City Council - Regular Meeting

Depends on what he's got. Put that mic down beside you. Ike. That mic. I think the hood will be all right. Say tax increase on three. Yeah. Smile. It went away. Yeah.

Thank [laughter] you. That's quick enough. 39 seconds. Did you do that by my head? I'm going tell him if he did. You and TJ are causing trouble. Thank you. I'm just sitting here. Okay. Great. [laughter] That' be perfect. Great. You going to go back get it up there. You'll have your jet black hair. Come on, brother. You be like that boxer ice box. Lost his two during the fight. [laughter] See that? He was biting on his face. Knocked it right off. Knocked it right off. Do a lot of things for love. What he said.

No. No. We Everybody ready? [crying] Good evening and welcome to the city council meeting of the city of Lenor for Tuesday, February the 3rd, 2026. We welcome you here this evening. Thank you for coming out. Everybody looks sharp tonight by the way. Picture night. Try to say other look pretty good over there. Clean up good. Is that what you're saying?

Yeah, everybody cleaned up pretty good tonight. Thank you all for being here and coming early tonight to do that. And we appreciate the photographer that was here and and what he was doing. A couple things as we get started. We'll start in a minute with our moment of silence and our pledge of allegiance as we normally do. Uh let me remind you, of course, that February is Black History Month and we'll be celebrating a lot of events during the month of February. Uh we'll do a proclamation on that uh uh that we always do and we'll get that done here soon. uh proclaiming this month as uh Black History Month. And uh I have a special announcement. The Lenor Rotary Club honored one of our own in Mr. Lester Whittington was honored by the Rotary Club as the U vocational service award uh non-member Rotary member of that and and we were at the Rotary last Friday for that special award. Lester was caught off offguard and uh and but he enjoyed that and it was fun doing that as as Lester has put in a lot of time with this city and we appreciate all that he has meant to uh not only the city or our recreation department and and this county uh in the community and what he does a lot of events. So congratulations when you see Lester let him know that uh we appreciate what he does. [crying]

Okay. We'll now Hey, [laughter]

we'll now rise for the uh moment of silence and remain standing for our pledge. Thank you. Please salute the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. We'll get started with first with a special recognition. [snorts] We'll come down. I'll ask to come up. And Matt, would you come up? Tonight, we're here to honor our own Matt to get this right. Duchan. Yeah. Hey, how about it? I got it right. Ducking on his way.

Duchan. Um, and Matt, thank you for what you do as a planner in our department of planning. You and Hannah do a great job. Great team. You've worked on a lot of wonderful projects. But Matt is being honored tonight as a as a uh special member. This is a um certified planner and commitment to the AICP code of ethics and professional uh conduct uh certified planner number and he is being honored by the American Institute of Certified Planners and we're going to present that to you. But I'm gonna let Hannah talk about it and tell what's going on.

Yeah. Matt Duchan is a skilled and effective planner. Uh Matt holds a master's degree um in urban and regional planning from the University of Colorado. He also has experience from other municipalities and counties uh bigger than Lenor and he provides that experience to the Lenor planning department. Um Matt uh he he regularly contributes to attractive development in Lenor through thorough site plan review. Um he uh he held a great leadership role during the comprehensive plan process as second in command and uh ensuring that that document guides the city for years to come. Um Matt excels at building relationships with the public and with uh his colleagues, the planning staff and uh and with consultants. Um he's present and he's engaged and he's very helpful. Um the AICP is um the only national certification that a planner can get. Um you have to take a 170 question test at one of those testing sites. Um there is also an experience assessment and Matt's experience um from other places and here in Lenor um provided him with that um with that history that he needed to uh get to this point. So, um, [clears throat] and this process just takes months of preparation. I'm very proud of Matt for, um, for going through that process and I am so pleased that he has succeeded with getting the AICP. So, thank you for supporting uh, that goal of his and Matt, well done.

[applause]

Let's get a picture if we can. Oh, yes. I'm sorry. [laughter] Russian. Thank you. And please introduce your family, [snorts] too. Oh, yeah. Sorry. Well, obviously I don't I just got here. Um, hey everybody. Um, my wife Hannah and my bab 10th old baby Arthur here with us tonight for pictures and celebration. So, I just want to Exactly.

Thanks. Thanks everybody for being here and supporting us. Um, honestly, I'm just thrilled to receive this award working with the city of Lenor. Um, I admire I admire the city's partnership um and stewardship um from council and throughout all the departments. You could tell it reflects um really well and all the fruits of our labor that we accomplished throughout the year. So, two and a half years so far and many more to come. So, I I appreciate everything that we do together. Um thanks everybody. Thank you. [applause] Let's get a picture together.

Yes. Okay.

What's up, Dave? Joshua so he can keep. All right. Put your right hand in your pocket. Put your left hand in your pocket. All right. All right. All right. I can't see you. Can you come up front? Where do you want your hands? Just put your hands down. See everybody? All right. Hey, baby. Hey, baby. [applause]

You going to have that baby on your back? I'm not a team player. He's young and inexperienced and he doesn't know better. Okay. [laughter]

Wait, the mic's on. Are you sorry?

Again, congratulations, Matt. Thank you for what you do with our city. We appreciate the hard work, the comprehensive plan, and a lot of things that you've been putting together. and we certainly appreciate that that work that you and Hannah and your department do and I know you work well with everybody in the in the city. So, thank you. All right, we'll move on then. We do not have anything scheduled for uh public hearings this evening. So, we'll move on to our consent agenda item consisting tonight of several items. Uh item A are the minutes of the city council uh meeting of Tuesday, January 20th as submitted. Item B are the minutes of the committee the whole meeting of Tuesday January 27th 2026 as submitted. Item C is the McGill Associates PA. This is task order number six. Recommendation of approval of the task order number six for civil engineering services related to the campus improvements project phase one in the amount of $18,500. The services include conducting contract administration for the construction site/sivil work for phase one as submitted. Item D is from Freeze and Nickels Incorporated. This is amendment number one for lead and copper uh predictive modeling. Did I say that right? Predictive modeling. Uh staff recommends approval of the amendment number one of the lead copper service line inventory phase three agreement for professional services for development and coordination of a predictive modeling approach in identifying all service lines. The proposed amendment number one amends the professional services agreement dated as of November 19th, 2024 in amount of $96,000 for a vi total contract amount of $251,000. The fee will be paid from the principal forgiveness loan, thus resulting in no

additional cost to the city as submitted. Item E is a destination by design studios LLC. Amendment number one for the gateway signage construction specifications contract. This is for approval of the amendment number one for construction phase services/contract administration related to the installation of four gateway signs in the amount of $41,477 as submitted. Item F is a capital project ordinance. This is for gateway signs project. Recommendation of approval of a capital project budget ordinance in the amount of $569,749 for the gateway sign project as submitted. Item G is for the Western Pedmont Council Government's agreement. This is for code enforcement assistance. Recommendation is for an agreement with the Western Pedmont Council of Governments for temporary non-residential code enforcement assistance for a fee not to exceed $22,300 during the period beginning February 3rd, 2026 and ending on June 30th, 2026 as submitted. And item H is for the right light signs incorporated change order number three for hydrovac services. Recommendation is for approval of a change order change number three for hydrovac boring services related to borings required based on field survey conditions obstructions for 40 hole locations identified for the wavefinding sign installation in the amount of $62,000 as submitted. That is your consent agenda items A through H as pre uh presented. I will open it to the council for any discussion. motion.

I just want to comment. I just want to mention that all these items were discussed at your committee the whole meeting last week. So I think we've worked out any kinks in those for you. So Mr. Mayor, like I can make a motion that we approve of consent agenda items A through H as presented. Okay. Motion for Mayor Pro Tim Perkins that we approve consent agenda items A through H as presented. No other comments. All in favor, please say I. All opposed.

Thank you. That is everyone tonight. That's great. 70. Thank you for that. All right, we'll move on then to on our agenda for any requests and petitions of any citizens. If there's anyone here that would like to address the council tonight, this is the time to do so. I think most everybody is our staff that's here and Matt and his family. He's staffed, too, by the way. [laughter] Okay, that brought the age down of the attendance tonight.

That's it. The age. Yeah, we got a age lowering tonight with the attendance. That's good. All right. Seeing no one, hearing no one, we'll move on then. We do not have reports of our boards and commissions this evening. So, we'll move on to the report and recommendations of the city manager, Mr. Hildebrand.

Mayor, council, a couple items for information this evening. Our city planned retreat will be held on Friday, February 6 at 8:30 a.m. at the Blue Ridge Energy meeting room. Uh I think breakfast will start at 8, but the meeting will start at 8:30. Uh the city county service committee will meet on Monday, February 9th at noon at the Jboro Civic Center. Uh the planning board will meet on Monday, February 9th at 5:30 in city count chambers. That's correct. Okay, make sure. Uh ABC board will meet on Thursday, February 12th at 2 o'clock. Uh the economic development advisory committee will meet on Tuesday, February 10th, 8:15. That'll be at the Jour Hill Civic Center. And then also the parks and recreation board will meet on Monday, February 16th. Um at 6 o'clock, Mo Recre. And I think I missed the Lord Business Advisory Board will meet on Thursday, February 12th, 6 o'clock. And that's third floor, city hall. Um also, I want to go back and publicly thank our our staff for the snow and the ice we've had the last several weeks. I appreciate the work of public works, public utilities, police, fire, parks, and wreck. uh everybody's been involved in lending a hand. Uh we've received a lot of calls, but I think we've uh resolved most of those issues and appreciate the hard work. U long nights for a lot of folks. So, thank you. Uh also want to go back and I know Lester is hosting the Black History Month coming up here this first event I think is on Sunday, February 8th, we have a gospel singing at 3 o'clock at MLK. Uh, Saturday, February 14th, we have a movie at 4 o'clock and that'll be at MLK. Uh, Thursday, February 19th, we have an essay and poetry contest at six o'clock MLK. And on Monday, February 23rd, there's a blood drive. And all these events, you can find more information on the city's website for those. Um, lastly, let me go back and recognize Major Chris Bumgardner and his promotion. I think effective a couple days ago. Congratulations with that.

[applause] And that's all I have unless you have questions. Any questions of the city manager, Mr. Hildbrank, concerning any upcoming events? Let us all please. Yes, sir. I'll just add all the Black History Month events are free to the public. Oh, thank you. Also, do you want to mention the uh leadership academy? That'd be a good time to do that. Yes, sure. We'll recognize our director of communications, director of leadership academy. [laughter] Thank you, council. Do that.

We are starting a what's called the leadership lenor civic learning academy. Applications are open for that now. I talked about it to y'all during the committee of the whole meeting. We hope to start the first class I think is March 9th, whatever the first Monday in March is. We're looking for about 20 can 20 participants 16 or older. So I hope we get a couple high school students. And we'll be reviewing city versus county versus state versus federal local government. you know, property taxes, revenue, sales taxes, and then the programs and services that our departments provide in Lenor, fire, finance, police, planning, parks and wreck, public works, public utilities.

That's great. Who did I leave out? Me, downtown development. Main Street and downtown development. So, it'll be a really good opportunity for people that are maybe somewhat involved in the community but want to know more about how local government works. This will be a great chance for them to find out a lot of lot more details and hopefully provide a foundation where if you want to ask questions or if you want to know things, you have some information to start with because that's what we find a lot of times are people are just not well informed about no fault of their own

just not well informed about the details. I mean the city's a big it's got a lot going on. It's got a big budget. It's got a lot of different programs, a lot of different services. So please apply sooner rather than later. the participation will be limited. So we're looking at 20 maybe 25 depending. So Joshua, how long is the

course? 12 week 12 12 nights. 12 Monday nights. I think we have one open night right now in case we need to reschedule something like that. And then once we finish the class, I'm going to invite the participants to a council meeting. And then hopefully we can have a kind of get to know council before the meeting starts and then we'll recognize the particip the people that complete it during the council meeting. Get some photos, give out some certificates. So I think it'll be fun. Is there a cost for this academy? I mean if you want to give me some No, there's no cost. It's free.

It's it's free to the public. So good. You do have to live in the city limits of Lenor or own or operate a business in the city limits. So, and the committee that's doing it is that the service committee. Who who who is it? That's really the department heads putting it together. Perfect. Yeah. All the instructors are sitting out there right now as we speak. [clears throat] Yeah. I want to say a big thank you to the department heads because I said, I've got this idea now. Y'all need to put together some presentations [laughter] for it. I did provide some drafts from other cities to kind of go by, but that's nice. I'm relying on my wonderful co-workers to put that information together. So, and I I know they'll do a good job. Sounds good.

It's good. You know, we did a I think it was city 101 or whatever sometime back and a lot of people enjoyed that uh and [clears throat] said, "When are you going to do a 102 or whatever?" So, uh this is good that we're uh that we're doing that and got a chance. So many people don't know what we do. don't know what the city is about and finances and all the things that are involved here. So, I mean, I graduated college and I didn't really know much about local government until I started working in the newspaper business wherein you cover local government and then you start learning about the departments and the processes and that kind of thing. So, you know, and y'all reaching out to the schools because you mentioned the 16 year olds. Are we sending anything letting them know that we're doing?

Yes. I'm going to send an email to their PIO over at the county school system. Sounds good. Gone the app to start with. You'd have known about all this stuff. [laughter] Oh, if I only got that MPA. Only got that MPA. I'm gonna come back for a picture when I graduate. There you go. [laughter] By the way, congrat. He is doing an NBA program now. Josh Whiz at Appalachin and we're go up state. Yeah, we're proud of you. Even got him a hat to wear. He looks good in it. Made me. No. No. No. I I love Western North Carolina. App State would be perfect. If I was going to get one, that'd be the place I'd go. Absolutely. Good school. He didn't pay me to say that either. Here you go. [laughter]

The mayor did give me a good recommendation letter as did city manager. Nice. And he gave me a hat. So there you go. Win all you needed. [laughter] Anything any other questions? Any questions of Joshua concerning this? Thank you, Josh. Good job, Josh. Thank you. Great program. Thank you. Anyone else have anything from our staff? Anything you want to add? The groundhog saw a shadow. Yeah. [laughter] Unfortunately, we going to have six more weeks. Let's hope it's not of ice and and snow. It's going to start tomorrow. Yeah. I hope we miss it, but I hope so.

Hadn't had that luck so far. Anyway, nothing else on that part of it. Okay. On that, uh, city attorney, anything from your department? Sorry. Nothing exciting for me. Nothing exciting except for that lawsuit which we thought we didn't have. I don't know what you're talking about.

Me either. [laughter] I don't know anything about it. Wasn't us, was it? All right. Uh and I will mention uh from the mayor's office that we do have a opening on our planning board and uh several actually a couple boards that we have some openings but we're working on those right now as we speak. I think we have a recommendation for you for the planning board hopefully at our next meeting uh that we that we're looking into right now. U someone who had applied some time back and I think will be a really good fit for our board. So we'll we'll bring that to you in the in the near future on that. And again, I don't have anything else really to add to that. I'll turn it over to any council members. Anyone have anything you want to say or do before we adjourn?

All right. Nothing else? If not, we're ajourned. Make a motion to adjourn. You got it. [laughter]