City Council Zoning Meeting - Regular Meeting

0:04•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

You're not alone. There are resources out there for you. We stand with survivors and we are here to support you in whatever way we can.

Thanks to all for joining here in person and those watching online. We'll start with introductions going around the room, starting with our city clerk.

2:22•VWVictoria Watlington

Andrea Leslie-Fight, city attorney. Good evening. I'm Victoria Wellington. I have the pleasure of serving you as a member at large.

2:32•DADanté Anderson

Good evening and happy Pride Week, Charlotte. Dante Anderson, District 1.

Good evening, everybody. Mayor Pro Tem James Mitchell. Good evening, everybody. Rob Harrington, Mayor.

2:44•LMLaWana Mayfield

Kimberly Owens, representing District 6.

2:48•LMLaWana Mayfield

Luana Mayfield, Council Member at Large.

2:50•JAJD Mazuera Arias

Good evening, JD Masueta-Arias, District 5.

2:53•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Good evening, Renee Johnson, and I'm honored to represent District 4.

2:57•DADimple Ajmera

Good evening, Dimple Ashmera, Council Member at Large.

Thank you, and again, good evening. We will start our meeting with items with consideration of the consent agenda items. Before we take a vote, are there any comment or any for separate vote? Council Member Johnson first. Council Member Mayfield.

3:25•LMLaWana Mayfield

We're both trying to get out. I haven't, I'm sorry.

3:32•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Item number 23, please. Just pull for discussion.

No others. Council Member Johnson. Council Member Mayfield, when you're ready.

3:47 – 5:16•LMLaWana Mayfield

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Actually, I was able to tune in on Friday for our check-in, and I have asked questions, so what I would like is for staff to give the responses. to the items that we were checking into. So I guess what I'm pulling out for a separate discussion, do you have the response for, what was it? 36. And my apologies for not having this up right now. Staff is looking number 48, 47. Thank you. for us to have full discussion, as well as number 45, trying to have a better understanding. So, Mayor, 45, 47, 48, that I would like for staff to go over the responses that they submitted to

So council member Mayfield, the list that I wrote down from you is 36, 45, 47 and 48. Yes, sir. Thank you. And I propose that we take a vote on the remaining items. And also, given the length of the agenda here in particular, my proposal intent would be to take up the items that are no longer in consent at the very beginning of the business meeting in the session in chamber just to fill some time here. Any problem with that? Okay, then we'll vote on the items other than those accepted.

And the items that have been pulled out just for clarity in the motion are 23, 36, 45, 47, 48. Any further discussion on the remaining consent items? There has been a motion made and seconded to approve the consent items other than those listed 23, 36, 45, 47, 48. All in favor, raise your hand. Any opposed? All right, they pass. I believe we are now ready for the action preview and I will turn that over to our manager.

7:35 – 8:52•DADanté Anderson

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, City Manager. We are about to proceed to walk you all through the full council through our discussions and some of the findings that came out of the Public Safety Committee meeting that was held as a special meeting over our summer break as it relates to youth protection ordinances. We all have seen the video and some of the news updates as it relates to teen takeovers and unfortunately some of the challenges that have occurred throughout our city from North to South to center city and I've been working very closely with chief Patterson and attorney Jessica bat

Thank you, Chief Patterson. I know we have three council members who have asked for, and I'll start five. I'll start with Council Member Ajmera.

31:44 – 33:35•DADimple Ajmera

Thank you, Mayor Harrington. Chief, thank you for your leadership, and thanks to all the law enforcement here in the room and all the partners who are here today. I did see the U.S. Attorney. Thank you for being here and for your leadership collaborating with CMPD. We appreciate you. So if we can go back to the exception slide, because I am getting questions about, oh, my child is working night shift, would that apply? Or they have youth camp, would that apply? So I think I do want every parent to understand that this would not apply to employment activity or if they are part of some sort of o

34:17 – 35:22•DADimple Ajmera

And I think those are the opportunities that we need to continue to highlight so that teens have safe spaces to go, safe spaces to have opportunities, whether that's through mentorship or a job opportunity or workforce development opportunities. Because I think that's where we need to continue to focus on. So if we can continue to expand that program, Mr. Jones, I know this is something we started. The council had approved in our budget just last year. And I think we've come a long way to seeing hundreds of youth that have been engaged. I would like us to continue to expand that program, not j

35:26 – 36:33•VWVictoria Watlington

thank you mr. Mayor thank you chief and Dr. Stewart and all the CMPD staff and our partners for the work that you're doing and thank you to members of the public who have weighed in on this and are keen on ensuring that we're investing in our youth I've got a couple of questions, because I want to make sure I understand the intended cause and effect here. You all mentioned earlier in your presentation here some of the other benchmarking cities. And you mentioned that Myrtle Beach saw a correlation between their time period, their 9 PM, versus their later. I'd like to understand a little bit mo

37:19•VWVictoria Watlington

And just basic crime theory, if you will, forgive me. I'm obviously not a law enforcement officer. Why does it matter if it's dark as it relates to incident rates?

38:02 – 38:32•VWVictoria Watlington

And just for comparison's sake, do we have those same numbers for the 11 p.m. and later window? What is that additional two hours? Right. We did not pull those numbers, but we certainly can. Sure. That would be great. I'd be very interested to see what the difference would be between those two hours. And then can you speak a little bit to the nature of the activity? Why having structured events after 9 o'clock for teens may result in low incident rate or no incident rate versus the unstructured?

40:52 – 41:55•VWVictoria Watlington

That makes sense. So it sounds like for the structured events, a particular seeker, if you will, shows up for the structured events because most of the kids are just looking for something to do. And it is because there are other kids around that those who have other motives are able to come in and be disruptive. Yes, ma'am. Okay. That makes sense to me. Just a couple more questions. I wanted to understand how... Walk me through, for someone who would say, 17-year-olds out at 9 p.m. in and of itself should not be an issue. We've heard the exceptions. If there is an event, however, that's not sc

43:35•VWVictoria Watlington

Thank you for that. And then in the wintertime, when it gets dark at 5 p.m., how are you all thinking about that, the hours between 5 to 9 in the wintertime?

44:14 – 44:31•VWVictoria Watlington

Thank you. And my very last question, I think back to a couple of years ago where we had these conversations with the General Assembly around raising the age and then lowering the age that relates to juvenile crime. Can you just talk to me about how that overlaps with this work?

Just for planning purposes, I'm going to come to Councilmember Mayfield next. I am going to move the other two items, at least one, probably both of the other two items, that are on the action preview here to the manager's report so that we have time for the, we have another matter that we need to discuss and I want to start that at least by six o'clock. So if it's possible in our comments, we have 15 minutes before six o'clock. If it's possible in our comments to avoid redundancy of questions, if that's possible, I just ask that council members please do that. Thank you for those questions an

46:22 – 47:28•LMLaWana Mayfield

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, chief and team and all of our law enforcement. This is getting ready to get captured in a minute. So y'all can give us a report for the questions that I'm going to ask. Basically, I want to have an understanding of it was mentioned, Dr. Stewart, the park and rec passes. I want to know exactly how those are going to be distributed to the youth. Because if the youth that we're talking about are youth that get together online, then they're not necessarily the ones that we're already capturing if they're showing up. So it will be helpful to know exactly

47:30 – 51:23•LMLaWana Mayfield

What current organizations or partnerships do we have that have events available for our youth after nine o'clock? So back in 2020, and Manager Jones knows, and you may have read about it, Mayor Harrington, in 2020, the city partnered with YMCA. We supported the Level Up program, which specifically was a youth-led lock-in on Fridays and Saturdays in the evenings where they had access. The biggest challenge, which if I'm understanding correctly, is that our youth don't have the same access that I had as a child. Park and Rec is where I lived at. It's very expensive to go. You're paying to go in

51:28 – 52:15•KOKimberly Owens

Thank you mayor and thank you chief Patterson you and I have spoken and I won't belabor the issue for me to vote in favor of this I'll be candid I really would need to have a lot more comfort with respect to what happens to parents we've heard from a few parents over the course of the last few weeks with respect to job consequences and other consequences that are brought to roost with them and I'm just asking perhaps attorney battle if you could help me parse the language here that has the parent responsible, quote, if knowingly permitting a child to be out, and how that jives with the excepti

53:43 – 54:15•KOKimberly Owens

So just a brief follow up. And again, we can we can talk offline and perhaps, you know, when we bring this back up, you can give me some additional comfort. What support attorney battle do we have for families who are having an issue with a teen who they are unable to enforce restrictions on in a meaningful way, either because of their job schedule or because the child is just quite honestly unruly? If someone comes to court, what is it that they're asking for? What support are we able to give as a community to prevent them from having an issue?

55:37•KOKimberly Owens

Thank you. Just briefly, if you'll follow up again on whether that does prompt the opening of a neglect case. I've been told that it does, and that gives me pause. Thank you.

57:10 – 58:15•JMJoi Mayo

Thank you. I had a quick question. Can staff show us like a map, maybe at a later time, of where the youth opportunities actually exist and where you have these partnerships? My concern is that there's a gap in that, particularly when we're talking about Steel Creek, Nations Forward. This is a continuous conversation I've had with our county commissioners. The fact that there is a lack of recreation centers are placed for kids to go and then it exacerbates these kind of issues so I'm just curious based on the programming that you all are already doing how equitable is that and is are we really

Thank you, Council Member Mayo. Council Member Driggs.

58:20 – 59:49•EDEd Driggs

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I believe this is a very serious issue. It's part of what I consider to be a troubling breakdown in civil conduct. Noisy cars, road racing, retail theft. So we have to fight back. I get that. I appreciate what CMPD is doing and intend to support what you're doing. I will just point out I have a concern somewhat along the lines of Councilmember Owens in that I would estimate that of the population of Charlotte, about 200,000 are below the age of 18, 17 and under. About 60,000 round numbers are in the 13 to 17 bracket. And how many of those are actually offenders? How ma

1:01:05 – 1:01:35•EDEd Driggs

Right, it means that you will have to use a certain amount of judgment in your administration of these rules, both as it relates to the who's out and what they're doing, and as it relates, so I appreciate that you have a tool here that can be brought to bear against the juvenile or the parent, and I trust CMPD to use that authority judiciously and not penalize people who really aren't guilty of anything. So thank you for what you're doing. Thank you, Mr. Driggs.

Thank you, Council Member Driggs. I think next is Council Member Graham.

1:01:40 – 1:04:17•MGMalcolm Graham

And I'll be quick, Mr. Mayor. I understand your time limit at 6 o'clock. I just want to thank CMPD and Chief Patterson for their leadership on this particular issue. I was at University City joining the team takeover, and it was... different at best for sure. There was a news article interview where three football players actually supported, high school football players supported the teen curfew and wanted restrictions and guidelines for themselves as well as their peers. But they also wanted something to do as well, right? Where they can go for a safe space and be responsible and hanging out

Thank you, Council Member Graham. Council Member Johnson.

1:04:21•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Thank you, Mayor. What happens if the curfew is violated?

1:04:57•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Okay. And if they're 16 or 17 years old and they're arrested, are they charged as an adult? No, no.

1:05:24•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Right, that would be the crime anyway, right?

1:05:30 – 1:05:45•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Okay, so you say that if they have a note from their parents or they're on their way from work, If they're in a car, are they able to be pulled over for curfew violation, probable curfew violation?

1:06:07•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Thank you. Do we have a youth council where we're hearing from the youth?

1:06:27 – 1:06:53•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Okay, and then one of the slides said if a business knowingly, I'm looking for the slide, if a business knowingly supports curfew violation, the business can be penalized? So if a teenager goes out to dinner after a football game, they're in a restaurant, the restaurant is responsible or how's that business affected?

1:08:01 – 1:08:25•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

I told you, Mayor, this is an important topic, and we should be able to ask these questions. Okay. The object or the intent or the purpose is to address the teen takeovers. That's why we're discussing this today. Is this a temporary measure?

1:08:42 – 1:09:03•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

So could we increase the, could we bring in some of these youth to look at social media and to stop these teen takeovers before they start? I heard that there's been some activity and there's been some monitoring, and because of that, some of the planned events have fizzled out. Is that true?

1:09:06•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Has there been recent reduction due to our monitoring?

1:09:20 – 1:11:06•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Okay. What I would like to see is some of these solutions enacted. And maybe, I don't know, before we enacted a curfew or maybe a temporary curfew, and then we take a look at opening up these third places, working with the county. I think this is an intergovernmental issue, the county and the state. We need solutions. There's not a skating rink in a reasonable district in this city. So if we want to fund something instead of increasing criminal, I mean, there's Kate's, but if you're in the university, it's very, very far. So if we want to fund something or be intentional about something, let's

1:11:08 – 1:17:37•JAJD Mazuera Arias

Council Member Masuera-Aries. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Chief, and thank you, staff, for really putting this presentation. I really appreciate it. I take particular interest in this issue of being the council member closer to being a teenager. Just ten years ago. And so, and I start with that because ten years ago, there were pools, there were bowling alleys. There are places for myself and my friends to go to that. A lot of places now impose restrictions for young people to be at. I have an 18-year-old sister who I just asked recently, what does she do for fun? And the only place she was a

Thank you, Council Member Masuera Arias. Council Member Anderson, I think you have the last question.

1:17:46 – 1:22:32•DADanté Anderson

thank you Mr. Mayor and thank you council for a very good conversation on this topic that the safety committee has delved into a lot of really good questions and perspectives one thing I will say and I want to thank the chief and her team for all of the work that they've done you know both you know I would say you know inside the building doing the research and collecting all of this data and information but also equally if not more importantly out on the streets engaging with our youth and our residents to try to curtail some of these events one of the most important things I think we've had

everyone to make one comment or ask have one set of comments or ask questions. And so I want to hold it there because I know this is going to come back to us in some form. But I don't, I want to make sure that we're even handed and how we have the round of questions. Great discussion. Important issue is council member Johnson has said chief Patterson, thank you very much. Are there any final comments that you'd like to make?

Thank you very much. All right, I think we're going to flex a little bit and skip down to the parking and sidewalk ordinance revision. Manager, if that's okay with you. And we will hold the other item until your report during the session downstairs.

If folks could please we' ve got limited time please be as quiet as you can exiting and moving around and if council would give attention to the manager.

1:24:30 – 1:25:22•MGMalcolm Graham

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Interim Community Relations Director Terry Bradshaw and the Assistant City Attorney presented a proposal ordinance amendment addressing sidewalk parking, asking the committee to advance it to the full council because of time sensitive nature. Mr. Bradley explained that the issue was identified through the city's Americans with Disability Act ADA program after staff recognized an operational gap conflicting language in the city code of ordinance. The action is the council, the committee rather, made a recommendation to the full council to amend the ordinance for considerat

Questions? Council Member Johnson? Council Member Mayfield?

1:30:55 – 1:31:40•LMLaWana Mayfield

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for the presentation. The only question I'm going to ask for this particular example is delivery drivers. UPS doesn't pull into residential homes anymore. We have a lot of area where the sidewalk is right up on the street. They don't pull into the driveway, so they literally pull up on sidewalks in order to not be in traffic because it's one way so whether it's UPS or some other large vehicle how does this apply to delivery and or pickup services in the city when we do a lot of we have a lot of services that do that today?

1:32:11 – 1:32:44•LMLaWana Mayfield

What I'm thinking, and please correct me if this isn't accurate, what you all are anticipating is in residential neighborhood when you have people that are visiting or you have a vehicle overnight or for an extended period of time where you got a small driveway that's made for two vehicles, but you have three or more vehicles, so they're blocking the actual sidewalk. instead of either parking on the street or in the designated driveway. That's what you're anticipating. Correct. Thank you.

Thank you. Council member Mayfield, council member Johnson.

1:32:48 – 1:32:59•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Thank you, mayor. So the purpose of this is to serve individuals who are in like have mobility challenges. Is that the purpose of doing this?

1:33:05 – 1:33:35•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Okay. An ADA complaint. So there's a term, I was talking to a developer today, and he used the term drive aprons. I think those are shorter driveways. So I'd like to hear from planning, if we could, if that's a thing. Are we moving towards shorter driveways in the city? What's the requirement for the driveway length? Because if we're allowing shorter driveways, drive aprons, this seems like a conflict.

1:34:17 – 1:35:11•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

So my concern, and I was on a call, and Councilmember Mitchell, Mayor Pro Tem was on the call also, and there was a developer who said, well, they're inexpensive. They only have one car garage. Yeah. So that's kind of where attainable housing is going. One car garage, shorter driveways. And so people almost need to buy the one car garage in order to be able to afford to live here so if if they're not allowed to park in their driveway I think I'd have a concern about that I I'd rather see an exception in someone's home in the driveway because people have you know what more than one car you know

1:35:40 – 1:35:53•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

I know there's a neighborhood in the ETJ, and they're not allowed to park for their cars to block the driveway, but it really is problematic for the people that live there. Okay, thank you. Thank you, Council Member Johnson.

1:35:53 – 1:38:00•JAJD Mazuera Arias

Council Member Masuera-Aries. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you so much for the presentation. My questions are aligned with Council Member Mayfield and Council Member Johnson when it comes to social gatherings that folks might host. And my concern is particularly with the speed of us approving rezonings for townhome neighborhoods that have, and colleagues, you all might remember we have some a debate about the length of the streets and how many emergency vehicles can come in and out and whether there are enough exits available for this. And so I think, and this can be answered offline, is this trans

Okay, we're going to transition to the council chambers. I know we have at least one more question. Council Member Ashmera.

1:38:57 – 1:40:06•DADimple Ajmera

Thank you, Mr. Harrington. So this will only apply to sidewalks, right? We are not talking about driveways. Even if the driveways are short, to some of my colleagues' question, we are just talking about specifically sidewalks. I just want to highlight one of the... things I have seen where a parent pushing a stroller, because that happens to me quite a bit, or a senior walking to the bus, they're being forced to go into the traffic because sidewalks are blocked. So this is about safe infrastructure, and I have seen that because We can build sidewalks, which we are continuing to invest in becau

Are there, are there, are there any other questions from council on this point or comments? Anything else, manager? Thank you very much. We are going to transition to council chambers. We will take up the model cities initiative grant just so folks, particularly online, will know during the manager's report there. And we'll also take up the items that were deferred from what was the consent agenda that were pulled out during that session.

Good evening and thank you for joining us in this in-person and those watching online for our August 10th business meeting, Charlotte City Council. Now let's begin with introductions around the dais, starting with the city clerk.

1:43:48•VWVictoria Watlington

Good evening, Dimple Oshimura, at large. Good evening, I'm Victoria Watlington and I have the pleasure of serving you as a member at large.

1:43:56•JMJoi Mayo

Good evening, Joy Mayo, representing District 3.

1:43:59•DADanté Anderson

Good evening and happy Stella Awards week in the city of Charlotte. Dante Anderson, District 1.

Good evening, Rob Harrington, Mayor. Good evening, everyone. James Mitchell, Mayor Pro Tem.

1:44:12•KOKimberly Owens

Good evening, everyone. Kimberly Owens, representing District 6.

1:44:15•EDEd Driggs

Malcolm Graham, District 2. Ed Dreeks, District 7.

1:44:18•LMLaWana Mayfield

Good evening, Luana Mayfield, Council Member at Large.

1:44:21•JAJD Mazuera Arias

Good evening, JD Masueta-Arias, proudly representing the East Side, District 5.

1:44:25•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Good evening, I'm Renee Johnson, and I'm honored to represent District 4.

Thank you all. We begin our meeting with an invocation, expression of inspiration, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The invocation is intended to solemnize our proceedings. We celebrate the religious diversity of our community, including those without a religious faith. Tonight, Councilmember Owens will give our invocation. Councilmember Owens.

1:44:50 – 1:46:22•KOKimberly Owens

Thank you, Mayor. I will start by saying that when we start our year, we are assigned certain dates, and obviously today is my date. In anticipation of that, I reached out to a variety of faith communities who find home within District 6. And the following was given to me by Nasif Majid, Jr. With the name of God, the most merciful, the most compassionate, we begin by acknowledging the one who created us in our diversity, different backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives, yet united in our shared responsibility to care for one another and to serve the public good. We pray for wisdom for those en

Thank you, Councilmember Owens. Let's stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:46:29•EDEd Driggs

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,

We have one proclamation for this evening and I'll turn it over for that to council member Graham.

1:46:53 – 1:49:37•MGMalcolm Graham

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And I'm honored to have the opportunity to read the city of Charlotte proclamation. Whereas national black philanthropy month is observed annually in August. to celebrate and elevate the rich tradition of generosity, volunteerism, civic engagement, and charitable giving within black communities, recognizing philanthropy as a powerful force for positive social change. And whereas the Foundation for Black Philanthropy, an affiliate fund of the Foundation for the Carolina, was established to inspire charitable giving strengthened led black organizations and advanced economic

Thank you, Councilmember Graham, and thanks to all who were recognized for all you do in our community and the really important work that you do. As we transition into the remainder of the meeting, I'd like to just give a little bit of background. I'd like to thank all of you for attending. On behalf of the city council, I'd like to thank all of you. I ask that audience members be civil and courteous while in the chamber. We want to ensure that everyone has a positive experience while attending tonight's meeting. And that takes us now to open public comment on amendments to the Charlotte City

1:52:06 – 1:52:24•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

So I wanted to ask Looks like we're changing the manual. I wanted to know how cumulative impact for traffic studies is going to be considered. Do we have, is there anybody from the city to answer the question?

1:52:25•DADimple Ajmera

Debbie's coming. Okay. Just close the hearing. She has a question about cumulative.

Before we get there, I think we probably should take a vote on the motion to close the public comment and then move into questions from council. So let's go ahead and take a vote on the pending motion to close public comment. Any opposed? All right. So public comment is now closed. Council Member Johnson, please proceed with the questions.

1:53:00 – 1:53:28•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Thank you. It's my understanding We're going to review guidelines for traffic impact study guidance. So I wanted to know, we've talked about in the past looking at cumulative impact or changing the guidelines for traffic impact studies. Can you answer or tell me if there are going to be any consideration to cumulative impact?

1:54:15•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

But right now, the number is still 2,500 trips to trigger a traffic impact study?

1:54:37 – 1:54:56•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Okay, so we've been talking about this for a while and there was a presentation from staff that we were going to be looking at it. So are we revising the manual now and then referring this item to committee? Is this something that can be considered in this version?

1:55:11 – 1:55:34•LMLaWana Mayfield

Thank you, Mayor. Debbie, if you can explain the difference between a collective street to a local street. as well as what could the impact of that be when we keep a proven development and then there's not a street to help mitigate the congestion.

1:56:21•LMLaWana Mayfield

So a collective street potentially can have recess parking on street. A local street could not.

1:56:44 – 1:57:24•LMLaWana Mayfield

So when you follow up to Council Member Johnson, when you give her the response, it will be helpful. for me to have a breakdown, because we just had a conversation about parking on sidewalks. We're also having a conversation regarding shortening driveways, which is an oxymoron in itself. But if we're talking about that a collector street is the street that actually potentially has the recessed parking, because again, crazy thought. People have vehicles. They might decide to have a gathering at their home. Where are they going to park? So what could the impact of this be? It would be helpful to

Any other comments? Anyone else who has a council member as mayor first? Come back to you, Council Member Johnson.

1:57:36 – 1:58:02•DADimple Ajmera

Yes, so obviously this is not just simple modifications here. There are two things that... were key. One, it was the first was the fee in lieu. So if you can talk about just the implications when developers will contribute pay in lieu versus building directly.

1:58:05•DADimple Ajmera

And then I'll talk about the second item later.

1:59:57•DADimple Ajmera

So when they contribute in pay in lieu fund, would those funds be used to build that?

2:00:15 – 2:00:27•DADimple Ajmera

Where the greatest need is. Yes. Okay, that's fair. Second, I noticed there's Tier 3 parking reduction. Those were the only two major items I saw as part of the clarification. Could you speak to those parking reductions?

2:01:31 – 2:01:46•DADimple Ajmera

So for those of you who do not know tier one, two, and three, could you just explain that? I'm sorry explain tier 3 parking reduction park tier 3 specifically because that's the only tier 3 That's the only parking reduction.

2:02:20•DADimple Ajmera

Okay. I'll have more questions, but I'll follow up with you later. That's all I have. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Esmira. I'm going to come back to Council Member Johnson, but are there any other questions or comments from Council at this point? Council Member Johnson.

2:02:36 – 2:02:58•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Yeah, I'd like you guys, Council Member Mayfield and Ashmira, that you ask for staff to explain the impact. When we talk about cumulative impact, Ms. Smith, can you explain cumulative impact and the difference in what we're doing now?

2:03:23 – 2:04:31•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

And the reason I ask, I've been bringing this up for at least probably five years or so, and why it's important is because currently, if I'm correct, the number to trigger a traffic impact study is 2,500 trips, unless that's changed. It's lower, yes. 1,500 trips? 1,500. Fifteen hundred or two thousand trips. And that's one petition has to have two thousand trips before we have a traffic impact study. But if you have three petitions next to each other and they each have a thousand, there's no study on how traffic is impacted. So this is happening all throughout the district and traffic just con

2:04:40 – 2:04:52•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Okay. Thank you. And speaking of that, I hope that we're looking at a referral tracker because I've probably been referred a while ago. Good. Okay. Thank you. That's all I have.

Thank you. I see Council Member Ajmera has another question. Are there any other questions from those who have not spoken to the motion? Let's go Council Member Watlington and then Council Member Richmond.

2:05:03 – 2:05:19•VWVictoria Watlington

Yeah, mine's quick. I just wanted to lift up. You're right. This conversation feels like it's been going on since at least 2019. What is the gap? Mr. Manager.

2:05:28 – 2:05:44•VWVictoria Watlington

Sure. I know that this isn't the first time staff has worked on it, though. So I just want to understand truthfully, what is the barrier to delivering a response to this cumulative impact? Because if there's something real structural here or legislatively that we need to understand, I'd rather we be clear about that.

2:05:47•VWVictoria Watlington

So is there a real structural barrier to be able to adjust such that we can have cumulative impact considered?

2:06:47•VWVictoria Watlington

Okay, I look forward to hearing that in committee. So it sounds like what's in committee is not a policy question, it's a matter of explanation. What are we working on?

2:07:09 – 2:07:49•VWVictoria Watlington

And then will we also understand, once we understand the explanation, the outcome, will we understand what's going to close the gap to the outcome? Because what I think I hear you say is that even though we're seeing 1,500 for each petition before there's a threshold, there's some other mechanism that's looking cumulatively. If that's the case, the outcome feels like there's still an opportunity to improve our traffic and transportation planning because what we're seeing is overcapacity in these particular areas where we're building. Will we also be getting some recommendations of what we can do to make adjustments?

2:07:59 – 2:08:17•VWVictoria Watlington

So will you be bringing back recommendations? I'm trying to get a sense of what's going into committee because if what we're going to get back is the explanation, we may be able to get that as pre-work before a committee discussion. Sure. I'll let you spend the committee discussion on the actual recommendations versus the explanation. Do you follow what I'm saying? Yes.

2:08:42•VWVictoria Watlington

Because if we need to adjust the referral, this would be the time.

2:09:08 – 2:09:24•VWVictoria Watlington

So I don't know if that's a question for the clerk. Before we move past this, this is the opportunity to adjust the referral to capture the need that Council Member Johnson has brought up. So if no one has the referral right now, is that something that we can see before we close business today?

2:09:24•DADimple Ajmera

Yes. You already have it. I understand, but what I'm saying is that the law. I just want to reflect her questions. Correct. Yes.

2:09:34 – 2:10:21•DADimple Ajmera

Yes, so since we are talking about fee in lieu, I would like to lift up one specific request that's been pending for almost a decade or longer. That's in District 4, and I know residents, this is right behind that pavilion amphitheater where the neighborhood has lifted up that request because it was between collector and the local street. So I would like to make sure, and I think, Debbie, your team has already looked at that, but there was no funding for it. But now with this fee in lieu, I would like us to make sure, because that request has been pending for many years, and the neighborhood h

2:10:24 – 2:10:38•DADimple Ajmera

Do you know which one I'm talking about? Yeah, right behind that pavilion amphitheater. Council Member Johnson has been advocating for that for a while, and they had reached out all. Harris-Houston Road. Yeah, Harris-Houston. Thank you. Thank you.

Yes. Are there any further questions, any further discussion from Council on Item 7, the motion with regard to streets map and streets manual? Is there a motion with regard to item seven, the proposed changes that are in writing on item seven in our manual book? Is there a motion?

2:11:11•LMLaWana Mayfield

Because for item 7, it's just receiving public comment on the amendments. Well, so there is not an action.

This is just public comment. You're exactly right. And my little notes here are off. So we will move on to the public hearing. There are no further comments. We're now going to open the public hearing on the general obligation bond referendum to be set for November 3rd, 2026. Madam Clerk, are there any speakers?

2:11:40•DADimple Ajmera

Some more. Do we need motion, right, before we open?

Thank you, Mr. Panik. Do I have a motion to close the public hearing? and a motion to adopt bond orders introduced for $280 million of transportation bonds, $20 million of neighborhood improvement bonds, and $125 million of housing bonds, and adopt a resolution setting the general obligation bond referendum for November 3rd, 2026. Is there a motion?

2:14:31•EDEd Driggs

You asked for a motion to close the hearing, so do we need to vote on that separately? I would move to close the hearing and approve B and C.

Since we've got the motion out there, let's just go ahead and vote on closing the hearing, if that's okay. Is there any discussion? All in favor? Any opposed? All right. Let's move to the motion itself to adopt the bond orders introduced for the $280 million of transportation bonds, $20 million of neighborhood improvement bonds, $125 million of housing bonds, and to adopt a resolution setting the general obligation bond referendum for November 3rd, 2026. Is there a motion? So moved.

2:15:15•VWVictoria Watlington

So 16875 a must accuse myself from this bill.

Okay. Are there, is there any other discussion? Council member Watlington is recused. Council member as mirror.

2:15:29 – 2:16:03•DADimple Ajmera

Yes. Thanks to the business Alliance for your continued support with the bond. This is $425 million in our infrastructure. And we often hear during our zoning meetings, Our city is growing and our infrastructure has to keep up with it. So this is a step forward. Appreciate the work of the budget team, Mr. Jones, for helping us with capital investment. So now let's hope that we continue to deliver the projects in a record time. That's all I have. This is about safe roads and safe infrastructure. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Esmir. Are there any other questions or comments about item number eight? Okay, I'll call the question on the vote. All in favor, please raise your hand if the motion is outlined. Any opposed? Motion carries. Okay, next on our agenda is the city manager's report in our policy section. We deferred discussion of one, two, three, four, five items from our consent agenda that were pulled out of the consent agenda. I would like to proceed with that discussion now. And the five items were 23, 36, 45, 47, and 48. 23, I believe that was Council Member Johnson.

2:16:57•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Yes. I just wanted it pulled out for discussion. Hear more about it. Which one?

2:17:05•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

That's the question. I just wanted it pulled out. Can you give us some information about this project?

2:17:46•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

I just wanted to hear more about it. Okay. Okay, go ahead.

2:17:50 – 2:18:18•JAJD Mazuera Arias

Council Member Masuera-Iris. Yeah, thank you, Mayor. I just want to thank staff for their work on this. Deeply appreciate it. As you know, this council, one of this council's priorities is Vision Zero and reducing traffic fatalities across the city of Charlotte, and particularly with District 5, which has seen an enormous amount of traffic fatalities, and just deeply appreciate that this is being focused and invested in our community, particularly a high-injury network. So thank you all for the work. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember. Any other questions or comments on item 23?

Any further discussion? All right, the motion is to approve the contract in the amount of $661,706.65 to the lowest responsible bidder, Carolina Cajun Concrete Inc. for the W.T. Harris Boulevard and Greer Road intersection and sidewalk project. We're ripe for a vote. All in favor, raise your hand. Any opposed? Motion passes. Council Member Mayfield, I believe you had items 36, 45, 47, and 48. Correct. And please proceed with 36.

2:19:05 – 2:20:05•LMLaWana Mayfield

Thank you, Mayor Harrington. So for item 36, which is a request to approve a contract in the amount of $1,203,308.75 to the lowest responsive bidder, what I wanted Well, I reached out to staff because we only received one being so that's not the lowest responsibility. That's the only better. So the first question that I asked was one, why did I go back out for an additional bid? What we have in here in our language is that initially no bids were received. So the question that I asked is what was in our language? and did we do an inquiry to try to identify why there was no bid on it initially,

2:20:49 – 2:21:20•LMLaWana Mayfield

And that was just a clarification that I wanted. As we're having to transition based off of federal and state language, when we're putting out bids, making sure that we're creating as many opportunities as possible. But yet, because this needing a specific skill set because of the aquarium safety measures that needed to happen, I just wanted for us to be able to identify that. Move to approve A and B. Second. Second.

Any further discussion? All in favor of approving A and B and agenda item 36, please raise your hand. Any opposed? All right, motion passes. Council Member Mayfield, we have 45.

2:21:42 – 2:21:54•LMLaWana Mayfield

Actually, my question is for 46, so for 45, move to adopt a resolution authorizing the refund of property tax assessed through the clerical or assessment heiress in the amount of $8,030.50.

Second. Any further questions? All right. All in favor, raise your hand. Any opposed? All right. So 46 carries. 47.

So 45, are we set? And then 47 was what we. So we're good on 45? Yes.

2:22:39•LMLaWana Mayfield

Right, 47 is the one that we are discussing right now.

2:22:45 – 2:25:50•LMLaWana Mayfield

Yes, thank you, Mayor Harrington. 47 is the one I asked for discussion. So I wanted to clarify, this is a, Request for my numbers. My apologies. My iPad is doing something a little interesting over here. So item 46, which we just approved, it was asking staff to give, give us another column. because the columns that was initially presented just had the net levied uncollected amount in percent that was collected. I wanted us to have an additional column with the total amount that's been collected up to date to clarify those numbers. So for the minutes, that's why I had pulled item number 46 to

2:26:42 – 2:28:29•LMLaWana Mayfield

So the additional information will be helpful for me since what we're doing is setting the public hearing for September 28th is between now and then it will be helpful to know what they, language is in the contract of what is going to be preserved as historic because council has already been a part of media concerns and community concerns on a building that was designated as historic. The building was so the building was sold again somewhere in those conversations made There was demolition that challenged the history that I believe council members thought they were preserving in their vote. An

Any further discussion, Council Member Ejmer?

2:28:35 – 2:29:01•DADimple Ajmera

Yeah. Council Member Mayfield raises a good point about following through. So I do see we have Stuart here, Mr. Gray here from the Historic Landmark Commission Department. Could you speak to, is there any sort of enforcement once the property has been designated as Historic Landmark, and if it gets demolished, What are the implications?

2:29:05•DADimple Ajmera

What happens to the property tax that was being deferred?

2:30:26•DADimple Ajmera

Thank you, Mr. Gray. We appreciate the work that you do.

Any other questions? Council Member Mayfield.

2:30:36 – 2:32:38•LMLaWana Mayfield

Thank you, Mayor. So just follow up. If it is not a demolition, if it is a partial removal, or if it is presented during the redevelopment, as we reimagine space, but this facade, anything within, I don't care if it's a plaque, if that is what helped it receive the historic designation and that is removed... that is a different conversation to me than a demolition, because that is what we're trying to preserve. So if that preservation doesn't happen, and if it is there, please just send me what the statute is at some point from where that is protected. And believe me, as you mentioned, we have

Any further discussion? There were a motion to approve to adopt the resolution set in the public. Any further discussion? All in favor, raise your hand. Any opposed? Motion carries. And finally, yes.

Okay. Is there a motion to approve item 45 A and B as set forth in? Any further discussion? All in favor raise your hand. Any opposed? Okay. Are there any other items, Madam City Attorney, that we're missing? So we have now approved all of the items on the consent agenda, including those that were pulled out.

2:33:50 – 2:34:54•LMLaWana Mayfield

Thank you, Mayor. Same question as the last. This is to set a public hearing on the, excuse me, Lytle McNinch House Historic Landmark. What we've identified is based on the current. value the potential amount of deferrable taxes will be approximately $5,104 for the city, $9,175 for the county, plus an additional $238 37 for special district one taxes again bringing that information back as well as a snapshot of what is the totality of defer taxes do we have in the city right now because I think it will be helpful for us to actually run. Start running a tab to keep track of where we're not rece

All in favor, regime. Any opposed? Motion carries. I think we are now finished with the items that were on the consent agenda, correct? Okay. That takes us to the city manager's report. And in the city manager's report in the policy section, we had postponed earlier discussion of model cities. And Mr. Manager.

2:35:35 – 2:37:37•DADanté Anderson

Thank you, city manager. This particular topic was referred to, well, this particular topic, it was actually something that arose at the federal government level over the last couple of months. It's an opportunity for cities all throughout the country to potentially apply for a grant that is multifaceted. The umbrella of the focus is on safety, but it's through the entire ecosystem of safety. So not only policing, but also behavioral health. youth opportunities as well as other opportunities around reintroduction back into society after being interfaced with the judicial system. And so the chi

Questions from council? I know Council Member Mayfield, Council Member Esmiral.

2:40:14•LMLaWana Mayfield

I think she's getting ready to do an actual presentation.

2:40:17•DADanté Anderson

Yes, just a few slides. We haven't gotten to the presentation yet.

Thank you, chief Patterson. I've got three council members who have asked to to be now for starting with council member Mayfield.

2:46:13 – 2:46:24•LMLaWana Mayfield

Thank you, mayor. Thank you. Excuse me, chief and team. Couple of questions. What's the financial expectation of the city at, since this is only a three year grant. So after that, what happens?

2:46:45 – 2:50:40•LMLaWana Mayfield

So it will be helpful to know exactly what that cost is. We just passed our budget. So you're talking about us having to identify additional staff that will not be paid for through this grant. I also want to make sure that my colleagues understand that A concern that I have is, one, that the details may determine whether this initiative functions primarily as a targeted crime reduction grant or honestly becomes a major federal accelerator for local surveillance infrastructure. So when we look at what was just mentioned as far as the fact that the initiative supports a wide range of public safe

Thank you, Council Member Mayfield. And again, just for understanding, this is a preview item held over from our earlier session. This is the first time it's come before us. Anticipate that it will come back before us, but this is a preview. I have Council Member Ajamira.

2:50:58 – 2:52:04•DADimple Ajmera

Thank you, Mayor Harrington. So, Chief, as you know, I supported this item at the committee level because we should always look for resources to keep our community safe. But since then, I have received a number of calls from various community organizations, especially from immigrant and refugee community concerned about this, as well as I read about what are the implications of this dollars in NPR as well as Guardian about how these dollars are attached with the federal immigration enforcement. So if you could just help me understand. So I have a number of questions which I'm going to take my

2:54:07 – 2:54:26•DADimple Ajmera

Thank you, Attorney Battle, for that clarification. Just wanted to follow up on that. So before any application proceeds, will council receive the complete certification including conditions and criteria and proposed commitments in writing before we publicly vote?

2:55:10 – 2:55:44•DADimple Ajmera

Thank you. I always appreciate your collaborative leadership, Chief Patterson. So one more. So I noticed in some of this, as I was reading through and doing some research on this, it talked about potential financial exposure under the provision requiring reimbursement for future federal law enforcement intervention. Could you speak to that? And who decides when the obligation is triggered?

2:56:18 – 2:56:37•DADimple Ajmera

Follow up on that. If we were to be one of the cities that receives the award, would that come back to council with all the criteria and terms and conditions before we say yes?

2:56:54 – 2:57:25•DADimple Ajmera

So while, if we can also look at, in addition to financial exposure, I would also like us to also look into funding concerning homelessness and mental health treatment or public space enforcement that we would be liable for in terms of enforcing. that could be part of the due diligence if we were to be awarded this grant. Council Member Ajmera.

2:57:57 – 2:58:18•DADimple Ajmera

Okay, so that is something concerning to me, because we do not know what that exposure is. If we can put that exposure in numbers, if you're receiving $300 million, but if our exposure is $700, $800, or $1 billion, we need to be talking about that now. If you have a follow-up, sure.

2:59:02 – 2:59:35•DADimple Ajmera

I get that because it depends on number of days, number of troops that are involved, right? All of that. But I think we should have some sort of understanding going into this before we even apply. what that looks like because some cities have gotten large invoices. So lastly, just has the city attorney, Andrea, if you have independently reviewed some of these conditions and their compatibility with our existing city policies?

2:59:46 – 3:01:10•DADimple Ajmera

Okay, I have a couple of questions. Hold on. So... Chief, I appreciate you saying that we will not compromise on our values, and one of our values is that we value the trust in our communities. regardless of where they come from and what their immigration status might be. Because if someone, when victim is afraid to call 911 or a witness is not willing to testify because they are afraid of CMPD collaborating with federal immigration enforcement, then we are losing that trust. And that makes all of us unsafe. I appreciate you saying that we will not compromise on our values. So the question rem

3:01:39 – 3:01:59•DADimple Ajmera

Just one last comment, if I may, because I appreciate you saying that, but today, this morning, NPR released an article that stated that this funding was specifically tied to federal immigration enforcement, Guardian as well. So I think we just want to double check. That's all I have. Thank you.

3:02:01 – 3:05:18•VWVictoria Watlington

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Following up on that, I'm actually looking at the NLC website that is speaking to this particular initiative. And there are a couple of things that jump out at me. The first one being that exactly like was just mentioned, It says here that finally local government should carefully review all eligibility requirements and certifications. The solicitation includes provisions related to federal immigration information sharing requirements and identify certain activities that are not eligible for funding. So I would like to understand very, very clearly what specifically that

Thank you, Dr. Watlington. Now we have Council Member Masuera Arias.

3:05:43 – 3:06:36•JAJD Mazuera Arias

Thank you so much. Thank you, Chief, for the presentation. And thank you, Council Member Anderson, for all your work to bring this forward to Council. I want to thank you, Chief, for your unwavering commitment to reduce crime in our city. I really appreciate it. and I support pursuing resources that generally make Charlotte safe. But I do have some concerns and hesitation, particularly when in the DOJ website under the Office of Public Affairs in the press release, this grant is titled Making America Safe Again. And I want to talk briefly about just I have a question. In the presentation and i

3:06:43 – 3:09:38•JAJD Mazuera Arias

They're not receiving funding. Thank you so much. I only bring this up to my colleagues because the type of federal local policing this program seeks to replicate has already produced serious consequences. In Memphis, four people were killed in officer-involved encounters connected to the Memphis Safe Task Force within approximately two months. One was Tyreen Johnson, a 24-year-old father who worked in his family's construction business. Another was Jonah Nill, a 25-year-old reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis when he was killed during an encounter involving a Homeland Security agen

3:09:48•JAJD Mazuera Arias

If DOJ directs Charlotte to provide assistance that conflicts with CMPD's current policy, can Charlotte refuse without losing funding or being required to repay it?

3:10:07 – 3:12:20•JAJD Mazuera Arias

Thank you. And we just spoke about this briefly. The solicitation says a participating city could be required to reimburse the federal government, we just spoke about this, for a future intervention following an increase in violent crime or quote unquote public disorder. That to me raises several unanswered questions, particularly who defines quote unquote public disorder. Could it include demonstrations, civil rights protests, or opposition to federal activity? Who decides when federal intervention is necessary? Who determines what personnel resources are deployed? Is there a maximum amount t

3:13:01 – 3:14:11•JAJD Mazuera Arias

I appreciate that. Thank you. So to my colleagues, I want us, the Queen City, to have the resources needed to prevent violence and protect our residents. We can invest in youth intervention, victim services, housing, which we will be meeting tomorrow to talk about our housing trust fund policy. And accountable community policing, we can make those investments, but I believe we can make them without giving the federal government undefined authority over our residents. And Charlotte has already experienced what happens when a federal surge enters our community. Memphis and Washington provide tho

Thank you, Council Member Ms. Vera-Arias. Again, this is a first read of this or a first preview of this. I want to come to Council Member Owens next.

3:14:23 – 3:16:57•KOKimberly Owens

Thank you, Mayor. I appreciate you. I just want to speak for my colleagues who were not at the safety committee meeting. I did elevate some concerns that I had that I was I was graced with Chair Anderson's good discretion in letting me ask a couple of questions even though I'm not on that committee. And the response of my residents with respect to the questions that I put into the room is why I have some confidence bringing these here before you. One of the comments that I made during the initial presentation to the safety committee was around my concern that there seems to be a lot of energy

3:18:05 – 3:18:47•KOKimberly Owens

Thank you, Chief. If I can continue, I've received some information from, again, some of my constituents who have been very concerned about the use of flock cameras, particularly an expansion of the network of cameras that would exist in Charlotte. And they've cited for me, and I have not done my own research on this, so my apologies if this seems off. It seems to be well supported in some of the journalism that I've been handed. But the experience in Atlanta, where they've got 28,000 integrated cameras, a number of the headlines that I've been provided suggest that that has not improved the c

3:19:25•KOKimberly Owens

So if this grant were awarded, would there be an expansion in your mind of our ALPR technology?

3:20:39 – 3:22:24•KOKimberly Owens

With respect, Chief, and I really don't want to substitute my judgment for yours, I'll simply say that I'm elevating the concerns of our citizens who feel as though there are a lot of potential downfalls to an increased reliance, particularly around any sort of predictive analytics, particularly around the retention of otherwise law-abiding citizens' comings and goings and the ability of folks who do not need to have access to that data to continue to access it. So I would not be in favor of anything that would increase that spend on technology. Some of the other aspects, particularly around m

Thank you, Council Member Owens. Thank you, Council Member Owens. Council Member Driggs, and then Council Member Johnson.

3:22:33 – 3:25:14•EDEd Driggs

Thank you, Mayor. It's interesting to me that this conversation is actually quite different from the one we had in committee. My initial impression was, wow, you know, an opportunity to make a huge investment in safety at no cost to local taxpayers sounds great. there are strings attached in the way they present it. So, Chief, I guess what I would say to you is I still hope that we can get the benefit of an improvement in safety at no cost to local taxpayers, but I think what you're hearing here is that we have our strings, too. And so... The question to you then as you listen to what you're b

3:25:56 – 3:26:07•EDEd Driggs

And I want to tell you personally that I would be very inclined to back you up on the outcome. We've just heard some things here that do require further thought. Thank you. Yes, sir. Council Member Johnson.

3:26:07 – 3:26:49•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. You know, when a person shows you who they are the first time, you have to believe them. So we know that a Trump bill that says make cities great again, what that Yeah, what that entails. And then Todd Blanch is the Attorney General. I mean, the grant specifically, or it says that we have to comply with different federal regulations. One of the things the city attorney said, there's no affirmative duty to do what? To report to, where is she? To report to ICE, is that it?

3:27:02•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Is there a responsive duty? There's no affirmative duty, but do we know if there's any duty to report the information?

3:27:41 – 3:29:04•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Thank you. My colleagues have made some great points. I agree with Councilmember Owens. If we There's only two or four cities in the whole nation that are gonna be awarded this. If we get this grant and then rescind, again, right, or rescind, that's going to be problematic. And I think we as a council have to learn lessons from some of the decisions we've already made without enough information. Let's think data centers. I have a 2.5 million square foot data center in the university area because we made a decision without enough information. I-77, we're looking at a $64 million penalty because

3:29:05•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

I think he got it. Okay. All right. I think that we I'll wait.

We've got two more council members who asked to be heard. Seriously, obviously serious questions being raised. This is a preview. We'll see where this goes from here. But Council Member Johnson, are you good?

3:29:27 – 3:29:52•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

I just, again, those three, we have to think about the decisions we've already made and how this applies, how we move forward. Mr. Manager, I really, really would like to change the culture where we're not getting the information. We have the answers to our questions before it's presented to Council. Thank you. When is it coming back to council? When is this coming back to council?

3:29:54 – 3:31:46•MGMalcolm Graham

Council Member Graham. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I think Council Member Drakes is right. This conversation is different from the committee meeting because now we have details that we didn't have two weeks ago. It is called research that we were not able to do when we started the the presentation before. Chief Patterson, this is not about you. It's not about trust and confidence in you. It's trust and confidence with our federal partners. Let's be blunt about it, right? And once upon a time, cities and states would roll over backwards to do business with the federal government because they trust th

3:31:53•MGMalcolm Graham

So I... Don't know if you can answer maybe 80 questions by September 1st.

3:32:02 – 3:32:20•MGMalcolm Graham

All very legitimate. And some you can't because you got the policy and then you got the politics. And I'm letting you know that there's just no trust. Duly noted.

Thank you, sir. Council Member Graham, are you done? Council Member Anderson.

3:32:27 – 3:37:10•DADanté Anderson

Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. And Chief and team, thank you for the presentation. And colleagues, thank you for some really, really great, robust questions that I think are really important and they all deserve full answers. I think the task of what Chief has before her in trying to answer 80 questions is, She might be able to answer a percentage of them now, but quite frankly, probably until there's an advancement of a next round in the grant where there's additional details. You may or may not, I don't want to speak for you, but you may or may not have that information around what would be th

I think everyone who has asked to be heard has been heard. Totally robust discussion with lots of very good questions. I'm not inclined to do a second round because I think we've got the sense that they are very serious questions. to be answered. I look forward to getting answers from the chief. This is not scheduled for an, it's not an agenda item. We know that there's a deadline for the application and I think council will have to consider how to, how to move forward one way or another with that.

3:37:38 – 3:39:03•LMLaWana Mayfield

I have a question for the manager, manager Jones. This is 22 days out. I believe from the questions that have been asked around this council that the At minimum, six of us have shared very clear concerns. I do not think there is support for staff to continue using staff resources to even try to investigate this grant. We have just gone through this and we are having a conversation where council supported our representative to go say yes for discussion to get more information. We are now looking at 60 plus million dollars going back to 2018 because we said yes that we would listen to the potent

Okay. Any further comments or questions on this? Last word from Council Member Ashbira. Hopefully, let's be conscious of the time.

3:39:56 – 3:40:25•DADimple Ajmera

I know, Chief, you said a lot of the terms and conditions are not something that we know. So just knowing that we have financial exposure, I think that should be a valid reason for us to not pursue this further. And I agree with Council Member Mayfield, not invest more time in our staff's resources in this opportunity, because I think you hear from at least the majority that we are not excited about this opportunity. That's all I have. Okay.

Now we'll move to the business section of our agenda. Our first business item is for authorization of 2026 stormwater revenue construction period financing. Are there any speakers on this issue? For item 10, this is item 10, is there a motion to adopt a bond order and resolution authorizing the issuance of up to $110 million of construction period financing and calling for the execution and delivery of various documents in connection with that issuance and authorize city officials to take necessary actions to complete the financing, including making the application to local government commission. So moved. Is there a second?

Any questions, discussion? All in favor, raise your hand. Any opposed? It passes unanimously. Number 11, the second item on the business agenda is for land purchase for CMPD's Northeast Division Station. Are there any speakers on this item? For item 11, is there a motion to, A, approve the purchase of an approximately 5.566-acre parcel located on the corner of W.T. Harris Boulevard and Old Statesville Road in the amount of $3,745,000, and, B, authorize the city manager to negotiate and execute all documents necessary to complete this transaction?

Second. Any questions? Councilmember Mayfield.

3:42:02 – 3:42:35•LMLaWana Mayfield

Thank you. I actually, when we had to check in with staff on Friday, asked a question specifically about the land purchase. I don't know if anybody there who was actually on that call, but I have a note where I was waiting for a response specifically to the question that I asked on this particular item. And it's unfortunately not in my... follow-up that staff gave to me earlier. Did they pass the question on to you?

3:42:51 – 3:43:34•LMLaWana Mayfield

Okay, Major, what I was just trying to... We're looking at a purchase price of this of $3,745,000. So I did have a specific question that I asked staff, but the staff are not here nor did they respond to. So that's not helping me. So Manager Jones, if we're going to have a meeting on Fridays, As well as Monday, it will be helpful whatever questions we ask actually make their way back to it. Major, I'm not going to hit you with a question tonight that you didn't have two days to prepare for since I initially asked this on Friday afternoon at our check-in time.

Any further discussion on this motion or any other motions with regard to the action item?

Calling the question. All in favor of the motion as outlined in item 11 and previously read, please raise your hand.

Any opposed? The motion carries. Tonight, City Council will also make nominations to boards and commissions. The council members submitted their nominations earlier to the clerk via email. Names of nominees will not be read at the dais tomorrow. The clerk will email City Council the names of applicants that received at least two nominations. These candidates will be considered for appointment at the next business meeting. Any applicant receiving six or more nominations can be considered for appointment tonight on a motion, second, and majority vote of council. The names of all nominees will be

3:44:43 – 3:45:05•LMLaWana Mayfield

He's calling on you. I was not clear the way you started out, Mayor Harrington, but I believe at the end you stated that the clerk is going to announce who received six or more votes. My apologies. When you were reading it, it sounded like we were saying we weren't going to announce who was nominated.

We're not going to announce other than... Those who are actually, thank you.

3:45:12 – 3:46:08•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Thank you. I do have a question and we can talk about this with, with the clerk's office later, but the, these boards, how are we hearing how has council hearing from the boards? I know that there are city staff that they, the liaison, but I'd like to hear from the boards sometimes specifically the domestic domestic violence board. I want to know if we are intentional about having survivors. on that board. And then what committee does that board report to? And have we had presentations from this board or any of the boards? Domestic violence is so serious and tragic in our community. So I'd lik

Yeah. So just for clarification, I think the only thing we will decide tonight is that if there are nominations by six of the members, but let me also let council member Anderson respond.

3:46:18 – 3:46:47•DADanté Anderson

Thank you, mayor Harrington. I just wanted to respond to your question. Yes, the Domestic Violence Board falls underneath the Public Safety Committee, and we've actually had them already come to committee and present to us and share with us some of their concerns. And so we're committed to doing that at least on a quarterly basis is to have one of those committees that fall under purview of public safety come and present. But you're spot on. They've already come, and they've already participated.

Any further questions before the clerk reads the issues?

And just to be clear, on the committees where you said things will come back, it's for the folks who did not get six. Even for those committees, if they got six nominations, we are voting on them tonight, correct? Correct.

Got it. And I understand that will fall into the anticipated motion for acceptance by acclamation from Council Member Mayfield. Any opposition there? Let's go ahead and do it formally. All in favor? Any opposed? All right. We are done. And we have had a request for a close session.

3:48:37•VWVictoria Watlington

Excuse me. Yes. Point of order. Were we going to follow up with this referral model question from earlier?

3:48:46 – 3:49:29•VWVictoria Watlington

I wanted to make sure that the concerns that Council Member Johnson had lifted up were addressed. covered in the referral. And as I've read it, it appears that it's, I want there to be some clarity because it feels like it may be out of scope from what's written on this paper. And I just want us aligned on whether or not it's in scope or not because as I look at what the charge is, it says review current council adopted policies and practices that inform transportation infrastructure requirements through the rezoning development process. Evaluate how transportation requirements are currently d

And so I guess the question is whether we need a referral In addition to this referral to make that point, right? And is that something that I will ask the city attorney for per input? Is that something that we need to do tonight? Or is that something that should come as a referral in the normal course?

3:49:50•VWVictoria Watlington

Because if so, I mean, I'm happy to second a referral request from a council member.

That's how we just have it done on the record.

Is there a motion? I think we need to state really clearly what the motion, what the item that's being referred is. Happy to take that outside of this meeting if we can do it with better clarity of what's being requested. But it's the council's pleasure if a motion is requested and a second received.

3:50:21 – 3:50:58•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

So I have a question. One of the things the city manager said had already been referred to committee. I was looking at the tracker, and I didn't see anything specifically to discuss cumulative impact. So if this is redundant, then we can, I guess, work that out afterwards. But I do want to, I guess, make a motion then to refer the item to you, to refer the item to committee. Which committee? TPD, I guess, right? TPD committee, Transportation Planning and Development Committee, to discuss cumulative impact.

And could you state, just so we have it on the record, I know we're saying to discuss cumulative impact, but I think it would be helpful to be more descriptive of exactly what we're referring, other than saying cumulative impact.

3:51:12 – 3:51:24•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

I guess to discuss revising the policy, the UDO policy, for transportation studies, the TIS.

To address cumulative impact. To include. To include. He moved to move back. Second. Is there a second? Any discussion?

3:51:33 – 3:51:52•RJReneé Perkins Johnson

Policy. And make recommendations to the policy, yes. That's where the rubber meets the road. And Mayor, can I ask? If we want to add truck parking, we can add that. We talked about that earlier. Okay, I'll leave it alone. But we do need to discuss commercial parking. But I'll leave it there.

Why don't you restate just so that you can cover what Council Member Mira said. Or the city attorney can read it. But I just want to make sure we have clear in the record what the full motion is, and then we can give us that.

Are we good? And that's why you do. We've got the motion. We've got the second. All in favor? Any opposed? All right. That carries. Again, anything else? I think we've had a request for closed session. We need a motion to do that. I would ask the city attorney to read the language, and then someone can make a motion if it's their pleasure.

Is there a motion to do so? Second. Any questions? All in favor, raise your hand. Any opposed? All right. We are going into closing.