Mayor and Council - Regular Meeting

February 2nd, Smyrna Town Council meeting convene. Chief, will you lead us in the pledge, please, sir? Aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. If everyone would join us for a moment of silence, please. Roll call. Danielle. Good evening everyone. Councilman Drew here. Mayor Got here.

Councilman Johnson here. Councilman Miles present. Councilman Olsen here. Councilman Pope here. Vice Mayor Dr. Upford present. Thank you all. Thank you. Additions, deletions to the published agenda. Are there any changes to be made to the published agenda? Make a motion that we accept the published agenda.

Second. I would like to make a motion to move u item number 10 right after additionings in the published agenda. Is there a second? Second. All those in favor? I. Those opposed? Motion is carried that we move presentation and public comment to right underneath additions and deletions moving forward. consent agenda. Is there a motion to approve the council meetings from council minute meet minutes from January 20th?

I make a motion to approve council meeting minutes from January 20th, 2006, 2026. Second. Is there any discussion? Everyone in favor? I.

Those opposed? Motion is carried. non-aggenda items. I will start with um I don't know how to thank our staff enough for what you've done, your dedication, your sacrifices through the storm that we had. Everybody came together and did their part. And thank you. Thank you for those who spent tireless hours working, freezing, chipping away, being recipients of some of the less than happy comments that that were made towards the staff for giving 5,000%. Thank you very much. I truly appreciate that. Um, and we are very lucky to have a police department, a public works department, and a staff that cares enough to do all the things that were done. Um, Walt, Tori, Kathleen, everyone that went and cooked for hours on end so that all of our first responders could come together under one roof. That's dynamic. Here's my little plug. I love that unity in the community. See the glitter? Um, although that was not the intention. Um, and when I mentioned that, the town manager's response to me was, "If the staff has to be out, they need to know that I'm back here and I've got their backs 150%." So, for you guys that that stuck it out, thank you. Um, I'd like to thank everyone that showed up at the grand opening on Saturday. We had a lot of fun. Um, and overall, I I think everything's been a success. Our streets Our streets are as clean as they can be and better than than most out. Um I had someone come in today from Wilmington

that really really praised how well that our our staff had done and and that was really big. So made me very proud. Um that is it for me. Uh Vice Mayor Dr. Richard.

Okay. Well, I want to echo everything that our mayor said. We have gotten so many compliments on everything that our staff has done. I'm so so pleased. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. The phone calls, the text messages that we've gotten. Thank you. You kept our town safe and you kept our town clean. Today, well, yesterday started Black History Month. So, I would like to share something. As we continue to recognize the soldiers upon which we stand, I want to acknowledge the historic impact of the Divine Nine, our nine historically black fraternities and sororities whose members have helped shape the civil rights movement and continue to strengthen communities across the nation. From organizing voter registration drives to funding scholarships to marching for justice and equal opportunity, the Divine Nine has long represented represented represented service, scholarship and social action. Their legacy reminds us that civic process progress is not accidental. It is the result of committed people working together with purpose and faith. I am a proud member of Sigma Gamarro Sorority Incorporated, an organ organization founded on the principles of sisterhood, leadership, and service. Those values guide my work as vice mayor and my commitment to ensuring that every neighbor of Smyrna is seen, heard, and valued. May we continue to honor the legacy by leading with courage, compassion, and a dedication to the common good. That's all I have.

Okay. Council Secretary, Councilman Pope.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um, again, I just wanted to uh reiterate thank you to everyone on staff for the amazing work that you did, especially with this storm. Um, being a lifelong resident of Delaware, I cannot recall a storm where we've gotten this much ice, which made it even more challenging. And, uh, I know it was not an easy thing to do. Thanks, every month for that. Um, I also attended the uh grand reopening of Smyrna Nutrition on Saturday, which was really nice. So, if you get a chance to go by and support uh not only that, but our local businesses, I ask that you please do when you can. And that is pretty much all that I have. Oh, and happy Black History Month. Thank you so much,

Councilman Johnson. Uh, kudos to the crews that worked on the snow removal. Great job. Um, folks at Donny Phil, senior shadows. Unfortunately, we got six more weeks of bad weather. Couldn't have done without that. It's all I had. Councilman D.

Yeah. Same sentiments as everyone here on council. Uh, thank you to all the staff. Uh, it's hard work out there with that ice. Um, I try to drive I trying to shovel my uh my driveway. Man, I almost died out there. Um, but I'm glad everybody's here unfrozen. Um, and thank you for all you do. Uh, the police station, um, keeping this town safe. Of course, we heard about what's going on in the news, uh, with those who are getting, you know, murdered, things of that nature. So, just just thankful that we have a town that we live in that we can keep our doors unlocked and be safe around here. Uh, that's a big key, um, to to living here. Also, uh, we had a parks and w committee meeting that was awesome. Uh we're just trying to bridge the gap between the youthation uh trying to get the young people involved in this community. Um also I was at the SRA uh nutrition grand grand reopening. Uh the drinks are phenomenal. So if you get a chance, go over there, get some healthy drinks as well. Um and just thank you for being here cuz it's cold outside. So thank you,

Councilman Miles. Uh yeah, thank you to the staff. You guys did some hard work out there. I watched the same truck fill up with snow and constantly go around for hours. And um I know it was long nights and very cold. I stayed warm. I stayed in my house. So, thank you guys for for all your work. Okay. Uh Chief, uh recruits continue to do well. Just got an update this morning about our two in Wilmington. They graduate in three and a half weeks. Oh, wow. We look forward to bringing them to the team and field training them. and we had another two start in Dover's Academy January 11th. Uh they're doing well as well. So, lots of new team members we're going to be welcoming soon. Uh you guys have my monthly report. If you have any questions, let me know. And uh that's my update for you. Thank you.

Town manager.

Uh just a few things again reiterating what uh with the impact with the the storms and everything like that. Um Jason and the public works crew were just absolutely amazing. um not sure I didn't really see much last week was was out in every piece of equipment possible. So, uh again, thank you for helping and making sure that everything continues to go the way it does. Um we got some good news from our federal uh earmark funds that uh we applied for. We got 1 $1.4 million that was awarded to us which will help offset the cost for the uh water treatment facility. So, that's that's some good news. Um, we're we're in the middle of of a few new implementations. I don't know if Kathleen has one, but we have a new business license kind of model that we're we're working on. So, what you'll start seeing as they are getting sent out today is uh stickers that will go on. So, that will help us just kind of manage business licenses um to make sure that people are up to date and compliant with the town codes. So, uh, as you kind of start seeing around town, you'll see these brown stickers in people's windows. Uh, so just kind of keep up to date on those things. Um, and then in this storm, we just kind of came up with a a new concept of a a line. And what this line does is it allows you to call in. It is for emergencies, right? Um, it's for electric emergencies, um, any any townside emergencies, not police. Um, we're hoping working with Walt, working with Gan to to make this an option so when the electric goes out, you don't overwhelm the police department and get 500 phone calls all saying that the electric's out and then what happens is the emergency phone calls can come in that says, "I need help." So, we're we're kind of in the beta testing side of these things. We did use it for the storm. Um, it was

working well. Um I planned it all day Monday and um had some pretty uh pretty good conversations with some residents about the the plowing and things like that. But so we're hoping to get this up and running to where it'll be utilized successfully just for those events. So um more to come with that. Outside that you guys have seen my report and uh if there's any questions, please let me I'm curious. Did the police department see a decline in the calls that they would typically get?

Yes, it was very helpful. Great idea. We're fully on board with it and hopefully as we push it out more and people become more familiar with it and they don't just pick up the phone and call us because as he said, we only have so many lines and if you need us, I get that your power is out, but if your house is getting broken into or you're being assaulted, that's way more important for our dispatchers to get those phone calls. And I will tell you as a council member whose phone blew up for council if we remember to redirect people to use the proper resources and tools and we are not the liaison people will then you know they'll take care of it themselves which is the resource that we want them to have we're going to work on we still got a few things that kind of

and although I was so excited to move it and establish the new process tonight Um, I totally went over public comment, so I'd like to go back to that now that we've gotten through the non-aggenda items. So, at this point, if anyone has public comment or a presentation that they'd like to make, you have three minutes. And I ask that you go to the podium and give your name at this point.

Hi, I'm Pam Anderson. Um, I have a question for Tori. Um, on that emergency line, I lost my power. So, I called the emergency line and I received a recording. Um, and I left a message and it went to myself, Walt, Jason, Jake, Jake. It went to all of us and then we then followed up with the appropriate crews to come out. Um, but by the time I had made the phone call, they were already notified and were already out. So, um I guess I'm um Is that line supposed to be answered by a live person or is it So, if I leave a message, I have no idea. So, you know, I called the police department after.

Yes. So, what we're trying to get people to get is is understand that it is being monitored, right? But you're not going to get a live person depending on what the situation is. And we are working on some solutions right now that will almost keep you a phone tree. So, if it says it's electric outage and you press one, you should be able to go get a live co. Um, so it was done in the middle of the storm. We were trying to figure out how to manage the anticipated calls coming in um and how we were going to be able to keep on top of them. So, we actually did put staff on and what they did is they were there monitoring 247 and like I said on Monday when I sent them home, I then took them. So, I was receiving all the phone calls and was answering everybody's phone calls. Um, so yes, it will be, but it's in the very beginning stages of everything like right now, but I did receive your call. I did make the phone call and they were already on their way. So, um, in addition to that question, so I called it and said this is for storm related emergencies and it was after the storm, so I wasn't sure if that was even.

Yeah, we just hadn't updated it yet. Again, we're still think of it as like a proof of concept. So like here with the storm, we tested it. We see its viability and now we can broaden it out to snowstorms, um heavy rainfall, u disasters around town or just general, hey, my power is out. Um you take a look. So So we we found out that the proof of concept works and now we can roll it out in better ways and make it more efficient. So Okay. Well, I was just curious making sure I did the right thing. You did. It was received. Thank you. And y'all did a great job. You got it on in like 45 minutes. Back on. So great. Always appreciate that.

There. Anyone else? Okay, we will move on to new business. There is no old business. We'll move on to new business. Council have the opportunity to review the form for the new senior citizens tax exemption form. I'd like a motion to accept it, please. I make a motion to accept the senior tax exemption form. Is there a second? All those in favor? Opposed? Motion is carried. We also had the opportunity to review the disability tax exemption form. Can I do all these at once, Barrett, or do I have to list each one of them? I think you could probably unless someone's going to vote against something and challenge something, then

Okay. You could probably do them all at the same time. So, we're going to do the package deal for the disability tax exemption form that everyone had the chance to approve or review the mobile home placement permit exemption list. Um, I'd like a motion to accept those two forms, please. I make a motion that we accept uh the mobile home placement and also disability tax exempt forms. Second. Is there any discussion? All those in favor? Those opposed? Motion is carried. Uh, we need to set Barrett. I'm going to ask for your assistance in this. I believe there are three of us that we appoint to be on this committee. Is that correct?

It's for the appeals committee and I know the meeting needs to be before the first meeting in April. So, historically what we have done is um we've done this on the right before the first council meeting in April and so that would be April 6th this year. And that's historically what we've done. Now in terms of it's under the code, it's really kind of like a factf finding exploratory committee and it's not a committee that makes any decisions. Right. Right. And this is under the charter. It has to be between two and three council members. Okay.

And so it can be two or three. They would come. Usually we have it depending I mean unfortunately we don't really have an idea about how many are going to be appealing, right? But usually we would have that meeting around like 5:30 or 6. People would come an hour, hour and a half early hear anyone who had grievances with their assessments or additions to the assessments. You know, we kind of gather facts and then we'd come back and um technically have the formal hearing before. So, this is just kind of like a winnowing of facts. Okay. Oh, can I Okay, three people that might like to be on the appeals committee.

Okay, so Nick, Breen, and who was three? Me. Perfect. Thank you. That's it. Okay. And to set a date for that would be due April. So I think April 6th is the first council meeting, right? Is that April 1st would be the Wednesday before that. Is that enough time? Is that It's completely up to you. I mean, so you can either have people come out in advance or you can try to um just do it the same night. And I think typically typically we've tried to do it the same night. So We'll have to come out an extra

so somebody will set up a meeting. Amanda Amanda's like okay for 5:30 that night for the appeals committee based on the number of appeals if we still have any open at that time. Okay. Okay. Um, and at this point, conditional use application. Is that going to be Jeremy? No.

Well, you've uh you've heard my staff report. Um, if you have any additional questions, um, again, just to reiterate, um, you do have to provide reasoning for your vote. That's one of the few times the items. the um so if you have any questions about the application, be happy to answer. Does anyone have questions at this time? No. Okay. Um I have a motion to accept the conditional use application. I make a motion to accept a conditional use application from Peele's Property LLC, 427 East North Street. Second. Is there any discussion? All those in favor? I.

Those opposed? merchand. So now we have to go through sorry. Yeah. So it can be after the fact. It's completely fine. So we'll just go through and just state why you voted in favor of this. And so just as a reminder, right, the I gave everybody a paper.

Yep. The standard is that you need to find that the location is appropriate and will not be in conflict with the comprehensive plan. That the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare will not be adversely affected. that the necessary safeguards will be provided for the protection of the surrounding property and persons and neighboring values and further provided that the additional standards in the zoning code are complied with. So that's the standard and so you just need to explain why you believe that standard has been satisfied with this application. Okay. Actually Nick, can we just start with you and go straight down the line? Sure. I'm in favor because the evidence shows the application meets the standards required for uh the conditional use approval. Councilman Drew.

Yep. I'm in favor of conditional use referred at the hearing that the use of the property will not negatively impact the neighborhood properties. So, this should fit well in the area. Mayor, I am in approval of this for the same reasons that Councilman Nick Miles approved it for. Councilman Pope, I approve based on the same uh statement that was made by Councilman Miles ahead of me and Councilman Johnson. I approve it because it was uh approved and recommended by the zoning committee. It has been approved and seconded that we accept the conditional use application for tus and everyone has just

that all we need. Yep. You're good. Okay. And at this point, I'd like to thank everyone for coming and and turn,

right? I'm sorry y'all. Can I please have a um Hello. No one