City Council - Regular Meeting

Well, hello everybody. How's everybody doing? Welcome, welcome, welcome. We appreciate your attendance tonight. We we find it an honor when we see this many citizens here uh attending to the town business and we have a very exciting agenda tonight. But before we do anything, we'd like to have everyone to stand for our invocation and pledge of allegiance. Commissioner Haynes.

Uh let us pray. Uh grace God, we thank you for this day. God, we thank you for your grace and mercy. Father God, uh Father God, we thank you for uh all those who assembled this evening. Father God, we thank you for uh we able to come together and celebrate so many amazing recognitions in our town. Father God, uh, Father God, we're thankful for all our town staff and all and es especially all of our citizens every day. Father God, we thank you for the town staff who work so hard each and every day to make this town a better place. Uh, continue, you know, God, as we go into this meeting, Father God, we pray for this town board and our management as we make decisions to better serve this community. Father God, we pray that all hearts and minds are clear and we pray that everything we do is pleasing your sight, Father God. Now, God, we're thankful for just um being able to smell the air and be able to live. Father God, we thank you and we honor in your precious name. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Thank you. Please join me in the pledge. 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. You may be seated. He didn't waste any time. At this time, I will ask town manager Adam Mitchell to review the meeting protocol for public participation as it relates to this meeting.

Thank you, Mayor. Good evening. Good evening, board members. It's good to be with you tonight. Tonight's town board meeting is both in person and livereamed on the town's YouTube channel and Facebook page. Tonight's meeting contains a public comment period and no scheduled public hearings. The public is invited to comment in person. When it is the appropriate time, Mayor Harris will call on those wishing to address the town board. All attendees that have appeared in person to address the town board during the public comment period should provide your name and address on the green registration sheet by the podium prior to the public comment period beginning. We ask all those wishing to address the town board during the public comment period to begin their comments by clearly stating their name and address for the public record. The public has asked to keep all comments to three minutes so that all that wish to speak may be heard in a timely manner. To be respectful of those that may have different views on matters addressed by the town board, we ask all in attendance to respect the decorum of the meeting by refraining from clapping, making loud noises, and generally showing support or displeasure for comments made during the public comment period. Police Chief Smith will be asked to escort from the boardroom anyone not respecting the process and it is the discretion of the mayor as presiding officer to continue the public comment period if the meeting protocol is not followed. This concludes the protocol for tonight's meeting.

Thank you, Mr. Manager. The next item is item 3A, approval of the minutes of the March 9th, 2026 Town Board of Commissioner regular schedule meeting. Do I hear a motion to approve those minutes? Mayor, I move to approve the minutes of the March 9, 2026 Town Board of Commissioners regular scheduled meeting. Second. It's been moved and second that the minutes be approved. All those in favor, let it be known by saying I. I. I.

Any opposed? Eyes have it. Motion carried. Now we move to item 4 A, the 2024 North Carolina Main Street Champions Recognition, the town of Fugquway Verina Public Works Department. More information about this I will present and uh what we are going to do is introduce Tracy Stevenson, the public works director, and Tracy will introduce and recognize the public works staff in attendance. Good evening, Mayor. Um, we appreciate the opportunity to be here. We're very thankful the ability to be here with this award. I have uh my staff would come on up. We have a large group from uh from our staff uh because um a group of myself uh Gabe Brley, Jerry Burch, uh Martis Baker, and James Jordan went down to receive the award, but we felt it appropriate tonight to have a good number of our folks from our debris um our debris, sanitation, and streets group here because we are as an entire department. So, we want to thank all these guys for showing up and uh we appreciate y'all having us here tonight.

Well, thank you. Thank you so much.

This really sets a milestone for our community to have you recognized, to let each of you know how important you are in your your relationship to our town and what you mean to each of the citizens here. what you do is very valuable and your allegiance and your commitment to the town over the years stands out based on your being recognized. Recognitions is so important and we certainly recognize your effort every day showing up to work doing the hard things that others may not know that you do or even want to do. So we certainly appreciate everything that you do. You have any further comments? Uh no sir, I do again appreciate all these gentlemen for uh the work that they do and the you know other 40 or so that we don't are not with us tonight. So uh we we got as many guys here as we could. Obviously it's a busy busy night for a lot of them but we really appreciate them coming tonight.

Well I tell you I was proud I took the trip there just to witness and be a part of this recognition. It was a great day and I know that uh in individuals from the town who attended the main street uh convention were just as proud as well of Fugquway Arena and the work that each of you do. We were so proud of you. So what we want to do now someone have any comments?

Mr. Mayor, I just wanted to uh add some additional context if I could. the uh our public works staff uh that director Stevenson mentioned are from various departments. Uh each NC Main Street community is given the opportunity to select an individual or a couple or civic organization or business partnership or government entity that made a significant contribution to the success of their downtowns in 2025. and the North Carolina Main Street and the town of Fugquway Verina are very proud and the Fugquway Verina downtown association are very proud to recognize our public works department as our 2025 main street champions. Um the public works department has played a vital role as you all know not only maintaining and inviting downtown but in the logistics of community events like the barbecue blues and bruise sleigh rides, the chili cookoff and car show and the dinner on in downtown. And so uh they play an integral role of both event and uh just a quality looking downtown. We do have a video that was shown Mr. Mayor at the main street if you uh wouldn't mind Scott queuing that up for the audience just so they have an opportunity.

Fquay Verina Public Works Department Fugquay Verina. Behind every sleuth event and clean street in downtown Fugquay Verina is a dedicated team from the public works department. James Jordan, Gabe Riley, Martis Baker, and Jerry Burch bring 16 to 30 years of experience to their roles, and it shows. From street closures to festival logistics, they're the reason downtown stays welcoming. James says it's about balance. Just keep everybody happy, whether they're coming to the event or trying to move around it. He credits Martis and Jerry for their hands-on support. Gabe and his solid waste team are just as essential. Whether setting up before a festival or cleaning up after a concert, we're there making sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. And he adds proudly, "We love what we do." For their dedication, teamwork, and behindthe-scenes excellence, Fugquway Verina proudly recognizes their public works department as its 2025 Main Street Champion. Thank you. And Mr. Mayor, as with all of our Main Street champions, they will be recognized with a plaque on a bench in our downtown at a location of the public works department's choosing. So, we'll have to we'll have to figure that out, but uh it'll be a nice recognition.

Well, let's take a group photo. All right, if you all would come up. They also got the biggest hand and shout out of any of the other champions that were presented that day. Great.

Come on, Miss Barrel.

I'll get on my tiptoes. Thank you. Thank you all. Our next item 4B is the employee recognition women's club employee of the year award Trey Bagot. More information about this agenda item will be presented by parks and recreation director Cox.

Good evening board. Each year, the FU Arena Women's Club recognizes a town employee who demonstrates excellence in the community by going above and beyond in their service and dedication to Fugquo Verina and is involved in community volunteer work. The recipient of the 2025 award is marketing and special events coordinator Trey Bagot. Trey began working uh with the town in 2016 as an athletic program specialist and became the marketing and special events coordinator in uh 2022. In his time as the marketing and special events coordinator, Trey's efforts have led to increases in event sponsorship sales, public participation rates, and enhancing the town branding by creating marketing campaigns such as the chain of excellence and the big hat. Furthermore, Trey makes an impact in the community away from the parks and rec department by volunteering with inspired kids, a fugue renabased nonprofit dedicated to increasing child access to the performing arts. Trey received the award on January 12th at the Fugway and Women's Club surrounded by friends, family, and co-workers. Management staff would like to recognize Trey publicly for his diligence and excellent work. At this time, I'd like to introduce Ruth Olive, who is the president of the Fugquway and Women's Club, to provide additional information on the award.

Good evening. Thank you for having us here because we just can't celebrate this man enough. So, we're glad to be here to do this again. Um, we're from the Fquaver Arena Women's Club, a club that's been here a hundred years doing nonprofit community service with almost a hundred members and we're getting ready to celebrate again like a hundred years anniversary. And these are just four of the members that are part of our club. We do over a hundred projects a year, but this very special project we do is to help um again to celebrate someone Blake Trey who is a town employee that we thought was just outstanding. So, I'm going to turn this over to Amy Massingill, who is the spearhead of that project. Um, and then Melvina Crona and Ruby Haynes are also part of this committee called civics engagement and outreach. And thank you again for seeing us, hearing us, being a partner with us. Several of you in the room here um have been um descended upon by me to do things for us. So, we want to thank you for all of that. So, I'm going to turn this over to Amy.

Good evening. Hello. Yes. We are super proud of you. And I also want to mention that this project's been going on about four years now. And I want to thank Adam thank Mitchell and his staff for every year giving me several fabulous candidates for us to choose from. And Trey, you have just been one of the very best. And we have another surprise for you. Uh in honor of you, we have a 200 $220 check to Inspired Kids in your honor. Wow. Thank you. Thank you. That's great.

I just want to say thank you to the women's club, to our my directors and the board, everyone here with the town who's helped me to grow uh and to the wonderful person and professional I've become. I hope to keep growing and learning and getting better every day. So, I appreciate everything you do for me. Well, Trey, thank you. Thank you for what you do for the community. I mean, you found your niche in marketing and events and it seemed as if you're comfortable in that and you're doing a great job. So, so we're proud of you and this recognition is timely. Any other commissioners have any comments. Just just to add our best wishes to and our thanks for all you do. Um, you look different without your big hat.

Yeah, that was marketing tool. We got to get a picture. Yes. Trey Trey always does a really good job interacting with the public like so many of the people we've had here tonight and um really makes the town look good. He does. And so I I I also agree with the women's club on this on this award. Oh, okay. again. Congratulations.

Okay. Thank you. Great. Great job, y'all. Thank you so much. Now we move to item 4 C, recognition of Officer Brian Willinscraftoft, Dogwood Award. More information about this agenda item will be presented by Police Chief Smith.

Good evening, Mayor, commissioners. I am excited to announce that recently Master Officer Brian Williscraftoft was honored with the Attorney General's Dogwood Award, which was awarded by Attorney General Jeff Jackson. This prestigious award, initiated in 2017 by Attorney General Josh Stein, recognizes North Carolinians dedicated to keeping people safe, healthy, and happy in their communities. Why did he get this award? Officer Williscraftoft, who's one of our detectives in the criminal investigations division, has been at the forefront of addressing scams involving cryptocurrency kiosks and ATMs, a rising area of exploitation, especially targeting our elderly residents. These machines often facilitate financial crimes and have pose steep transaction fees, sometimes up to 30% profits that become elicit when tied to scams. Demonstrating compassion and initiative, Officer Willis Croft began working with crypto ATM operators to request fees refunds for victims of scams, a significant step in helping victims recover lost funds. And so far, he's been able to recover thousands of dollars for these victims. Officer Williscrooft collaborated with the state bureau of investigation and special deputy attorney general from the consumer protection division. These partnerships have driven efforts to increase transparency and consumer awareness about cryptocurrency ATM fraud. The Fugquway Verina Police Department under Officer Willis Croft's initiative became the first law enforcement agency in North Carolina to place warning signs at every local crypto ATM and kiosk. This initiative educates the public at

points of risk and serves as a model for other agencies. While placing signage, Officer Willis Croft engaged local businesses, educating employees how to recognize scam victims and respond if exploitation is expected. This frontline knowledge helps prevent crime and ensures timely intervention. The Attorney General's office aims to take the Fugquway Verina's warning signage initiative statewide, further protecting North Carolinians and supporting victims across the community. Officer Willis Croft's proactive approach exemplifies public safety, victim support, and inter agency collaboration. His initiation brings muchneeded attention to an emerging crime trend and strengthens community protection. I would like to thank and commend officer Williscraftoft for his hard work to bring awareness to an emerging problem and work to protecting the citizens of Fugquway Verino. He was already given this award by Attorney General Jeff Jackson, but I had him bring it tonight so you could see it. So, I'm going to give it to him again and just want to thank him for his leadership and this initiative for this very important uh emerging problem that we have. So, thank you, Officer Willis Craw, for your hard work. I really appreciate you. Thank you so much for your uh getting ahead of head of the curve and identifying this as a big problem officer. Seems as if you are setting a model that's going to be replicated throughout the state. That is superb. So thank you so much. Thank you.

Yes, sir. Thank you. Does any other commissioner have any comments? Just we appreciate this effort. Thank you so much. Thank you all. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. May. Yeah, I think we want to get a picture, Mr. Mayor. You have to take a picture. We're not We're not going to let you get away like that. Appreciate all you do. Thank you, sir.

Oh, great. If y'all stay right there. Actually, I think Officer Willis Croft maybe had somebody else with him that he wanted to take a picture real quick. So, let's pose one more time. Pose one more time. Let Let the parents get a good picture. Parents. Yes. Come on. That's important for the parents to take pictures. They're proud. Oh, they're proud of you. Yes, that's great. All right. Yes.

Great. Great job. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Our next item 4 D is recognition of the Criminal Justice Club, Fugquway Vina Middle School. More information about this agenda item will be presented by Police Chief Smith. All right. So, tonight we have the Fugquway Verina Middle School Criminal Justice Club. So, if you remember last year, we uh recognized Herbert Akens Middle School that had the first ever criminal justice club. And tonight, we are happy to and honored to present the very first criminal justice club at the Fquway Arena Middle School. Wow. A unique initiative created and led by school resource officer Dominic Trump in relationshipship with principal Chris Clark and dedicated school staff. Launched on September 16th, 2025 and concluding on January 16th, 2026, the club drew outstanding interest with over 30 students applications and 24 graduating members. Club meetings were held every Tuesday after school for 30 minutes, providing a regular, structured, and encouraging environment for learning and growth. Students explored a wide range of law enforcement topics. But the club didn't stop there. It also focused on developing life skills such as public speaking, self-discipline, confidence, and teamwork. Branded club shirts, which are on display tonight, were created,

instilling a sense of identity and pride among members. Our long-term vision for the criminal justice club members is to seamlessly transition into our police explorers program that you saw at the last board meeting and eventually consider a career career with the Fugquway Police Department. This is part of the police department's recruiting strategy and identifying those interested in the law enforcement profession. Officers Trump's innovation and commitment to empowering youth are a true reflection of our department's mission. We deeply appreciate the support of Principal Clark and Fuway Verina Middle School staff. We are excited about the positive momentum and look forward to expanding the criminal justice club, which I will say has already expanded to the Fquaverina High School. Wonderful.

Continuing to invest in the next generation of leaders is in our community. So tonight, just want to congratulate them and thank them for being here. Thank you so much. And I also want to thank the parents for allowing them to be here um and and being part of this important and special moment tonight. I do want to recognize Officer Trump and give him one of our department awards tonight. This is called the community service commenation. and it reads, "This award is presented in recognition of outstanding contributions to the youth in our community. The establishment of the first ever criminal justice club at Fugquway Verina Middle School has provided students with a valuable exposure to the law enforcement profession and its various fields. These efforts have helped build trust and understanding between young people and law enforcement officers. The program not only educates students about law enforcement, but also inspires and recruits the next generation of officers. This initiative has made a lasting positive impact on our community. So, congratulations, Officer Trump. Unfortunately, uh, Principal Clark was not, um, able to be here today, but I am going to award him the next time I see him with a certificate of commenation for his support um, in allowing us this criminal justice club in his school.

That's great. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank each of you for being here. And it's wonderful that you're interested in the field of criminal justice because it's such a an exciting field and so many different kinds of jobs and careers you can have in the field and you are being introduced to it very early. So it will help you in your decision making perhaps later on in your lives. So congratulations to each of you. Thank you. Thank you. Is there any other commission? Mr. Mayor. Yes. I think uh I want make sure you can see the board sees the back of their shirts as well. They have a slogan on the back. They can turn around. Yeah. One team, one fight. Oh, yeah. I like that.

Very nice. Very nice. Great. That's great. They look great. Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much. Let's give them another hand. Thank you. Thank you very much. You want to come up here? We'll take a picture. Hello. How you doing? Good. How you doing? Good to meet you as well. Hello. How you doing? You doing good? Good. Good to see you. Great shirt. Yeah.

Photos behind us. All right. Thank you. Congratulations again. Now we move to item 4E award best non-print media 2026 North Carolina Association of Festivals and Events Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources Teen Council.

Thank you, Mayor. The town's parks and recreation department and teen council have been awarded the 2026 best non-print media award by the North Carolina Association of Festivals and Events. The NCF is the leading 501c3 organization that supports festival and event professionals. This award recognizes the innovative 8minute promotional film created by the department for the 2025 haunted trail titled The Trail. The Trail tells a story of a girl as a child who had a scary encounter in the woods only to be revisited by the same entity in her teen years. Key event details of the haunted trail, such as date, time, parking instructions, and trail access, were seamlessly woven into the film's dialogue and imagery. This film was produced inhouse with a minimum budget of less than $50 and starred members of the Fuway Teen Council. Assistant director Anthony Demarzio wrote, directed, filmed, edited, scored.

Wow. all with original music. And I'm sure he probably did a few other things that we're not aware of, but the town received this award on February 11th at the Showfest Event Innovators annual conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Haunted Trail event began in 2012 and has become one of the town's most popular events. This past year, we had 2,257 people walk the trail and it took over 100 volunteers to operate the trail that evening. This time I do want to recognize um Anthony. Um he created and developed the trail when he was a recreation program specialist many years ago and he has been instrumental in its success over the last 13 or 14 years of offering this event. So, this time I'd like to turn it over to Anthony. Anony's going to recognize our teen council who uh were in the video and were cast members.

Okay. Thank you. Hello. How you doing, Anthony?

Thank you, Jonathan. And I first want to start by thanking town management and uh my director, Jonathan Cox, for allowing us to do the haunted trail every year and this film. uh back when I was in high school, it was one of my dreams to always be a filmmaker. And it's amazing to work for an organization that allows that to happen every once in a while uh here. Um, just a little point of personal privilege right now that the haunted trail and the film are definitely my favorite projects that I do every year. And it is only possible because of the collaborative efforts of everyone uh that is involved with it, including the teen council, the parks and rec staff, the numerous volunteers that we get from the high schools and middle schools of the area, and the individual citizens who just join in for the fun, and of course, the police department and the fire department who keep us all safe that night. This year um we had an incredible film basically because of these kids I'm about to present to you. Um I'm going to introduce them one at a time to come up. Uh the first is Savannah Kurtz. Uh she played our lead actress and she is a very talented actress and she also works for the uh Fugquway Verina Art Center.

Okay.

Holden and Salem Dente. Uh they can come up as well. Uh they were I I would say they were very very telegenic on there and them being brother and sister they really carried that character to each other with their banter that was on screen. And then Lanny Stascowski did an excellent job as well uh with her roles too. Aside from the staff here, of course, I'd like to also give credit to Chris Newsome, assistant director Chris Nuome, the marketing special events coordinator Trey Bagot, recreation program specialist Cassie Scarsva, recreation support specialist Anna Biff Bellif for providing production support. And of course, the one other cast member, um, Leslie P, uh, who played the entity itself. and I had to actually trip her up a little bit because the dialogue required her to speak a little Hungarian. So, um, one thing I do want to say before we close out this is that these kids carried this movie. This is really their award because they put their heart and energy into it. They are amazing kids and we are proud to have them on our teen council. It is very courageous for kids to come up on camera and act and be judged by their peers and everyone else who sees this. And these kids are amazing for being able to do that. Thank you very much. And that's all I have. Thanks again and I'm looking forward to doing this again next year.

Well, thank you. Thank you for your creativity. We appreciate that. And thank each of you for the role that you played. I'm sure you enjoyed it. Was it fun? Yes. Okay. Good. Congratulations. Congratulations. Oh, do we are we going to take a picture?

Oh, hi. Hi. How you doing? Good. How are you? Good. Good to meet you. Good. Good to meet you. How you doing? Good to meet you. Good to meet you all, too. Thank you. Hello. Good to see you all. Hello. How you doing? Good.

Thank you all so much. Thank you. Yes. How you doing? How are you? Good. Good to see you. Thank you. How you see? Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is why I brag on the team council all the time and parks and recck staff. They just completed this and they did an amazing job and did all the activities at the teen council state conference as well. So we have very talented kids in uh town of Fugquway Arena. All right, Mr. Mayor, I would also just uh add if I could, I think we had the largest group of teen volunteers for the haunted trail last year, which made it one of our most successful haunted trails that we've had since its inception. So very good work being being done in the community by our teen council. Congratulations again. Thank you all so much.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And uh now we move on to item five, public comment period. At this time, the town clerk will call on individuals that are in attendance and have registered to address the town board prior to the meeting. The public comment period is a time for the public to address the town board about any matter that is not the subject of a scheduled public hearing. Those speaking are asked to begin by clearly stating your name and address for the public record. Please limit your comments to three minutes in order that all who wish to speak may be heard in a timely manner. Town Clerk Wild Third, do we have anyone signed up for public comments?

Yes. And Don Na na. Okay, Mr. Sorry if I mis pronounced that. Please come forward. Thank you.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, honorable uh town boards and commissioners. My name is Danaraj Vijay Sundaram. I'm a resident living at 5049 Chase Hill Way. Um I'm actually like here not a comment. I'm mostly like here pleading for a request uh against the board or like asking help uh for the board. Uh thank you mayor for allowing me to present my uh case here in 15 minutes. Um so I have been uh I'm here to request for a help for a uh a neighbor who created um uh like a public nuisance kind of a problem for me for a uh why I'm here because like my family has a 15year-old teenager who is severely autistic and who severely got affected by this neighbor's uh violations and I kindly request the board and the uh town mayors to you know provide a administrative ative action in terms of sending violation notice to those neighbor who uh violated the following. Uh I have only two requests. One the uh the neighbor had installed a fence that doesn't follow the town's ordinance uh documentation like a requirement of town ordinance where the fence has to be within 3 to 6 in inside their property line. I measured it and I even hired a um uh NC survivor uh surveyor licensed surveyor and uh which clearly captures the non-compliance of the proximity of the fence and thanks to director Pam Davidson who kindly acknowledged me in writing that that was an violation of ordinance but still I've been waiting uh for town's response since December uh 2025 and I haven't seen any violation notice being sent to the uh neighbor who violated those town ordinance. And another request was

kindly like the the same neighbor had violated the town um you know ordinance requirement in terms of private drainage emanate drainage easement that is supposed to channel the drain water in in storm waters any of the rainy vents and he completely removed that 20 ft eastman and rebuild whatever the way he want to build and despite h me having reported this issue with the Towns Planning Commission. Thanks to Mr. um Patrick Walsh and thanks to Miss Jennifer who have uh you know I've been following with them uh for like two years and they've been acknowledging that you know the neighbors modification does not matches the town ordinance but they they've been telling me that like I have to go down the civil litigation route and I did even go down that route having uh have a litigation started against the neighbor. I even have a preliminary injection from the superior court. Still things were not being done. Uh so I really like want to uh get as much support from the town honorable towns board in terms of violation notice or any of the documentation that I can get so that I can present to the superior court to get the judgment.

Okay. All right. Thank you so much. You're quite welcome. Thank you. Um let me just say a couple of things. Uh it sounds as if the superior court has made a decision or a ruling in this case and I have discussed this with our town staff and also I'm going to defer to our town attorney to give you the legal uh implications of what your requests are. So Mr. Town attorney would you re respond please?

Uh yes sir Mr. Mayor that the town LDO contains a provision dealing with storm drainage easements and it has two different types of easements. It has easements that are within a public rightway. Those are regulated by the town and then it has all other storm drainage easements outside of a public rightway or private storm drainage easements. So they're included within private storm drainage easements and either the developer, the property owner or homeowners association has to maintain those drainage easements. But we don't go out and enforce, you know, the provisions of a private easement. That's between private property owners and he has um taken the step of going to superior court and receiving a court order. We had looked that up and that's that's a step in the right direction, but it looks like your neighbor hasn't complied yet. Exactly sir.

There there's a little bit more left to do there, but it still was within the purview of the courts right now. So that's the private stormwater easement. The the fence setback standard issue. Yeah. As of right now, the LDO contains that 3 in off the property line rule there is currently under review by staff and it will be at the planning board in April, April 20th, the removal of that 3-in standard. So we've advised that while this is pending before planning board and town board that we need to stay any kind of enforcement because if the board were to vote to remove that requirement then that would render any kind of enforcement basically void. Okay, being it's pending. Okay.

And we've had issues with fences in the past year. We used to have permits that we required. We've kind of eliminated that requirement because there's just so many issues created by that. We don't have a town surveyor and when you get out and trying to count inches and all is is hard and there there are a lot of fence encroachments across the community that are typically dealt with you know between private property owners as well. Okay. Thank you. Well, when is the next uh hearing from the superior court? Uh what is the time frame for that?

Yeah, I mean right now the superior court uh had said had set the deadline to be March 15th. Still the neighbor hasn't done but instead he applied for an extension. The court had a hearing and they have extended uh to send an update by March 27th and then uh gave a uh intimation saying like if nothing has happened you have to actually apply for hearing at March 30th.

Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Well, the position that we're going to take is going to be neutral as it stands now because you do have a pending uh solution coming from the superior court and based on where we are in how we're looking at this particular ruling, we're going to stay neutral at this particular point and because it is a private matter and it seems as if you've gone through the steps, you've already appealed to your HOA and now you appeal and you're doing the right steps. you you are appealing to the superior court. So, we would prefer that to stay neutral in this position until the court comes to some resolution and and we believe that that's the position that we're going to hold at this particular point.

Yeah. Any any kind of letter or like any of the endorsements that would be really really helpful for us, mayor, like at least like tell the uh the facts that uh the neighbor has violated would be greatly helpful for us. One of the one of the issues are where we we're not going to do a a letter. One of the issues is in your particular situation, it sounds as if you've done everything you can do and you've taken it to the one of the highest authorities within the county, which is the superior court. And we would we would prefer in our position that that final authority makes a decision or a resolution because it is a private matter, not a public matter. And we would hope that the solution would be favorable to the both of you and that you would go that route in regards to having the superior court to make a final decision.

Okay. So, thank you very much. Thank you so much. You're quite welcome. Quite welcome. Thank you. Any other comment from any other commission? Item 7A, there are no public hearings for the March 24th meeting tonight. Thank you. Uh, what is the board's pleasure on the items on the consent agenda? Mr. May I make a motion to approve 8 A, 8 B, 8 C, 8 D, 8 E, 8 F. Second. Second.

It's moved and second that the items on the consent agenda be approved. All those in favor of the motion. Let it be known by saying I. I. I. Any oppose? Motion carries. Now we move to item 10A, budget amendment. recognize donations from the United Arts Council and Friends of the Fugquway Arena Arts Center, Arts Center, BA-N 26-38, $5,945. Um, more information about this agenda item will be presented by Arts Center Director Daly. Hello, Moren. Hey, how you doing? Good evening.

Good. Good. I'm well. I hope you are, sir. Doing good. Thank you.

Good evening, commissioners and managers as well. It's always good to see you all. Uh tonight I am here presenting a budget amendment to recognize some recent donations to the art center. The first is the arts for municipalities grant. This is an annual grant from United Arts Council and it is specifically designated to support a North Carolina artist. We apply for this grant and receive funding on an annual basis. This year, uh, the grant award was $3,945 and goes specifically to support the work of Christian Tamber and the Icons of Jazz series that he brings oh, three or four times a year to the theater at the art center. It's an incredibly popular series and he is an incredibly popular artist and lives just a few miles up the road in Apex. We're thrilled to have him as a uh designated son of Fugquway. Uh, the second gift is a donation of $2,000 from the Friends of the Art Center. This gift actually supports the residency of Dr. Kevin Spencer. Dr. Spencer is a specialist. He's a teacher, educator, researcher, working with individuals with special needs. He works with those individuals, with staff who deals with them, with their families, and with organizations, uh, therapeutic organizations as well that work with these individuals. Dr. Spencer is in town this week. Uh he is addressing a number of classes in various schools in our local area, some therapeutic service organizations. He's doing work with some of our classes, our special needs classes at the art center. He'll be doing a magic show tomorrow evening, 7:30 open to the public. and uh with the help of uh you of this particular $2,000 grant or this $2,000 gift from the friends uh we're able to promote a most of his work here uh free of charge to our schools and that kind of thing. So he's been able to have an impact on a number of children. We've

gotten rave reviews already from the schools he's visited. That's really very exciting. Uh, so the motion this evening is to approve a budget amendment BA26-38 approving receipt of 5,945 in total in the art center budget. I'm happy to answer any questions any of you may have. Any questions of director daily? Do I hear a motion? Mr. Mayor. Um, I'll make a motion to approve the budget amendment BA26-38 to recognize donations as presented and recommended. Second. It's been moved and second. All those in favor of the motion, let it be known by saying I. I.

All those opposed. Eyes have it. Thank you very much. Thank you. The next item is item 10. Make sure we got it right here. 10B, the AKC Reunite Grant, $7,500, B8-2642, Police Department. More information about this agenda item will be presented by Police Chief Smith.

All right. Good evening. The purpose of this agenda item is to consider a budget amendment that recognizes a grant from AKC Reunite to the Fway Arena Police Department. The FUA Police Department recently sought funding to offset costs associated with the retirement and replacement of police K9 dash. In January of 2026, the department applied for the American Kennel Club Reunite grant with the support of our sponsor, the United States Police K9 Association. In February of 2026, the department was awarded $7,500 through this grant to insist to assist in acquiring a new police canine. Notably, this marks the second occasion on which the Fquaina Police Department has benefit benefited from AKC Reunit's generosity following a successful 2022 grant to fund K9 Shadow. AKC Reunite has been a steadfast partner to law enforcement agencies across the nation, having been awarded over 850 grants to date. The continued partnership with both AKC Reunite and the USPCA has been instrumental in maintaining a high standard of public safety and operational efficiency. The Fway Arena Police Department extends its gratitude to AKC Reunite and the USPCA for their ongoing support which enables our department to provide exceptional police services to the Fugquway Verina community. So tonight, the recommended motion is to approve budget amendment BA26-42 as presented and recommended. I'm available to answer any questions that you may have. Any questions to the chief?

What's the timeline on the next K9? That K9 has been selected, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Has Has it been named? It has. Are you willing to reveal the But I don't want to spoil surprise. We will do an int the plan is to do an introduction as soon as they get through K9 school. will bring that K-9 to the board and do a formal introduction. You got any kind of guess when that might be? I'm thinking June. Probably June. Mr. Mayor, I have a question. I hate to make you wait that long. I'm sorry. I do have one question. Commissioner Smith,

now that Dash has retired, are we down to one right now training? Okay. Yes, sir. That's what I thought, but I wanted to make sure. Thank you. Yep. Any other questions? All right. Thank you. Thank you so much. Oh, we're good. Right. Did I hear a motion? No. So much caught up in second question. All right. All those in favor of the motion, let it be known by saying I. I.

Any opposed? Eyes have it. All right. Thank you. Thank you so much. The next item is item 10 C, budget amendment, equipment purchase, information technology, BA264231,440. More information about this agenda item will be presented by IT Director Clark.

Good evening. Last item of the night. Um the purpose of this agenda item is to consider approval of a budget amendment to transfer funds u from the general fund balance to the IT department small equipment line item to purchase computer hardware. uh this increase uh the IT department has a set amount uh that we go through per year to replace uh a portion of our computer fleet um every year. This year we um we had some uh the funds available 70 around 75 $70,000. Um but the computer chip and processor market is going undergoing an extreme change. um a lot of uh chip manufacturers are allocating their production resources over to um to fill the need for AI data centers. So which um leaves a shortage in the regular computer chip and memory um market. So our prices have started skyrocketing. We've um actually seen right now prices increase anywhere between 20 and 40%. Um and talking with management um the price has been projected we're we're seeing right now within the next few months it could go to 50 to 75% and even higher. So after having uh discussions during the budget process uh we um it was determined that we should try to um accomplish this year's computer replacement uh program and also next year's. So that's what the 2 $31,440 uh is um is for. Um and so the recommended motion tonight is to approve the budget amendment BA26-40 as presented and recommended. Do does anybody have any questions?

Any questions? So just to be clear, you said this is for this year and next year. So that's two years worth. Yes. This is this is approximately about 105 computers, which is about a little less than a quarter of our fleet of of computers.

Okay. Um, and we try to, um, basically what we try to do is replace computers that are, um, right now we're going with 5-year warranty. So, we try to, um, invest in computers that can last five years. We have a few that are still in a three or four year warranty cycles that we're replacing out. Um, and what we do is when those computers come off a warranty, and we replace them, if they're usable as a backups or training laptops, we try to utilize that to get more use out of the hardware. We try to get as much use out of the hardware as possible, but at some point we have to replace it so our staff can have functional devices and keep up with the software. So, this is for two years. It's this year's um um computer replacement and to cover the cost increase, but also next year's. And we're ready to um if this is approved, we're ready to um to pull the trigger on the purchase of this so we can take advantage of the current market before it goes back up. Any other questions, comments? How long would it take? I'm just curious. If you did an order, how long will it take for uh the order to come back to us? Is it because of the availability or not?

We we think we can get it um we get most of the computers within a month, but it is one of those things and it's a daily um check-in with our vendors um that we we have to to figure out where the supply is. Um we've been kind of guaranteed between a month and two months to get all those in. We may get um them in batches, but we're hoping we can get the majority within a month and my staff will start rolling out those as quickly as possible. 105 computers is quite a bit a large of an order that we usually don't do. So we will we will stock them. I'd rather have them in in in hand and burn a little bit of the warranty on those until we can get them out and not have them at all. Okay? because a lot of our computers that we are replacing this year are at the end of their lifespan. Um, and they're they're they range from police police department to office workers. So, we're getting quite a bit of use out of them. So,

yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Any other comments, questions? Do I hear a motion to Mary Harris? I move that we approve budget amendment BA-226-40 as presented and recommended. Second. It's been moved and second. Uh, all those in favor of the motion, let it known by let it be known by saying I. I. I. Any opposed? Eyes have it. All right. Thank you. We'll get to work. Scott, thank you. Appreciate it. Appreciate you. Now, we got the item of other business, the manager report. Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mayor. A few things to brief the board on this evening. First, we want to recognize Justin Daniel with our inspections department. Justin recently passed his level three mechanical state exam and so he is progressing through the career ladder very nicely and adding value to our inspections department in town. Uh planner Allison Wy and our planning department continues to collaborate with the Fugquway Verina High School GIS club which is currently creating maps for visitors for the school's 50th anniversary open house on May 2nd. So, we want to again thank Allison for her uh community outreach into the schools, specifically Fugquway Verina High School and their GIS club. Uh we will be conducting interviews in the next several weeks for the economic development director position. So, I'll be keeping the board uh advised as to the progress there. Couple things I want to mention out of the communications department. Uh first, a new awards cabinet is now on display in the reception area out in the lobby. So, if you haven't had a chance to look at that, please do. showcasing uh the numerous town achievements. So, we're very proud of this uh this cabinet because it demonstrates the hard work that is being done here uh in this organization. Uh second, the communications team has released a new video tour of the Hilltop Needmore Town Park Community Center showcasing the facility and how members of our community can get involved. The video already has reached 24,000 views since it's been published on social media and is a part of our monthly series highlighting town departments uh facilities and programs. Our follow me to Fugquway concerts have won a Maine and Broad Magazine's best local festival or event award for the second consecutive year. Uh the award will be celebrated at the Maggie Awards on April 2nd at Fenton. So, we're very proud of our of our little event that we started about a decade ago here in downtown Fugquway Arena that has turned into one

of the most soughtafter concert series uh in the Triangle. So, we're very very happy about that. Uh and very proud of the work that is being done in our uh parks and recck department to put that event on. This coming Saturday, uh March 28th, I believe our mayor is is uh being recognized and and honored at the St. Augusta Missionary Baptist Church at 3 p.m. Uh for uh his leadership in our community and so encourage anyone from the public who would like to attend that or is able to attend that event to do so. Congratulations, Mayor. Thank you.

Um just some project updates I wanted to provide the board and the public on related to transportation. Our downtown Verina pedestrian project construction completion is estimated uh at around the 1st of June, first week of June. Um there continues to be work on installing storm drainage, curb and gutter and sidewalk and paving operations uh may potentially begin to occur in May. So we're getting near the end last several months uh in the short rows here to wrap that pedestrian project up in the downtown VINA district. The Northeast Jud Broad Street intersection operational improvements, uh we anticipate the construction will be complete on that project uh at the 1st of September of this year. Grading continues for roadway widening and subgrade this week. Uh density testing is underway. An aggregate base course should be expected to be placed within the next few weeks. Uh Fulture is the the contractors on site this week as well installing new signal pole and overhead underground wiring. So you may see some of that activity. All storm drain, hydrant and underground utilities have been installed on this project. And uh once on grade, we can expect to see curb forms soon thereafter. So progress is being made. Uh as long as the weather holds up, we should continue to see good progress there and that project completed uh around the 1 of May. The Witt Road roundabout uh construction completion is estimated to be at the end of April of this year. Installation of stamp concrete roundabout is estimated to begin the first week in April and side path installation is complete. The Austin Ridge Greenway Trail construction completion is estimated the first week of September. Stone base has been installed for the entire length of the project. Paving operations are estimated to start in June and boardwalk installation is estimated to begin in

April. And our uh 2026 resurfacing project um has uh begun. Uh contractors are replacing concrete non-compliant ADA handic ADA handicap ramps currently and construction completion is estimated around the 1st of November for the various resurfacing that'll be done around town. As it pertains to our uh utility infrastructure, the Terrible Creek wastewater treatment plant continues to see good progress. Its estimated completion is January of 27, so a little less than a year from now. The north uh west regional wastewater treatment plant in Hornet County is estimated to be complete in January of 2028. That is for our share of the capacity in that regional uh water wastewater treatment plant. The Mills Branch Middle Creek pump stations and 401 improvements, the completion for those are expected within the next three months. The industry water line completion is is expected within the next week to two weeks. They're currently paving cutouts. So, that project is wrapping up. Uh we had a uh an issue where we had to locate some infrastructure that was not mapped, very old infrastructure, 70-y old infrastructure that we did not knew existed. So, we had to we had to do test digging in numerous locations to identify that infrastructure to be able to finally wrap this project up. But, it's on the way. Ransville Road. Um the water line project there sign uh signing we're signing contracts for construction uh very soon on that project. So that'll be getting underway. The Sanford water filtration facility is continuing to make good pro uh progress with completed estimated completion December of 2028. And the Southern Oaks gravity sewer line uh we're establishing growth on the easements and is substantially complete. So, we're seeing boxes being checked on

both transportation and utility projects. I wanted just to provide the board an update on where those projects stand. Um, Corporal Seth Crompton and our police department was honored last night by the Exchange Clubs of Wake County alongside other officers in Wake County for his outstanding work and dedication to training and recruiting within our department. So, we're very proud of Corporal Crompton's recognition. This past Saturday, the Fugquway Verina uh police department took part in the St. Baldick's fundraising event once again, joining our fire department in the arm wrestling competition, and Corporal Steven Diggs retained his title as the undefeated champion, marking his fourth consecutive victory in the event. Now, I'm not sure what kind of training he's doing. We saw donuts earlier in the uh State of the Town video. Maybe they're involved. I'm not sure. but he's he's got the arm wrestling competition locked down. So, we want to congratulate Corporal Diggs there. In our fire department, Laredo Anderson completed all the necessary requirements and has been promoted from senior firefighter to fire engineers. We want to congratulate uh fire engineer Anderson on his career promotional achievement. And after a five-year pause, the fire department rekindled the annual firefighter award ceremony at the art center on Saturday afternoon. We want to thank the art center and marine for making that space available. Years of service awards were issued as well as life-saving commendations and five individual awards were presented in front of friends and family. It was a well attended event and the department is looking forward to next year's ceremony. 21 fire department p uh fire department personnel are participating in a specialized company level water rescue operations class at Fagatville Technical Community Colleg's new stateofthe-art indoor swift water rescue

training facility over the next two days. This training prepares company officers and firefighters to operate effectively during initial response while preventing unnecessary rescue exposure. So this training uh is very important especially as we are sometimes prone to tropical storms, hurricanes, flooding. Having that training for swift water rescue is an important uh skill. Our finance department want to recognize Morgan Whitaker, our accountant one. She recently completed the school of government accounting and financial reporting course, continuing her professional development. I want to we want to recognize uh Morgan there. Our public works department is working with our IT department to roll out Fleetio, the town's new fleet management software application. This app will standardize maintenance activities and reminders, track cost of maintenance and repair, and inform the vehicle replacement program. Uh the street department has begun the mowing season uh and it is ramping up litter removal efforts. Um, I feel for for those men and women in the street department during mowing season because the pollen season is also ramped up. If you haven't noticed,

uh, our art center, uh, Marine mentioned earlier, Dr. Kevin Spencer, a specialist in programming for special needs communities, is in residence with the art center this week, visiting local schools, working with art students, art center students and families, and providing professional development training for town staff members. Tickets are available for the Gerald Parker Jazz Orchestra performing on Saturday night. And as it pertains to our uh parks and recreation department, earlier you saw that Trey Bagot was recognized. Um he is our marketing and special events coordinator and he has been appointed to the board of the Municipal Special Events Association, MSEA. The Municipal Special Events Association is a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing excellence in municipal event planning, permitting, and public safety coordination. It is one of the few national organizations focused specifically on the municipal aspects of event governance and interdep departmental collaboration. So Trey's doing a great job of learning and being a part of that organization so he can bring back good ideas to this organization as well. And since our last town board meeting, we had a fantastic and uh celebratory ribbon cutting and grand opening at the new Target uh which the community seems to be by the look of the parking lot visiting quite often. So that's good for the local economy. Uh we had a great North Carolina Main Street program. Fugquway Vina was well represented by both members of the FEDA and town staff and elected officials. Um, and I think it was very well known that Fugquway Verina was present at that conference. And when we haven't been involved in those great things, we have been in budget meetings, budget meetings, and budget meetings getting prepared for our budget workshop on the 23rd of April. And I'm confident that we will present the board with some good options, including a balanced budget for fiscal year 27.

All right. Uh, with that, I would draw your attention to uh your agenda materials. The Easter egg hunt is this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at Fleming Loop Park. Um, the FEDA will also host a downtown candy hop Saturday, March 28th from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in downtown. Coffee with the Cop will be at Starbucks Wednesday, April 1st. This is not an April Fool's joke. It will actually be on April 1st from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Follow me to Fugquway Concert will be the chairman of the board, a local favorite here in our community. April 9th, 6:30 p.m. at the Centennial Park. And we will have our uh food truck rodeo on Sunday, April 19th from 12:00 to 4:00 in the downtown Verina parking lot. We also have a first reading in your agenda materials. It's a town code amendment for the town of Fquway Verina land development ordinance. This is amendment number 31, CTA 2025, and this is a first reading for your information. With that, Mr. Mayor, that concludes my remarks and comments for this evening. I'm happy to answer any questions that you or the board may have.

Any comments, responses from the manager's report? If not, now we're here. Town board member comments. Commissioner Haynes.

Uh, yes, Mr. Mayor. Uh um I just want to recognize so many great organizations, civic organizations and everybody doing so many great things. I've seen golf tournaments on on social media. I've seen uh a lot of fundraisers have been happening in town by so many of our great civic organizations just in individuals and businesses. So I just want to thank them for all they do. Often times they're not recognized in town board meetings, but they do so many great things to raise so much money and bring so much awareness in town. So I just want to thank each and every one of them first. Um, I had a great time. Um, we're still celebrating the 50 years of Binga Boulevard. So, um, list of people were able to do a a legacy podcast this past week. So, that was kind of good going back reminiscing down memory road of the great things that happened when you were in uh, Fugo Arena High School. So, we all were interviewed by students at Fugo Arena High School, I think this last past Friday for a lot of us. And, uh, it was just great just, you know, bringing back up your favorite teachers and your favorite memories. and when we still had homecoming parades and different things like that. So, that was great. Um, also, uh, hats off to the fire department. The awards ceremony was was first class from top to bottom. Everybody looked sharp and in and their blues uh and and everything. So, that was just amazing to see that and so many great awards. And again, I brag on my class of 2003 of FUA High School cuz the officer of the year was was my classmate. So that was always good to see your classmates doing so many great things in town of Fuway Arena and serving the town. Um, also I want to uh thank the team council. I brag on the team council all the time. I was in DC bragging on teen council this past week. So many great things because they take the initiative to do the stuff. They they don't wait for the staff and anybody do these young people get out and actually do the activities themselves. And sometime we think they're very out the way out of the we like where you come up with this but it always works. So, and you heard just from tonight uh how the great things they do. Um also this past uh week uh I

attended the National League of Cities uh congressional city uh conference. Uh it's where um municipal elected officials from all over the country come together. There was around uh 3,000 municipal elected officials including management um a lot of firefighters and actually North Carolina firefighters association was there advocating for different things uh and so many other um um people who work for the municipalities were there in uh DC and actually on Wednesday we were able to go uh me and Mr. Mayor went to uh went up on Capitol Hill and were able to have good conversation with our House and Senate representatives. uh we they heard uh we have some grant funding. We thank them for the grant funding that we've already received, but also we let them know we had just put in some grant funding and we need the money and we want some more money. So, it was just great to uh be in their face. I tell people sometimes just showing up and letting them know that uh Fways are here, but it was amazing to hear that they should see the growth that's going on in our town. I'm actually uh um representative not had just been here for the target um ribbon cutting and he uh and we talked with his staff and everybody just talking about the needs of the town and uh where we are. So it was just great to have those conversations as well as have conversations with uh so many elected officials from all over the uh state of North Carolina who were represented as well. Uh, also, and like I said, one of my favorite things was I I I sent a town manager. I u was able to talk with a uh it's a vendor that's actually being uh sp kind of sponsored by the uh National League of Cities about drones. Uh this is for our public safety. Uh and it can work for police and fire that can uh respond to a call in 72 seconds. Um and it's able to has two-way comms. It can break glass. Uh I mean, it was amazing. And so I've I've been doing some research on it just to find out because I think, you know, that's a that's a bucket list down the line. But it's just something to see that you can make it and and get to the call in 72 seconds and be responding if there's some type of crisis intervention, they can take that drone inside the house and have

that conversation instead of putting one of our uh officers at risk. So that was one of my favorite things. I kind of had a conversation with the uh with the developers and everything. So that was cool. So yeah, thank you, Mr. Mayor. You're quite welcome. You're quite welcome. Uh, Commissioner Adco. Yes, sir. Um, I would like to wish uh my daughter a very happy birthday today. Birthday. I hope she's watching. Yes, she uh turns 23 today. So, wonderful.

Very proud of her. Um the other thing that uh I was just going to mention in uh on my phone it popped up a memory and nine years ago today we were doing a uh groundbreaking for the arts center.

Wow. So, um the uh we've come a long way, you know, and I think, you know, with all the things Moren that is doing for us there at the art center, it um is it's pretty nice and pretty um great to see what it has become. And so, I I I thank you, Moren, and just the community for using it. Um, the last thing I was just going to mention in our um, consent agenda tonight, we approved a amplified sound permit for the downtown uh, association. And I just wanted to say that I am looking forward to the chainsaw art at the first Friday event um, in April.

I when I read it, I said, "Okay, all right." Yeah. Yeah. Well, I like I like stuff like that. So, I'm I'm that you know you know different different strokes for different folks. So, you know they've got something that I'm going to be interested in. Okay. Great. Good. Good. Thank you. Quite welcome. Commissioner Smith. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just briefly, uh I want to add my kudos to our street maintenance department people tonight. I know they were honored.

Yes. Um I I use those guys a lot with the the debris group and they're just so good when they come out and I it's not just me. My entire neighborhood brags on them all the time and what a great job they do. So Tracy, your people do a great job with that. U and they get kudos and I get to hear them from our neighbors about what a great job they do. Also want to just add one last thing. I thoroughly enjoyed the fire department award ceremony. I want to call out Chief Jones for his many years of service. They recognized him for 35 years was it?

Did y'all use buckets to put out the fires back when you started? But uh but no, I was very excited uh how they honored him for his many, many years of service uh to our community. Uh so my hats off to you, Chief. A great job. You continue to do a great job, but that's a long time to be fighting fires, but I really appreciate it. Commissioner, he looks like he could go with go 10 more, right?

I think so. I I think so. Uh if you need help twisting his arm, I'll be glad to help you. Um but I did enjoy the ceremony. I have to agree that it was first class. And just on a personal note, I was particularly proud of the honor guard, the color guard. I was particularly proud of them. And so, uh I enjoyed being there. Thank you for putting on a great show. That's all I got. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. You're welcome. You're welcome. Commissioner Vorin.

Yeah. Well, this has been a really great meeting. just able to recognize so many great accomplishments going on in town. And I really want to reiterate the uh the Dogwood Award that Officer Brian Wilcraftoft has has won. That's I think is a a huge deal. And you know, those cryptocurrency scams are have been, you know, they've ripped a lot of people off with that. And I think this getting the signage out and you know, being a pioneer in FUA Reena with that, I think that's a that's just a wonderful accomplishment. So, I want to say, you know, thank you to that and of course, thank you to, you know, we we had five presentations this evening. They were all great. And so, you know, public works, women's club, Trey Badget, the hat guy,

you know, as Mayor Prom had had commented, he he looks a lot different without that hat. And criminal justice club, you know, all of it just and of course teen council and and the printed media the non-print meet awards. So congratulations again. Um we really appreciate, you know, everything everyone's doing towards town. So thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you so much. Uh Mayor Pro Tim Gardner.

Yes, that this has been a busy couple of weeks for me because um part of my job is to back the mayor up when he's out of town and I got to attend a lot of his events in this couple of weeks and enjoyed them very much. Um, I met one morning at Carol Howard Johnson Environmental Park with um Jim Hunsburgger, a former board member here and um an active member with the Ottabon Society and he and some other uh volunteers regularly meet with some town employees um and on on a regular basis at Carol Howard Johnson Park and they are working to rid the park of non um non non-native uh plant matter so that that that environmental balance can be perfected and you returned and perfected and the park will kind of take care of itself if we if we pay close attention and work on that and they work on it on a regular basis. So it was good to see what they're doing that down there and what a difference. You could look and actually see where they had worked before and where they were working that day and you could really see the difference in what they were doing. So, um I'm I'm really grateful for all of the volunteers and the you know the citizens who are interested in that park because it is uh approximately 28 acres I think and it's um I remember when we first um were learning about that park and what a gem it was after the Johnson's donated that land that it it was uh I heard the one of the uh state specialists say that it

was one of the most diverse first uh specimens of plant plant uh plants and animals from across the state. Um for example, there is Mount Laurel, a stand in Mount Laurel that is not usually seen in this area that has

has you know was in part of that park from the beginning. So there's a there's things like that. Um, I just I just had the feeling the first time I heard them speak about it that it that in fact I think he may have referred to that that when you think of uh North Carolina from the mountains to the sea that that 28 acre park had many many plants and many animals that represented the mountains to the sea in that 28 acre park. So it's quite a gem in our park system. It is our only really passive park I think. Is that right, Adam? That's for environmental park. It is.

And and it just we have to we we need to pay attention so we don't you know we don't lose it or um you know lose some of the special qualities of it. So that was a very enlightening uh morning for me and I thank you mayor for that opportunity.

You're quite welcome. Uh, also there, uh, I got to go to a business after hours with the morning Rotary Club in the new upstairs space at Luchi Blues. We just are getting so many great places around town where we can have small meetings now, and it's really um adding a lot of fun, I think, and diversity. Uh, but I had, this is still for the mayor. I had to leave that meeting and go celebrate the 60th anniversary of the exchange club in Fugqua Arena. And it was such a delight um very active in starting that exchange club. Um was Barbara Marion's father um John Kenton and they have kept up the the many people over the years that have been leaders of that club. It's been small but mighty. They have kept that club going and benefited projects um for the prevention of child abuse, for um the the the freedom shrines at various public buildings such as the one we have out here in the lobby area. Um and just many wonderful projects like that that they have managed to continue to do for 60 years and it was wonderful to celebrate with them for that. Uh also the museum um board meeting was last week too and they are planning their annual heritage day which is always the first Saturday in May. It's going to be May 2nd and they you know for that day they have some special activities always some kind of special program going on at the park. They will be uh they will be starting a little later this year because it's the day that the high school is celebrating their 50th anniversary

on that site at the high school. Yeah.

And um so everyone will be celebrating history there and then come to the um history park to continue the celebration. And this year their program is recognizing many of our organizations here in Fugquway Verina who are celebrating special anniversaries this year. As we heard the Fugquway Verina Women's Club is 100 years old. The fire department celebrated their 100th anniversary last fall. Uh the the exchange club uh will be celebrating or did celebrate 60 years. And there many of our clubs are celebrating big anniversaries this year. So that's going to be the focus of the program. So there'll be some pictures and um you know some some things you can look at memorabilia and things from those different clubs and what they have um given as volunteers to this town over the life of this town and it's just it's really really added to our quality of life. Uh, also Moren, the Bachelors of Broadway last Friday night, that was a slam de, but almost every time you go to an event at the at the arts center, an evening event at the arts center now, it's full. It's very it's it's just practically full every single time. And they, these three um talented Broadway actors really brought it. I mean, you know, three handsome young men with wonderful voices and they sang one magnificent show tune after another after another after another. It was amazing. Thank you so much for that. Um I I enjoyed the the I enjoyed the fire department awards also

that it it was so the the ceremony was so dignified and carried out so well that it just really brought honor to the town and to all of those men and women in included there. It was it was really great and I liked celebrating your 35 years chief. They they saved it till the end and it really was the the big thing. So, a lot's a lot's happening in Vqua Arena, and it's all good stuff.

Ain't that ain't that true? Well, I thank each of you for your your comments, and I just want to uh personally thank each of you for your efforts and what you're doing to further uh our overall strategic goals that we talked about and those values, those core values that were outlined in the state of the town address. I mean, every activity that each of you have been involved in is providing even more um evidence that we're following those core values in our community. A lot of a lot of what I have experienced you have identified, but there's a couple of things that you haven't identified, and that's the uh Chamber of Commerce golf tournament. Commissioner Smith and I, we played in the Chamber of Commerce golf tournament on on on uh Monday. We had a wonderful time and it was a beautiful day. We had great fellowship. The chamber had 33 teams that played and uh it was a beautiful day and uh as all golfers will tell you uh we we did well. We hit him straight down the fairway. We did turn yellow though with all that pollen.

We did. It was something.

So, enough has been said about the various activities and uh thank you Mayor Prom Gardner for attending those events. Uh I was uh as as Commissioner Haynes had alluded to, we were both in Washington and we had a great a great time in Washington. great opportunity to talk to our representatives and to further advocate for projects and funding that could come here to Fugquway Arena. Uh the the national conference is always a good conference because you get a chance to uh network with other uh board members and mayors and uh city leaders throughout from throughout the country and a lot of good ideas are generated in that kind of setting. So I I just want to acknowledge that we had a great meeting. We uh did go to Capitol Hill. We did have some great classes that focused on various topics uh that were pertinent to uh municipal municipal government. So I just want to thank you for that. And um a couple of things that stand out as far as my my efforts over the last couple of weeks. I met with a a family. I met with uh Evelyn Booker. She had a couple of young young students that I met with in the office and uh they were were talking about what they could do to help promote uh local government and I thought that was good. uh I met with them here and I will just convey to you what I've been working on and I have have had a couple of meetings and I'm working on developing a mayor's advisory health council and I've had a couple of meetings with uh key members of the community who have volunteered

and we're we're trying to develop a a a council or group that focuses on enhancing the overall community health here in Fugquway Arena. And our purpose uh is to uh make sure that there's our purpose is advancing the overall health and well-being of Fuqua Vina residents through structured prevention focused and measurable community health initiatives. And the council, this this health and wellness council will serve in an advisory capacity and focus on improving coordination, awareness, access, wellness, and early intervention across mental, physical, dental, oral, and preventive health domains. And the mission, and I'll stop after the mission, the mission is to strengthen community health outcomes by identifying priority health needs, recommending focused initiatives, and promoting collaborative solutions that leverage existing county, regional, and community resources with without creating any kind of sense of bureaucracy. And on on this council, we have uh Andy Curtis who represents uh who's from uh Wake Med. We have uh a PhD uh a doctor named uh Don Johannes who has a PhD in education. And then we have Dr. Priyanka who is a local uh dental u uh dentist here. And for support staff, we have Marcus participating as well. So we're talking about trying to elevate the awareness of the domains of health here in Fugquway Arena to encompass the entire spectrum of health which to include mental health

because we know that that's one of the biggest challenges in our community. And so we want to promote awareness and have a dialogue and further coordination from a communitywide perspective as to how we can move forward and make our community healthier holistically all all of the way. So that's part of what we're working on. It's called the mayor's advisory health and wellness council and you'll be hearing more about it as we move forward. It's just an idea that's sort of in the in the uh embryionic stage, but we're looking forward trying to do some things that we hope will have significant impact on the on all of our health here in in FQ Arena because it's so important we can have the other environmental factors in place. But if you're not healthy, if you're not happy, if you're depressed and have over overcome with anxiety, if you have family members who are going through problems and stress and you don't know how to access professionals who can help in those kinds of areas, we want to make sure that we can be able to be some kind of uh intervention in that process. So, that's what I've been working on for the past couple of months. Just wanted to give you an update about that and hopefully you'll be hearing more about it. Uh, Mr. Town Manager, do we have a close session tonight?

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I am recommending that we go into close session pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 143 318 11 A3 attorney client privilege and A6 employment matters. Okay. Do I hear a motion that we go into close session for personnel? What is it? So moved. So second client privilege attorney client privilege. You had a motion and a second. All those in favor of the motion, let it be known by saying I. Opposed. You folk.