City Council - workshop

Monday, August 17, 2026Official site

About this meeting

Government Body
City Council
Meeting Type
City Council
Location
Belmont, NC
Meeting Date
August 17, 2026

Published excerpts

Only published remarks appear here. The full transcript is not published.

66 sections (from 68 segments)

2:14 – 2:25•Alex Szucs

I know I see Jonathan Taylor on here, which I think is a good position, but has anyone reached out to potentially like Curtis Gaston in regards to being a land owner?

2:39 – 2:56•Alex Szucs

Can we maybe have like a point of clarification? The only reason why I add that is because like, if not on this list, they need to, he needs to, similar to Jonathan Taylor, be a part of the conversation, particularly with a lot of the things or the proposal for the downtown area.

10:53•Marc Seelinger

Can I ask about the payments real quick? Yeah. Is that like? How does that work? Are you able to just plug into our existing?

14:43•Marc Seelinger

Go back to the payments again. If you haven't paid your bills, Is it able to, like, see that and, like, ping you? Like, hey, cutoff date's coming up. We don't see a payment from you yet.

16:01 – 16:13•Alex Szucs

Yep. So that kind of segues into one of the questions. So, like, let's say the citizen does turn on or allow the app to track, like, generally speaking, like...

16:18•Alex Szucs

So, like, all other type of personal data and stuff like that won't be accessed? Okay.

18:46 – 18:59•Alex Szucs

Maybe one. Have you guys, and this is probably pretty loaded, but how long have you guys been around? Have you had any instances of significant data breaches or anything?

20:40 – 20:53•Marc Seelinger

So this goes back to something that has come up recently. Like if I put in a citizen request or whatever, like there's a pothole, I take a picture of it, put it in the app, I can go back in later and see if it's being worked.

27:09 – 27:24•Alex Szucs

That was one of my questions, too, maybe one that we need to figure out. Because if it's not an individual or unique login for, like, a citizen, I was curious, like, how do they make a payment for, let's say, their water bill? Is it just, like, if they were to log in on the city's website, essentially?

32:15•Marc Seelinger

Any other questions for Ken? How does the payment work? Is it like a monthly fee or a payment?

32:44•Alex Szucs

So what's the average cost or annual cost of something like that?

33:39•Marc Seelinger

Well, there's basically two sides to it. There's like a staff side and there's the citizens side.

34:28•Alex Szucs

It's a public record. It's confidential.

41:45 – 41:57•Alex Szucs

I remember we were talking about the gated property. I think it are. Yeah, and I think that's where it kind of snowballed off of. Why do we own 1.6 off of RL Stowe Road?

42:38•Alex Szucs

That was the one. I remember we had a list when I first was elected, but I don't ever remember.

42:57•Alex Szucs

That was the only one that surprised me. So page 25.

43:26•Marc Seelinger

We acquired that from William John Jasper. 12915. And he acquired it from the heirs of Mage Greer Logan. Match. Match.

44:15•Alex Szucs

I was just curious. That was the only one that jumped out to me. Well...

44:23 – 44:40•Marc Seelinger

I'm looking at it. I just put up in GIS. So it doesn't have anything going back past. I was looking for the building part, but it cuts that off at 2019. It just has the transaction history. Okay.

45:14•Alex Szucs

One, two, five, seven, two, three, yeah.

45:56•Marc Seelinger

Yeah, let's take a look. It's just the road cuts.

46:19•Alex Szucs

Did you have a, were you thinking something?

48:49•Alex Szucs

The thought that they were going to put a park out there at one point or something? Yes.

49:44•Alex Szucs

And then what, there's two parcels in between that and Benton Beard 2, or Let me get my bearing. Would that be pit here too? That's the Frank's property there.

50:25•Alex Szucs

I was going to say, hold on to it. That gets whatever they do, what they do.

50:51•Marc Seelinger

Was there an issue with parking? You could fit the soccer field there, but then there was nowhere to park. That was right. It wasn't wide enough.

1:19:05 – 1:19:28•Alex Szucs

Let me ask you this, and I'm not a professional on e-bikes other than what we're reading here or read over the weekend and whatnot, but is it the same thing? Are you able to take the governor, like adjust the governor on these things to where you don't have the automatic shut off on the e-bikes? I mean, I'm sure there are people who have been

1:19:37•Alex Szucs

But as long, I guess I go back, I mean, it really doesn't matter as long as if they go above a certain speed, it's an issue, right?

1:20:54•Alex Szucs

You're trying to do that. You can tell, yeah.

1:28:05 – 1:28:17•Alex Szucs

Is it jurisdiction that it's within the city limits? Is that what defines jurisdiction? It's not ownership of the street? So then by that definition, we could prohibit them from...

1:28:17•Marc Seelinger

But we couldn't change the speed limit on that street. We can petition the state to do it.

1:28:44•Alex Szucs

Got some attorneys in the room. Parks, what are you thinking over there? Parks is going to say, Mom,

1:29:18•Marc Seelinger

If we want people that can't be on the sidewalk, are they going to interpret that as, oh, well, then I have to be on the street. But I don't want them in the street. So you just don't bring them?

1:29:27•Alex Szucs

That seems pretty... That seems pretty black and white to me.

1:29:40 – 1:30:04•Alex Szucs

You definitely don't want them in the street. Because it's already hard enough going down Main Street when people are trying to cross because of the parking. But that's a whole other thing with the parallel parking on the street. I think if my wife and I, if we're taking the stroller and we're on that sidewalk, it gets pretty narrow down there on Main Street. You're going downhill and you're picking up speed on one of these little devices. I mean, you're just asking for an injury.

1:30:13•Alex Szucs

The way I look at this is the police department are asking for arrows in their quiver to do their job.

1:31:32•Alex Szucs

I mean, the hoverboards are allowed. Well, you just got to be careful because neighborhoods technically are city streets, right?

1:31:40 – 1:31:52•Marc Seelinger

Yeah. Well, that's kind of like my whole approach to this is like, the problem is like the dirt bike type. This isn't the only problem, though.

1:31:52•Alex Szucs

Is it the problem? Like, is that a fact? Well, I mean, ours is, I mean, like. That is one of them. I said, is it the only problem?

1:32:00 – 1:32:16•Marc Seelinger

It's not the only problem. Well, I'm just saying, like, the downtown thing. Because, like, I mean, I've spent a lot of time downtown. The last couple times I've been downtown, I haven't seen anybody out there on one of these things. So I'm like, going back and forth in my head, it's like, is this. Let's spend more time there.

1:32:17 – 1:32:36•Alex Szucs

I think, Mark, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the spirit of this is, it's not a problem until it becomes a problem. And when it becomes a problem, it's going to be bad. And do any of us want to pick up the phone in that situation to say, hey, on August 17th, you had a meeting to potentially do something about it, and you didn't.

1:34:17 – 1:34:53•Marc Seelinger

like, you're looking for, like, a way to stop people from doing stuff, doing dangerous things. I have to imagine most of the kids running lights and running around in the streets are probably not wearing helmets. So, like, that is probably seems like the path of least resistance as far as, like, if you need to stop somebody, you're not wearing a helmet. No, I mean, as far as, like, if the police see somebody doing something stupid and Rather than worrying about, like, oh, are they on an e-bike or a scooter or whatever.

1:35:16 – 1:36:00•Alex Szucs

The only clarification question I have on that is there is a couple residents, let's say off of Park Street, where this has been brought up a few times over there near Davis Park area, or sorry, not Park Drive, Park Drive, you know where I'm talking about. And there's been a couple instances where residents have been backing out And have come very close to knocking a couple of these kids on, like, the mopeds and stuff. Or not mopeds, but scooters. Right now, in your policy, they would still be allowed to do that, correct? Because that is 25 miles per hour on that?

1:36:02 – 1:36:18•Alex Szucs

And there's nothing really you even, it's a tough one because it's used as a cut through. So there's a massive amount of bullying. There's blind spots at the wazoo, right? I mean, but there's nothing you could probably feasibly do about that, right?

1:36:23•Alex Szucs

But then when you do it for one area, you're going to have the exception become, yeah.

1:36:33 – 1:36:49•Alex Szucs

Well, that one would be one. I think Park Drive does not have a sidewalk. Right, that's what I'm saying, yeah. I don't know, I was just curious, because that's one that's been brought to my attention a few times. I don't know how you solve for that particular equation outside of the mainstream.

1:37:14•Marc Seelinger

I know I'd kill myself if I ever tried to get on one of those.

1:38:32•Alex Szucs

Does that not make it harder for these guys and gals to try to actually... There's no way to regulate that.

1:38:59•Marc Seelinger

Well, at least give people a way to get around. Because the sidewalks are wider up here, I think. So I would think that

1:39:11 – 1:39:32•Marc Seelinger

And then by the time you got down here, you could scoot around there. I was just kind of thinking in my head, I was like, well, if I couldn't... That's where the narrowest sidewalks are, probably. Where? Like here.

1:39:36 – 1:39:50•Marc Seelinger

Yeah, you probably wouldn't want to ride across the tracks anyway. You'd probably walk there. And then by the time you're over there, that's a little bit more of a detour.

1:41:41 – 1:42:15•Alex Szucs

I wouldn't disagree if the infrastructure was there. If you were talking about much wider sidewalks or even dedicated lanes, I wouldn't... It's just even above the railroad tracks and below. I mean, it's an area. You've got the light poles. You've got that odd little area there where you're going around the stove building and God forbid there, right? It's tough. It's not really up until once you get up to String Bean, not beyond your place where it really widens out where you've got good flat visibility. That's my only thing.

1:45:03•Alex Szucs

You're saying just so I can kind of take this back. You agree with him on the sidewalk. Right. Which we have authority.

1:48:09•Alex Szucs

What is the definition of a jurisdiction? Because can they pull someone over on that road? Yes.

1:48:17•Marc Seelinger

I'm just telling you specifically the language of that.

1:50:05 – 1:50:34•Alex Szucs

Wasn't there, Mark, this might be directed to you, I think it was before all of us, but the skateboards, when that was a whole big ordeal in downtown on Main Street, someone ended up getting hurt or killed, I think, right? I mean, and there was legislation by that council at that time to impose that you were not allowed to have a skateboard essentially on the Main Street. Like, that's where my head goes. This is the same type of situation. Right? I mean, is that?

1:50:38•Alex Szucs

It's now electric, and it goes a hell of a lot faster.

1:51:42•Marc Seelinger

I've definitely seen people skateboard downtown.

1:51:45 – 1:52:00•Alex Szucs

Yes. I remember I was working at the German school. But just for my two cents, I agree with Jason and Charlie on this. I think limit them. What did you discover? What did you discover? Did the book of law open?

1:55:37 – 1:55:56•Alex Szucs

And another thing, too, understanding when I say this, we're the ones voting on this, but who are we to say... to not allow the police department to have the ammunition to do their job. Also, if they're the ones bringing this before us as a safety issue. Right. Especially in light of this. Specialty and safety.

1:56:52 – 1:57:35•Marc Seelinger

Well, the only thing I want to add is, would we also do any kind of reporting for the first 12 months? if there was like a number of citations and that kind of thing just to kind of get an idea of what the impact is and then kind of maybe if needed tweak it from there just because so much of like what we have now I think is anecdotal I think it would be helpful that once we've got some rules that We could understand how they're being enforced. That makes sense.

1:58:19•Alex Szucs

What about signs, though? What would be the thought process on that?

1:58:54•Alex Szucs

But like how many are you thinking, like placement?

1:59:21•Marc Seelinger

No, nothing that I haven't already said.

2:00:39 – 2:00:56•Alex Szucs

And when would it go into effect? Just immediately upon adoption. So, like, where I'm going from that is, like, as far as the education piece now, since you've got kind of like a collective guidance here, are you guys going to start that now? Okay.

2:02:34•Alex Szucs

I mean, it goes without saying, but Lindsay and team, thank you for doing this. You can tell there's been a lot of work done.

These excerpts are remarks by officials whose identity a person confirmed, from a transcript generated automatically from the official public meeting video and presented unedited. Accuracy may vary; view the original recording for reference.