Town Board - Regular Meeting

All right. Good evening everyone. We are going to call our meeting to order. Um before we begin, please make sure that your phone is silenced so as not to disturb the flow of business. It happens every time one of you forgets. Don't forget. Um we always start our meeting with a moment of silence. And so if you would like to join me right now, we'll do that before we begin. Thank you so much. And now, if you're able, please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Mr. Smith, announcements.

Yes. Good evening, everybody. Uh, two quick but important announcements for you this evening. Uh, just a reminder about our Black History Month celebration on Saturday, February 6th. Uh, that'll be from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Um, that will be at the David B. Whimmer Recreation Center at 14008 Hullbrooks Road. And the event will feature live performances and poetry readings from Drums for Life, Jay Ward, and Arcena Todd. Also, this Friday, uh please, I hope you'll all join us for our grand opening of this building. It is this Friday at 10 a.m. Um there will be refreshments, uh speeches, a rib cutting ceremony, and a viewing of the building. So, please come out and join us and help us celebrate. And that's all I had.

All right. Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Smith? Okay. Next, we have item 5A, which we are super excited about having the American Legion Post 321 presentation by Mr. Kevin Horn. So, you have the floor, Mr. Horn.

Good evening, mayor, commissioners, town staff, and community partners and leaders. Um, my name is Kevin Horn. I serve as the American Legion Commander of Post 321. Do I just advance the slides here? Sweet. Cool. Uh, I would like to take this moment to explain to you who we are, what we do, and how our work directly supports the town of Huntersville. Not just the veterans, but the youth, our families, and the broader community. What is the American Legion? The American Legion, it was established in 1919 by an act of Congress. Congress with a dual mission to support the veterans and their families and continue the spirit of service in our communities. Our post was founded around 1946. That's the oldest record that we have currently. While many of people associate the American Legion primarily with veterans, it's and that's an important part of who we are, our mission goes far beyond that. At Post 321, we focus heavily on developing informed, civic-minded, responsible future leaders right here in Huntersville. That long-term investment in people is what we believe strengthens the community as a whole. our programs. One of the most impactful ways we do that is is through our youth and leadership programs of which we begin at the post level which means that they're derived they're yeah they're locally driven and supported by members of our community. Boy State and Girls State, co-ly nicknamed Tarhill Boy State Girl State, is an immersive week-long civic education program for high school juniors. Students don't just learn about government, they establish it in an entire week. From the moment they get off the they set foot off the bus at the college, they draft legislation. They comp campaign for office. They host

elections. They collaborate with strange strangers and their peers that they've never met across the state. As an alumni of Boy State, I can speak to the value of these memories and I still have the experience from participating from a you can participate as a Supreme Court um representative, hold a position uh or hold a position as municipal fire chief. These are all lessons that these kids will take away with them for a lifetime. The program sign is significantly significantly stren is yeah the program significantly strengthens college and career prospects as they are highly regarded by universities and employers. This year Chawan University the year the location for Boy State is is also offering a $20,000 scholarship for any boy that attends Chawan University uh for and have gone to Boy State. So every year they'll get $5,000 towards their tuition if they attend the college or if if they attend boy state and the college. We are currently accepting pro applications for both boy state and girl state through March 31st. The girl state program is run through our auxiliary and the boy state program is run through our um our American Legion proper. The next program is oratoral scholarship program which focus on public speaking, constitutional knowledge and critical thinking. At the national level, there's over $200,000 in scholarships that are available. First, second, and third place at that at this national competition wins 25,000, 22,000, and and 20,000 respectively for just participating or or winning the first, second, or third. for participating. There's awards all the way al all all along the way at nationals. Some I think I believe it's about $2,000 for each time you get past

a a spot in the ortorial. We just recently had our post level on this past Saturday, but there's prizes at there scholarships at district, post, division, and department levels. So, at every level, we also provide a scholarship. Finally, the student trooper program. Student trooper program provides um firsthand exposure to law enforcement and public safety careers, allowing them to observe patrols, go on investigations, emergency response while learning professionalism, and teamwork for the period of a week at the Raleigh headquarter at the Raleigh State Trooper headquarters. These programs don't just benefit students involved. They benefit the entire community by developing capable, engaged citizens. Each each program has its own costs and requires its own funding. We also have a lot of partnerships within Huntersville itself, including JOT, Hopewell, JOTC. We donate to supplies to the Charlotte USO. Uh, we help support Angels and Sparrows, Northmech Women's Club, the Girl Scouts, Scouting America, Lo Churches such as Huntersville ARP, and Hunterville Huntersville UMC. We also work closely with the town town of Huntersville Park and Wreck for any of the events that and that happen at Veterans Park as well as the parades, which I'm sure you guys already know. What we do to give back. Supporting veterans remains a core part of our mission. We actively participate in VA supported initiatives, including including programs that directly assist homeless and struggling veterans by providing backpacks that are filled with essential items such as toiletries, clothing, and bedding. We're still working on a good name for the backpack program,

but we started this program with a church contact that had the location of all the homeless veterans in Meckllinmberg County. And when we started that, uh, we handd delivered the backpacks to the veterans in a cold night in December. Since that time, that contact has moved away from our from our region. So, we tried to pivot and try to do it slightly different. So we took the backpacks this year and we delivered them the directly to Salsbury VA which they then distributed them out to needed veterans that need them. Recently, we've made connections with the South Charlotte VA clinic as of last year to hand to build these backpacks and hand them out at the veteran standown that they do. They vet all the all the homeless veterans that are there and they it's a really awesome thing where they just run the veterans through and we'll hand hand them a backpack, give them a couple of options to take for hygiene, toiletry, or just cold weather gear of whichever they want, put in their backpack and send them on their way. Uh these efforts ensure that veterans in our area are not forgotten and remain connected to the community they serve. I forgot a spark. We also support reetss across America and we also do an annual 5K which raises awareness while honoring those who serve. The 5K roughly brings in about $10,000 and that money goes directly to PTSD programs at the VA in Salsbury. That's organiz organized and coordinated by our auxiliary We have adopted Main Street from we do quarterly uh cleanups from Huntersville Concord Road to Bingham. This is a simple but visible way we demonstrate stewardship and pride in our town. It's important that we that to us that when people think of the American Legion, they see an organization actively contributing, not just meeting behind closed doors.

Honoring service and sacrifice is another responsibility we take seriously. We conduct Memorial Day uh we conduct Memorial Day flag placements, support veterans day and memorial day services and perform a dignified flag retirement ceremonies and annually like on PMIA recognition day as well as flag day. These moments of remembrance help us share help our shared history and fulfill a part of our preamble which is to preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in all wars. Upcoming events. So looking ahead, we're proud to say that we're going to host the District 20 oral competition which will be held on January 31st at 12. Join us for lunch. Uh and the the competition will begin at 1 pm. And then we will also be hosting the division four oral contest which will comprise of the winners of each district and they'll compete against each other for across the across the street across the state and that will be on March 7th. So, I highly encourage everybody to join us on that because it really the kids really knock your socks off because they they know more about the Constitution than I could possibly know. And then we also have our four chaplain ceremony on February 5th. This will take place of our regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. There will be light refreshments served, but it's a powerful uh event about sacrifice and moral courage. It's about four chaplain from four different faiths and a coasty that uh who in World War II gave up their life jackets so that others could survive and live. So we tell their story and we try to remember them. So in closing, American Legion Post 321

exists to serve not just veterans but Huntersville as a whole. Our focus is long-term developing leaders, supporting families, honoring service, and strengthening the civic fabric of this town. We are grateful for the town's support and partnership, and we look forward to continuing to work together to make Huntersville an even stronger community. Thank you for your time, and I'm happy to take any questions. Thank you, Kevin. Does anyone have any questions for Kevin? All right. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much. We do not have any public comments for item number six this evening. So we will proceed to item number seven, agenda changes and adoption of the agenda. Have a motion to adopt the agenda. I make a motion to adopt the agenda. And is there a second? I second. Any discussion? All those in favor, please raise your hand. Any opposed? And the motion carries unanimously. And now may I have a motion to adopt the consent agenda? I make a motion to approve the consent agenda. And is there a second? Second.

Any discussion? All those in favor, please raise your hand. Any opposed? And the motion carries unanimously. We're on to item 9A. Conduct a public hearing on selling town owned property for economic development. Miss Sloop.

Yes. Good evening board. Um, as you know, the town is in the process of holding the old town hall property for resale for economic development pursuant to the process that you all completed at the last meeting. Um, if you could, we have a picture just showing where the properties are located. For those that may not be um, aware, these are the parcels. Um we are in the process of recombining these two parcels. Um and they will sell as one parcel and a portion of the back of the two parcels will be recombined with the new town hall property. So I just wanted to make that clarification that we are not selling the entirety of these two parcels if we do move forward. There is a portion along the back side that will be recombined into the new town hall property. Okay. So, we have received a letter of interest from a developer about the possibility of purchasing these two parcels soon to be one parcel. Um the purchase price that they are proposing is 1.44 million. And I want to point out that this amount is the appraised value when the property is placed under restrictions such as those that they are proposing. So they are offering the full appraised value for the restricted property if we move forward with those proposed restrictions. So, as far as the restrictions go, they are proposing a retail, restaurant, and some other non-residential uses for a period of 7 years. And that would be what's known as the restriction period. So, when we convey the property, if we do so pursuant to a purchase agreement, the deed will contain restrictions similar

to these that you see on the screen. um they are proposing to commit that 75% of the gross square feet of the building um be basically used for a food and beverage component. Um they do not know at this time what exactly that food and beverage component will be um but it is proposed as a food and beverage component at 75% of the gross square feet of the building. And so you will see here um that they have added some language about a default and cure process. And what has been discussed in that regard is essentially um if they fail to satisfy these restrictions that are in place in the deed um that we would potentially give them a period I think six months is what we have been considering now. If they were to fail to have the required components in place, they would have six months to cure that default. If they don't, my proposal is to include a uh reversionary clause in the deed of conveyance as well. So that if they do not satisfy the restrictions and they do not cure it within six months, the property will revert to the town. I think it's very important to include a reversionary clause um in the deed because that gives teeth to the restrictions that creates an incentive for the developer not to fail to satisfy the restrictions. Um so that would be my proposal but I do understand in this economy in this market that tenants could change. So instead of having an instant reversionary interest, I do think it is fair to allow them the 6 months to cure the default. Um they are also proposing an inspection period of approximately 150 days um

following the execution of the purchase agreement. They have asked that the town uh as far as any documents that we have, surveys, any um testing that we have done previously that we share that information with them. I think that is fair also because it streamlines the process and hopefully can save time. Um and all the information that we have in that regard is public record. Anyways, so as far as the closing, they did ask for 90 days following the inspection period and that they would have the option to extend the closing for two 30-day periods. Um I think that's fair as well just given that if they start doing some testing and they need a little bit longer to complete it um you know or if they are looking at different plans and trying to formulate how exactly they want to execute um their proposal. I I think that's fair especially if they are going to invest a significant amount into the building to upfit it for their needs. Um, so that's the 30-day period to extend the closing, but also they could ask for slightly longer um than 150 days for the inspection period, in which case we would do an amendment, but right now it's 150 days, Ethan, whenever you're ready. So on this slide at the top, you'll see that we are also in discussions with them about an operating and easement agreement. um as far as a reciprocal right of access use of driveways and also for parking so that there would be reciprocal public use of all three between the new town hall and the old town hall property. So they would be able to utilize the driveways and parking at the current town hall which is public parking already and we would continue to be able to use the parking

driveways and access on that parcel. those two parcels soon to be one. Um we would also try to work out something in that operating and easement agreement that sets forth um basically responsibilities as they pertain to maintenance. So um we want there to be a uniform look between the two the old and the new town halls so that you know overall landscaping overall look of the driveways the parking we want it to have a uniform look. So that agreement would also set forth responsibilities in that regard as well about upkeep and maintenance. Um, as I mentioned at the beginning of this public hearing, the existing property lines are going to be adjusted so that we are not selling them the entirety of the two existing parcels as they uh are reflected today in Polaris. Rather, we are taking a portion of the back of the two parcels that exist now and adding that to the property that is retained with the new town hall property. So that is what the point about subdivision is referring to. Um, and then we we had the restrictions, but they're they're here again as far as um wanting to have a food and beverage component, a minimum of 75% of the building. Um, just wanted to reiterate that and that would be followed by a reversionary interest in the deed. Um, Ethan, whenever you're ready. So, one thing that you did not see on the screen that I would also like to discuss as part of this public hearing is that if the town board would like to include a right of first refusal, we can add that also into the purchase agreement, which means that if they were to ever sell the property in the future,

as long as we have that written into the purchase agreement and also into the deed of conveyance, you all would have the first opportunity to purchase the property back. Now, of course, when I say you all, that means the town board, um, the town of Huntersville. So, that is something that, you know, if the town board would like to include, we can include that as well, which provides more flexibility if plans change down the road as to, you know, what the property is used for. I know that was fairly quick, but those are the highlights um as far as the unique terms that are being proposed. And again, um, the the proposal itself talks about food and beverage, but they have not solidified just yet what that food and beverage component is going to be, which is why I don't have more information to share about that tonight. Um, as to timeline, um, and we'll I'll open it up for questions after this, but I just wanted to also put it on your radar that the purchase agreement itself, if the town does choose to move forward, will not come back probably until March. And the reason for that is originally we were going to have it on the the same night, but because we are having to do some additional unexpected surveying work in order to complete some of the recombination plats, there is a lag time of probably about four to six weeks. And so that's why this purchase agreement will not come back until a later date because we want to make sure that all the necessary easements and also that the property lines have been updated before moving forward. And that work is going to take a little longer than expected. So now I will open it up for any questions that you all may have unless Anthony wants to add anything else that I have not mentioned.

I think you nailed it all. I mean, but it's pretty clear. Um proposal is uh the way it's written is for a restaurant type use. Um that's what has come before us. If if you read the restrictions, it's pretty obvious that's what's coming. Miss, I noticed that we had um the restriction was non-residential. Um is it should or should we consider also having the restriction be um like nonoff space either because I think it was not our intention that if the res the like a food and beverage situation didn't work out, we didn't want them to revert to a doctor's office, a dentist's office, a lawyer's office either.

Yeah. and these um and actually Ethan, will you go back to the first screen? That one may be a little bit easier. Um so the this particular restriction, the way that it's worded, this is the proposal that came from the developer. So that was what I was going to share on this screen is because they were the ones proposing it. You could call out something specific like saying it couldn't be a doctor's office if you wanted to. Um but you know they are very confident about it being retail restaurant and other non-residentidential. I and I can let Anthony speak to to this. Um I believe originally part of the proposal was the possibility of allowing some flex office space for remote work, but I'm not sure if that is still part of the proposal or not.

Yeah. I mean the latest proposal is um 75% of restaurant and then in there you may have like sale of items. I don't know if you've seen like you know they may have specialty foods or items that may be a part of that. Could that be co-working space in there possibly too? it does allow for it, but the latest is um sort of restaurant with some of the I'd say modern things that you see now in some of the restaurants. And it is a a local I'd say a a regional chef. Obviously, I can't name any names because they have other things going on um that they're working on, but uh it is a a local chef that is involved in multiple restaurants.

Okay. And then I do think the right of first refusal is something we should add to the contract. Um, I think that's important in the future that we um have the opportunity to to maintain the space for the town if we choose to go forward with this. Any other thoughts on that? I agree with you about the right of first refusal. If we bump up the deed restriction to 15 years, can we expect a reduced purchase price? Yes.

Like significantly, or do we just not know for sure? I don't know what the price would be, but to have it double in terms of the time frame essentially um more than double uh it would reduce the price that is being offered. Okay.

We would we would likely have to get it reappraised and you think of it this way. I use 760 because it's easy for me to use. But if they outlawed alcohol in North Carolina and you put that kind of restriction on, trying to be simplistic as possible, then imagine what they'd be stuck with there if that was I mean there's probably $4.5 million invested in that that facility over there with all the brewing tanks, etc. So, if they would outlaw alcohol and you had that restriction on that property there 15 years, um I'm pretty sure they go bankrupt many times over. Um, so 15 years on a restaurant, hopefully a restaurant, you know, cuz they'll they'll put based on some of the things I've seen, they'll bust out the building walls. I mean, if you saw 760, I believe you probably should have tore it down and started from scratch. Um, here when you same thing here, if you bust out to open it up with windows and things like that and do what they're going to do inside is probably two$2.5 million investment. Um, so it would be a considerable investment. 15-year sort of restriction probably be pretty tough. They may walk away, but if that's what the board wants to do, you can certainly ask that and see what happens.

Okay. Um, someone also asked me this question. I wanted to pass this along, but does the town ever do like a costbenefit analysis or like marketability analysis of town owned properties? not on uh like for this particular property it was um you know we asked for a request for proposals on the request for proposals to see what we and we restricted this property. So to do a costbenefit analysis on it never seen a costbenefit analysis done on on a government property of whether it stays as a government use versus a private use. So one pays no taxes the other pays taxes. Uh one has government use one has private use. So costbenefit analysis on that. I haven't done one in 30 years.

Okay. Thank you. Yeah. Commissioner Cornet.

Um if we did just keep the building and I know it it needs uh repairs. How much do you think it would cost to feasibly to do it correctly but to you know break out everything make it a just a space for the public to use? So we allocated 1.5 million for that. Um um obviously we haven't put anything out the bed etc. Um the one good thing is we've you know paved the parking lot you know we the landscaping because who knows whether we move forward with this uh I know roof repairs are needed HVAC plumbing those kind of things I know just by being in the building. um carpet, paint, tear down walls. Um we have a sketchup of interior that we looked at um that uh Parks and Recck was involved in. I think we had um three options maybe that we looked at and sort of landed on an option and uh we put a placeholder for 1.5 million. But until we do go out and actually, you know, get some better estimates on that. Um, that's my best guess. 1.5.

Any other questions or thoughts? We do have a couple public comments. Um, all right. We will start get start there with comments. Um, we're start with Gatewood Campbell. You have three minutes, Miss Campbell. Gatewood Campbell. That's me. Y'all know that. But anyway, um mayor, board, town manager, and residents, I want to speak to you about putting the building next door on the market. This is way too fast. We have not even had the ribbon cutting on this new town hall, and suddenly we're informed that this board wants to dispose of the old one. Please slow down this train. It's the wrong time. This deserves further resident input. This is our property. It belongs to the residents, the whole community. We deserve the right to explore ideas and voice our opinions together with you and with the community. This public hearing does not provide the opportunity for open discussion with you. Your discussion at the deis does not provide the opportunity for open discussion with us. Just as I was sitting here listening to you all talk, I had questions, but I can't ask those questions. And what I'm asking for is to pause and give us the opportunity to reflect on the things that you're saying that I kind of like, but then to say, "Hey, what about in the same way a couple of you have done tonight?" When I served on the downtown planning steering committee, things were going fast and a little chaotic. the town and the committee decided we needed to pause. We were not going to cancel the project. We simply needed to pause and regroup. There is no shame ever in saying, "Hey, we get one chance to do

this right. So, let's back this train up. A decision of this magnitude deserves a thoughtful and collaborative effort. Give the residents a say. Let's come to our table together in a public forum much like we did with the um downtown planning steering committee. We came to town hall. We went to the church down the road where we had different plans. People got to put sticky notes on what they like. This is what the residents want to be able to do. This is what they deserve. It's an outlet where they don't have to be up here, but they can stay in their introverted place and voice their opinions. Just slow this down. This is also an opportunity to set a new tone. The last board's term felt like you versus us and us versus you. You and I are neighbors. It's time to stop feeling like you don't want to talk to us or listen to us. This is a chance for all of us in this community to come together, come to the table, brainstorm, and have an open dialogue about what's best longterm for this property. We got one shot, you guys. We got to do it right and do it with the community. Thank you. Tasha Miller, you are next. You have three minutes. Hello. Can we

um good evening. How you doing? Uh my name is Tasha Miller and first I want to just thank each and every one of you for allowing me this time. Um I'm here to share a community centered idea for the town hall for the old town hall. one focus on preservation, connection, and re um responsible growth. Um the Huntersville has um deep agriculture roots, small farms and and large farms and generational um generations of land stewardship that shaped who we are. As development continues, much of the land has disappeared, including the recent loss of one of the largest historic farms. Once the land is gone, and the stories no once the land is gone, the stories fade. Um there's no way to recover them. If no um if you don't preserve this history intentionally, we lose it permanently. This proposal I'm sharing is called the Huntersville Heritage and Community Exchange. It reimagines the Old Town Hall as a dualpurpose space, a museum quality heritage centered paired with flexible meeting and collaboration space for residents, small businesses, and community organizations. This is not a traditional museum. It's a living history space that people actively use. The building would include a permanent agricultural and community history gallery documenting both small and large farms, land use changes, um, and generational contributions. It would also preserve oral history, voices, and lived experiences from longtime residents.

Alongside that, it would offer affordable res um reservable meeting rooms and workshop space for local groups and organizations. The Oldtown Hall is already a trusted civic landmark adaptive reuse. Reuse allows us to preserve its purpose while making it relevant for today. This approach is thoughtful is a is a thoughtful community centered and responsible. The proposal honors where Huntersville has been while creating space for where we are going tonight. I'm simply asking for your consideration and openness to further discussion. Um, oh, I moved on too quick. Okay, I missed a whole big gap. Okay, sorry about that. Uh, oh, did I? Okay, maybe I didn't. Okay, I'm sorry about that. Okay. Um, the old town hall is already a trusted Okay. Civil landmark and adaptive. Okay. The purpose, the proposal honors what Huntersville has been while creating space where it's going. Um, yeah. Um, tonight is I'm just simply asking for Milleration.

Miss Miller, your time is up. Okay. Sorry about that. Yes. Um, you guys have the proposal in your hands. You can, um, review it. If you have any other questions, I might be able to answer. Thank you. If you could just give your contact information to the clerk, we'd appreciate it. All right. Thank you. Thank you.

Next, we have um BJ Caldwell, and she has three minutes from Chris Wallak. So, Miss Codwell, you have six minutes. Good evening. Happy new year and happy new home for you. That's real important. And my three minutes should start when I say my name. Betty BJ Caldwell, 14521 New Haven Drive, Huntersville, North Carolina. I like what she said. Slow down. Have public input. I like what my friend said, a living history with a dual purpose and meeting rooms. And now here I'm coming with a museum and the benefits of creating a Huntersville Museum. The location of the former town hall at the corner of Highway 115 and Gilead Road is already a destination for residents and could be for potential tourists. Being in close proximity to Discovery Place kids, new the new apartment homes, the family entertainment center in the old police department, and the walking trail to Hullbrook Park via the vine. Equally important are the locallyowned pizza slice pizza restaurant, the veterans monument, and the home of the VFW. All of these are compelling a compelling draw for local businesses and nonprofits to work with the town to create this needed museum that would make the town a more valuable asset and could tell the transformation of its growth from that of a rural farming community with immigrants owning large parcels of land since the 1700s. How at the dawn of the 20th century, a heavy meal presence changed the town

into a manufacturing hub. In the middle of the 20th century, products that the meals were creating were sent to Mexico. Continuing to evolve, the town became the headquarters of northern companies relocating to the south. High-tech companies and insurance companies provided a new source of employment for residents in the 21st century. Today, more companies move into large warehouses that employ hundreds of our local residents. Now, for the history of the area, several historic sites are open to the public and have been a tourist destination for years. The tar scoop the tar store built in the 1700s is a historic landmark that is attached to the former Cedar Grove plantation. There's also ladder plantation now a living farm and it's a to tourist destination. There are two historic schools in the black community. Huntersville Rosenwall School number two for black children and the former Torres Lidle Negro High School. In the town limits, churches are on every corner and most are over 100 years old. There are 10 churches in the black community and nine are over 100 years old. There is one public school district and many churches and public charter schools. The benefits of having a town museum that advances the identity of its rural growth to being economically sound with potential job with increased job potential detailing its growth into thousand from thousand from a hund from 4,000 in 1990 to over 70,000 in 2025. The preservation of local history and heritage can bridge the divide while sparking a diverse population to become more involved in

the town's common value and the education of historic landmarks ensuing representation from all residents. Most importantly, it's a town center gathering space where residents can feel connected to it. Thank you so much and really listen to others who may have my own sentiments, but the town is forward of a historical site. So, this is in the center of town and I hope it works for you. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Conwell. Last, we have Elaine Karns. You have three minutes.

Good evening. Hi, I'm Elaine Karns. Like Gatewood said, I would like to ask you all to please slow this down. The next step should not be an up or down vote on a particular offer. It should be whether or not the town hall will even be sold. And you can't decide whether or not it should be sold until you look at all the options. And I'd like to remind you that the downtown steering committee also talked about keeping the town hall and looking at options. I've been doing a lot of research on revitalizing downtowns and I spoke with a consultant um from a company called Save Your Town. Her name is Deb Brown. I was really impressed with her. She specializes in things like or her company does determining what to do with empty municipal buildings. She offers uh no fluff practical, tangible, doable options. and we talked about ways that the old town hall can be a vibrant place to be past 5:00 pm. She uses a protocol that's based on community input from different sectors of the community. She said if you find out what people really want and implement it, they'll have solid reasons to come downtown again and again. I hear that there are deed restrictions on this proposal. That's nice, but there's a limit to it. And seven years is a drop in the bucket in the life of a downtown. I think by that time, the land will be so valuable that even if the developer puts money into the property, it will be more profitable for them to tear it down and build apartments or whatever in seven years. The town hall is an asset just like the parking deck is an asset. Now that there aren't town offices in D discovery place kids, will the town sell

the parking deck? I mean, after all, it costs 40,000 plus a year to maintain it. So, will they put it up for bid? I don't think so, because it's a usable asset, just like the old town hall is. What happens to the old town hall should not be decided by one person or a handful of people and a developer. The community should have real input, not just this hearing tonight. If you put the town hall up for sale and schedule a vote on it before going through a goodfaith effort to take a look at options, that's not real input. It's just the appearance of input. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions for staff before we conclude the public hearing?

I have a question actually. Okay. Do we know if there are any grants available that could help us renovate the space for any sort of community uses? Are we aware that any of those exist? Yes, we um we already have a grant uh $500,000 grant for community space, but are there other grants out there? Yes. Okay. Can we obtain those? I don't know. Um if I recall, Bobby, I don't see I don't know where he's at. Maybe hide in front of me. I don't know. Um

yeah, no, I'm talking about Bobby. Um but there is a uh we do have a $500,000 grant. There are other grants that are out there for sure. Um that was a state grant Bobby or federal grant federal grant um that we have. So they're not giving them out too much right now with all that's going on in uh obviously at the federal level. So I would not put my hopes that grant was obtained how many years ago? I want to say two or three. It was through the uh appropriations process with Representative Alma Adams. Yeah.

Okay. Um, and some of that was to offset. I know Anthony said earlier one and a half million. We were thinking two million. We cut a half million out for uh needed it for this building. So, um, it it it seems like it could be flexible and used in other community needs, community spaces in Huntersville. Um, but the the initial thought was that it could offset what we took out of that building for the project budget. Okay. Are we finding it challenging to get grants now just because of the demographics of Huntersville? Like I know that's been the case in some parts of town. I will say that's always been a challenge. Yeah.

Um just because some programs target communities that are um maybe less fortunate than ours for for some of their funding. Um and some of the grants we've gotten have come through processes that were more um I'd say direct allocation from a state representative in a budget or a federal representative in a budget as opposed to the grants that you're going through. um a lot of other steps.

It's just harder for us to qualify for some of those because you got to shrink down the area to qualify. Let's say for like CDBG grants, community development block grants. Um even trying to get it to qualify in areas like Huntington Green, Pottown, it gets harder and harder and harder uh because of you know what's around it. So to be able to shrink down, they're looking at like census tracks, then you get down to blocks and trying to get that to a neighborhood level to qualify um is tougher and tougher and tougher.

And countywide on that point, all of Mecklmer County, we're out of area wide benefit. You can't just go say, "Hey, here's a qualified census track where you could do anything or any number of things in that particular area." That doesn't exist in Meccur County anymore. The incomes are so high. Gotcha. Okay. Thanks, Bobby. that 500,000 from Representative Alma Adams. Is that tied to that specific location or is it just tied to redevelopment and downtown in general? It

it was connected to developing community space. Um, and I will say, you know, in all honesty, I mean, the way we submitted it and the way it gets chewed up and spit out to agencies, they don't know all the gory details of what we thought we were initially going to use it for. Um, and the process allows for flexibility to, you know, check with your rep, check with your agency where it got routed through and and you know, they want you to spend the money to meet the needs in your community. So, I I would, like I said, I I think we've got some flexibility, but the initial thought was it was going to offset the money we had taken out of that original thought for what to do over there.

So, what we would look at is if we look at other depending on if this moves forward not if it doesn't and we'll continue, we would use the 500 there. If not, we would look to use it either um for community space at rec center as what uh we've talked about internally with staff andor probably not the third floor of um uh town center just because um we don't want to do a whole lot of improvements to that space for various reasons. There could be other opportunities that present themselves above the third floor. Most likely we would do that with the rec center expansion and do where we can have major programmable space there. Not just courts but actual classroom programmable space uh and add to that facility because you have with CPCC and HAP HFA you have probably a thousand parking spaces where we have agreements with the varian with CPCC. So for major events and programs and stuff we have access to all those spaces. So, that's something we would probably look at if we depending on where we go with this proposal.

Is this um 500,000 money we already have or are we still waiting for it? It's technically ours. You've got to jump through the federal hoops to get it. So, you've got to complete an environmental review. We've got to complete the official application without knowing the site. We couldn't do the environmental review. Um it's administered through HUD. So, you've got to jump through the HUD playbook. Okay. And then what about um the arts and cultural center? Um if this project moves forward as a you know commercial space, could we use that 500,000 to transform the arts and cultural center into something that you know is more of a community designated space?

Yeah, I think that's absolutely an option. I mean, it's still in the downtown. It meets the intent of what we requested the funds for. Um we we were trying to get some questions answered by our HUD rep right now on other options. Um, and like I said, when it got submitted to our rep and she submitted on our behalf, once it gets routed to an agency, they get like a sentence or a line. It says like community center upgrade or expansion. They have no idea what we're proposing or trying to do. So, okay. Thank you. Any other questions? Okay. Sorry. How big is that building? The arts and cultural center building. Do we know? Maybe 4,000. 4,000 square feet or less. Town hall is about 8,000, right? Um, I would guesstimate the arts and culturals at least half or less.

Okay. Okay. Just size comparisons. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And Bobby, I know this question wouldn't ask, but I think I know the answer, but I'll let you answer it anyway. Um, that those funds are available to what date? Oh, 2033 or something. It's it's a it's a lengthy window. I think partially just know how hard the federal process is to go through. That's a year plus alone. Any other questions, Commissioner Cornet?

Um, I we we brushed on this in the last meeting, but devil's advocate. Somebody comes in, buys town hall, and decides to tear it down after seven years. There is they can't build an apartment complex with the current with the zoning setup we have. Is that correct? remembering to actually carry out what is being proposed. I'm not sure. ETA think 100% on that. If they do something by the restriction periods, they can do anything else by

Okay. I think it's very highly unlikely. You got to remember we're shrinking down the size of the property. So if you literally drew a property line around the back of the building and the deck that's out there, you know, the back patio and hug the building and went straight across parking lot, it is super tight. So you tear down a potential, let's just say a three4 million investment to build apartments with no parking. Uh it's just I'd run the economics on it, but just off the top of my head, it makes zero sense. Just not big enough. And I would also think that the even if you had a buy ride apartment, you need parking and there's going to be no parking available.

They have no guaranteed parking. No guaranteed parking. So it' be probably anyway. Any other questions? All right. Thank you, Miss Loop. Thank you, Mr. Roberts. We do not have any other business for item number 10. So, we have a close session for item 11A. So, can I have a motion to move us into close session, please? I'll make the motion to go into close session. And is there a second? A second. Any discussion? All those in favor, please raise your hand. Any opposed? And we are in close session.

All right. Um, we are on to item number 12, closing comments. Commissioner Corinette, I'll begin with you. Any comments to close this out? No comments. Thank you. Commissioner Walsh? No, ma'am. Commissioner Rivers,

on yesterday we celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I want to give a huge huge shout out to Commissioner Quarrel for creating and coming up with this vision of an MLK day celebration. Kudos to you and to our staff, town board, thank you for the support. to our parks and recck department, MJ, Jennifer Hackman. You guys were amazing. So, thank you to everyone who came out, who participated, and who celebrated. Thank you so much. Commissioner Hunt, not tonight. Thank you, Commissioner Corals.

Yes. Um, Huntersville, you are very fortunate to have a mayor and board who support community events, and our second annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration were just another. Events like that are so important to our community. We had a diverse crowd of more than 400 people who celebrated in the historic Parchtown community at the David B. Way center. I talked with a couple who travel all the way from Apex. People came from all parts of Charlotte, Concord, Canopapolis, Cornelius, Davidson, Denver, and Moresville. Wenderson people cry in as they learned so much about the civil rights movement was confirmation that we have so much more in common than we and that we really have more love in us than hate. Words of Dr. King Jr. We will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends. Town manager Anthony Roberts, Mayor Clark and commissioners Michael JCox and Jennifer Mc Mccayman, Ethan Smith and Pam Escobar. You were not silent. Your support in this important event spoke loudly and many people thank you and so do I. Commissioner Smallwood then this evening.

All right. I also want to offer our um thanks to Commissioner Quills. Um a year over a year ago, he came to me with this idea and said, "What do you think we should do?" And I said, "Let's do it." And we had no idea that our first one we would have 250 people in attendance. And so yesterday was amazing to see that that place filled again. I think we might need to find a bigger space. Um so that's super exciting to think about. Um, but thank our staff and the county parks staff as well. Um, we had a full house of people helping yesterday. Um, the Jack and Jill club from I believe they're from Concord helped us, the students. And so it just was an amazing event and so um, we are all um, looking forward to our next events coming up. Um, the most exciting one is the road cutting on Friday. Um, so we'll all see you all there. Um, and that is all I have to say. Um, may I have a motion to adjourn? I would like to make the motion that we adjourn tonight's meeting.

And is there a second? Second. Any discussion? All those in favor, raise your hand.