Remarks by Matt Kopac
36 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 1 of 2
- Play at 37:54
“Thank you first. Good night. And I would like to wish you all a happy month of spama heritage. Good evening, happy Hispanic Heritage Month to everyone. And I look forward on Wednesday to having the honor of delivering the keynote at Durham Center for Senior Life in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month and also in recognition of the incredible contributions of the Hispanic, Latino, Latinx community to the Durham community. So looking forward to that. I want to congratulate and thank A Bike Durham, the city and partners for putting on another incredible movable Durham. Open Streets event, and…”
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 1:22:30
“Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And I'll just say as a newer council member, this is the first cycle I've gone through of the legislative process on council. And so I appreciate hearing from my colleagues in work session and again today to sort of inform my thinking about these relationships and how to sort of maximize and optimize what they can do for us. I would certainly welcome additional discussion among my colleagues about ways to try and be as clear as possible about metrics. I also acknowledge you can't quantify the bad not done. And this is quite different than federal lobbying in terms of the…”
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 3:19:17
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 3:20:46
“Yes, the Duke Energy HERO is also not a certification as far as I understand, so I may need clarification on that, but I think for the purposes of this evening, I just would want to strike that one as well, unless we can confirm for sure it's a building certification.”
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 3:21:11
“I will do some research on that from the dais. So next we've talked about the DPS contribution. There are a large number of students that would be added, which is a good thing when it's close to a school. But we have been seeing a standard of about $1,500 per pupil. I understand this is a larger development. And I'm curious if you would consider 1,000 per student in contribution.”
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 3:22:05
“All right, and then can you just talk a little bit more about the work that would be ahead to try and address the crosswalk issue?”
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 3:22:36
“I know some of the documentation is there's concern that there's a trade-off between greater safety and potentially slowing traffic down more, and it can be hard to do both of those, but I just am curious what's possible from a safety standpoint.”
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 3:23:13
“Yeah, and in this particular question, I'm not trying to solicit a proffer. I'm trying to understand what the steps would be towards having greater safety there in line with what we've seen from BPAC recommendations, which I know you can't commit to and deliver alone. you know, in partnership with DOT? Like, what would the work be to try and make that a safer crossing?”
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 3:25:06
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 3:25:24
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 3:26:44
“Thank you. We've heard a couple of different comments around the financial impact of the project. And I know we have the cost benefit analysis. There's also the EMS projections. Just wondering if you can speak to on the record, what like the 10 year projection is from a financial standpoint to the city for this project.”
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 3:28:39
“I'll pause for now, thank you. Council Member Baker.”
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 3:55:13
“So I've heard some great cases tonight for the LEC, which calls for dense infill development across the city where we have existing infrastructure. So let's keep that in mind when that comes back around. I would also point out that we have a Bull City political nerd, which was referenced tonight, that said this council has gotten more from developers than ever before. And I think we should keep pushing. You know, I'm willing to vote no. I voted no. And, you know, I always keep that in mind as I evaluate each case. You know, this was voted down 5-5 by Planning Commission, but it's also a very…”
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 3:59:13
“Yeah, we, I don't, I did some more research, we can keep Duke HERO in from my second review.”
City Council · Oct 5, 2026
- Play at 14:22
“Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Hello, Council, staff, residents. Thanks, everyone, for being here. Just what's on my mind, I got off a plane about an hour ago from New York City for Climate Week, and it was a great experience to hear from, you know, folks around the country and around the world, you know, entrepreneurs with cutting-edge technology, Representatives from the government of Nepal who are facing some of the greatest impacts we've seen from climate change with the catastrophe that happened with the floods not too long ago. major companies shifting toward regenerative agriculture communities…”
City Council · Sep 24, 2026
- Play at 56:31
“I want to thank my colleagues for the comments and questions which I associate myself with. Just a couple follow up questions from my understanding. So in question of the soft costs, were those included for the splash pad, but just not for this expanded scope that came through all the additional community engagements?”
City Council · Sep 24, 2026
- Play at 57:00
“Okay. And is that typical practice from the front end of budgeting or when we're thinking about bonds, about what gets included and not included? Is that standard practice or does it vary?”
City Council · Sep 24, 2026
- Play at 57:28
“Okay, I think that'd be helpful. Follow up question to just for my understanding. Um, then you mentioned the park contamination, which is a limiting factor as well. Just remind me in terms of the timelines here. Was that information known at the time or did that information come after the bond?”
City Council · Sep 24, 2026
- Play at 58:14
“Okay. Yeah, obviously, I think the questions about potential limitations are really important ones, so I'd like to know the result of that inquiry. If those limitations aren't there, obviously, if we can get federal funds through this grant program, that would be beneficial. How much can we redirect from, so I guess like, if we were to get this 15 million, then it allows us to redirect 15 million to other projects that are in the pipeline? Or is this just going toward the overage, unless we value engineer it back down to something closer to the original estimate, which maybe isn't possible…”
City Council · Sep 24, 2026
- Play at 59:09
“Okay. And then allows us to go from a splash pad to a much more informed and, you know, a concept with a lot more amenities for the public as well.”
City Council · Sep 24, 2026
- Play at 59:57
“So is it then more the remediation and just like the time cost of the delay of it taking longer that are mainly contributing to the gap, if the amenities are the same as what was originally envisioned, plus the soft costs?”
City Council · Sep 24, 2026
- Play at 1:37:41
“Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor, and thank you, Director Egan. I'd just appreciate if you could speak to what this agreement is, kind of offers us and what it commits us to into the future if we do want to enter into partnership with other municipalities in the region around this kind of fair collection system? MR. Certainly.”
City Council · Sep 24, 2026
- Play at 3:05:54
“Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Welcome, Chief Martis, to you and your team. Thanks for putting this report together and presenting to us today. Just a few quick questions, kind of building on some of what my colleagues have asked about. But first of all, going back to some of the statistics around rapes, you mentioned that a significant percentage are ones that have been brought forth from prior years. how does that percentage compare to say 2025 from prior years um you know is is the total percent of the um you know of the reports coming forward in this year is that like increased based on what's…”
City Council · Sep 24, 2026
- Play at 3:07:27
“It's a connection between the efforts to be more efficient and deal with those past rape kits and people coming forward to share their experience. Absolutely. Okay.”
City Council · Sep 24, 2026
- Play at 3:08:27
“Thank you. Really glad to hear that progress and that these agencies and systems are working together and people are able to come forward. In terms of the statistic around the 87% of vehicles stolen being recovered, you mentioned a couple ways that they are recovered, but what would you attribute this rate to? And I'm assuming the way you share it, that it's higher than what we've seen in prior years in terms of recovery.”
City Council · Sep 24, 2026