consideration and that's exactly why we had the county here today to talk about other options. And I also know something about the people of Canapapolis, which I just mentioned, is that we really do care about one another. And we are a community that wants to help and that truly matters. And at the same time, a lot of the funding for this public transit is actually funded by the residents of our city. And many of those residents don't use it. And we, as we sit here, we really do have a responsibility to ensure that those resources are being used in the most effective way possible. Personally, I've worked through data and information that's been available to us and there has been one thing that has stood out. The ridership on the CK riders has not returned to pre preandemic levels and in fact it is continuing to trend downward. So, it

really raises a very important question and that question is not whether this transit matters but is this current system delivering what's the best outcomes for the people who rely on it. Um, some of the people that spoke tonight, I would encourage them to I don't want to see them waiting at a bus stop. I'm just going to be honest. And they would probably qualify for the paratransit with CK Rider. And I would really encourage them to see if they qualify with these Cabaris County options. And Rowan actually has options, too. Part of the reason why we're doing this is because we want to find the most effective model that actually works for our citizens because if it's not working effectively, then it's not fair to the residents that are funding it and it's not fair for the riders depending on it. It was mentioned that some people rode the bus and I was not able to ride when there was an invitation due to my work schedule, but one day I did ride the bus. My experience was a little bit different than Miss Dixon's, but I think it's it's an experience that helped me understand some things. First of all, as soon as I got on the bus, I was actually a little bit concerned for my safety because of the behavior of another passenger on the bus. What even stood out for me more was the amount of time it took. What would have been a 10-minute car ride approximately, but it took approximately an hour and a half on the bus. And for me, that's not okay because I don't think that's fair to those riders. So what we're trying to be mindful here in this place is that we want to make sure what we have available for our citizens is operating effectively and efficiently as possible. We want to make sure people have transportation. That has been the goal of this this council as the majority. We have talked about it many times. So I know there's a lot of things going out there that says we want to cut and all that. And I think Mr. Le said it best when he spoke earlier tonight. All you have to do is really love this community and we can work out the rest. And I would say most of the speakers that came here tonight, they really do love their community and

and maybe we just have some different ideas on policy and how to get there. We're going to work through those things. But I want you to know that this council does care. These things do matter to us, but we want the best effective efficient model for you out there. I don't think someone should have to work a 10-hour shift at Amazon and then ride for an hour and a half or two hours to get home. That's not an efficient model. And as stewardships of your money, we need to do what's right for you, whether you're paying for it or whether you're riding on there. There are reasons why other communities around us have changed systems because they are more effective and efficient for those riders. I would encourage anyone that might qualify for the Cabaris County program that they spoke about tonight, please check into it. also to check into the paratransit opportunities with CK rider because there are some people I don't want walking to a bus stop. I want them to have that curb to curb service and those opportunities are already there. So, please take advantage of it. So, thank you.

Thank you, ma'am. Miss Barrack. Okay. A motion to enter into close session pursuant to NCGS1 14331811 A3 to consult with an attorney in order to preserve the attorney client privilege and GS1 1433181184 for discussing matters relating to the location or expansion of industries or businesses in the area. Is there a second? Mr. Dixon, all in favor, if you'll please raise your hand. We're now in close session. Thank you for coming.