City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening and welcome. City Council is now in session. Please stand for the invocation by Council Member Butler Barllo, which will be followed by the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

Let us pray. As we gather tonight to attend to the work of the city of Suffuk, we ask for blessings on all assembled here and on all of our citizens and staff. We ask for wisdom and guidance in our decision-making. We are thankful for the grace, mercy, and blessings we each enjoy. We are also troubled by the things of this world that bewilder us. War, injustice, hate, poverty, disease, natural disasters, corruption, and hearts that are bound by fear, ego, and greed. Help us to focus our minds on better things, justice, health, safety, peace, love, hope, and truth. And bind our hearts with courage, humility, and generosity as we strive towards a better world for all people. Amen.

Amen. allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

At this time, we'll move for approval of the minutes from the December 17th, 2025 work session and regular meeting. And a motion would be in order. Council member Recctor move to approve. Got a motion for approval from council member Recctor. Council member Johnson second.

Second from council member Johnson. Any discussion of the motion? Hearing none. Council members prepare to vote. Please cast your vote. Madam clerk, please record the vote. The motion is approved by a vote of 8 to zero.

We have three special presentations this evening. A proclamation in recognition of National Animal Care and Control Week, National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, and Child Abuse Prevention Month. Mr. Manager, please provide overviews. Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of council. Uh starting off with pro uh special presentation a April 12th through 18th is National Animal Care and Control Week. Chief Buouie and uh all of our members of San Suffach Animal Care and Control would love to join you at the podium uh to receive the proclamation. Good to see you.

Wait, Madam Clerk, will you please read the proclamation? Whereas the employees of the animal care and control division of the Suffach Police Department are instrumental in protecting the public from dangerous animals. And whereas these valuable employees are also dedicated to rescuing rescuing endangered animals, returning lost animals to their homes, and partnering with other organizations to find animals loving new homes where appropriate. And whereas the National Animal Care and Control Association is committed to the professional development of its members through training, advocacy, and development of best practices. And whereas the association has designated the second full week in April as a as an appropriate time to recognize these valuable public safety servants. Now therefore, I, Michael D. Duman, mayor of the city of Suffach, do hereby proclaim April the 12th through April the 18th, 2026 as National Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week and call upon all residents to support this worthwhile observance. In witness whereof, I have here to set my hand to cause the seal of the city of Suffach to be affixed this first day of April in the year of our Lord 2026.

You accepting this

[applause]

Good evening, Mayor Duman, Vice Mayor Ward, uh, city councilman, uh, city manager Kevin Hughes, and other department heads. Uh, tonight we have three of our animal control officers present along with our shelter manager and three of our caretakers. Uh I just wanted to go over some of our numbers uh for 2025. This year um animal control officers handled uh a little over 6,200 calls for service. And at that time we actually only had about three officers uh which are the three officers that were present. We were are present right now. We were super short-handed. Uh but at this time we are fully staffed in both departments. Uh roughly 1,900 animals were brought into our facility. So our shelter manager and our caretakers had to care for those animals. And of those 1900, 12 of those or 1,200 of those were either adopted, rescued um or placed into either another rescue organization or out to another uh facility within the state of Virginia. Uh we would just like to thank each of you for your support throughout the year and also recognizing the National Air Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week. [applause] Mayor, vice mayor, members of council. Uh also, uh celebrated April 12th through uh 18th is the National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. Uh Chief Buouie will return to the podium and be joined by uh our emergency communication team members that are present today uh in receiving the proclamation. You do that every day.

Madam clerk, please read the proclamation.

Whereas emergencies that require police, fire, and emergency medical services can occur at any time. And whereas when a crisis happens, the prompt response of police officers, firefighters, and paramedics is critical to the protection of life and the preservation of property. And whereas the welfare of our public safety employees is dependent upon the quality and accuracy of information obtained from callers who are often the first interaction that residents have with emergency services. And whereas public safety telecommunicators provide support for emergency responders by monitoring their activities via radio to provide them with vital information. And whereas these valuable members of the Suffuk Police Department have contributed substantially to the apprehension of criminals, suppression of fire, and treatment of patients. And whereas it is appropriate to acknowledge the compassion, understanding, and professional professionalism of our area's public safety dispatchers. Now, therefore, I, Michael D. Duman, mayor of the city of Suffukk, do hereby proclaim April 12th through April 18th, 2026 as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, and call upon all residents to support this worthwhile observance. In witness whereof, I have here unto set my hand and cause the seal of the city of Suffach to be affixed this first day of April in the year of our Lord, 2026.

[applause]

We have to get too close. [laughter]

Now you're good. Thank you. I don't like speaking. Good evening, Mayor Duman, Vice Mayor Ward, city council members, city manager, department heads tonight. We thank you for recognizing all our dispatchers and the amazing job that they do. Um, our dispatchers are the the true first responders in someone's worst moments. When they answer the 911 call, they never know what's on the other end of the phone. They provide strength and compassion during the worst moments of some someone's lives. Their dedication in calm in high stress situations truly saves lives every day. And I thank each and every dispatcher for the city of SuffK for the outstanding work they do.

[applause]

Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of council, your third and final proclamation is in recognition of the month of April, which is child abuse prevention month. Uh Toya Taylor, assistant director of services, social services, is with us today. uh along with I see a lot of blue shirts back there that are gonna work their way up towards the podium in recognition of this uh this month.

[laughter]

Madam clerk,

please read the proclamation. Whereas every child has the right to a safe, healthy, and nurturing environment with equitable access to resources and opportunities to thrive in their communities. And whereas our children are our most valuable treasure and will shape the future of Suffach. And whereas child abuse and neglect can have long-term psychological, emotional, and physical impacts that have lasting consequences. And finding solutions requires input and action from everyone. And whereas child abuse prevention activities succeed because of the partnerships created among child welfare professionals, educators, volunteers, child welfare attorneys, juvenile and domestic relations, juvenile and domestic court, healthc care providers, businesses, faith-based organizations, law enforcement agencies, and families. And now, therefore, I, Michael D. Duman, mayor of the city of Suffach, do hereby proclaim April 2026 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and call upon our citizens to recognize this month by dedicating themselves to improving the quality of life of all children and families. In witness whereof, I here unto set my hand and cause the seal of the city of Suffach to be affixed this first day of April in the year of our Lord, 2026.

[applause] Thank you all for [laughter] squish. one, two, three. [applause] [laughter]

Uh, good evening, uh, honorable mayor, vice mayor, distinguished council members, city manager, and staff. I have here Miss Toya Taylor ad who is the assistant director of services along with Miss Da Butler who is the program uh services program manager that's going to share with you why it is so important that we recognize April as child abuse prevention month. So with that I'm going to turn it over to the dynamic leaders of the service division.

Hello again. I feel like I come in front of you an awful lot. Um, mayor, vice mayor, council, staff, city manager, I am emotional tonight. Um, and I wasn't emotional until I just watched some of my team walk up front and it touched my heart because these dynamic men and women commit their lives every day to protecting our children. Since I was in front of you last year, we've had 426 more referrals of valid abuse or neglect of children here in Suffuk. And those reports included 594 children. We are the front lines. They are the front lines to protecting our children here in Suffuk. It is so important the work that we do and we want to bring this front of you and keep this in front of you because our commitment we know reflects your commitment. I feel so honored to work in Suffach to be representing you to be representing our families. But more so, don't pay any attention to me. I'll be back next month and a month after that. Pay attention to the team members who do this every day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are on call and responding so that the children here in Suffach can stay safe and be safe.

Good evening. I am Diana um mayor, vice mayor, members of the council, Mr. Manager, and all distinguished guests. Um it is an honor to be here um in front of you all today. Um I am the new program manager um It is very inspiring to see that the city is um bringing awareness to child abuse. Um it is something that we are very passionate about. Um it is something that our team wakes up every day no matter what they're going through um in their personal lives. Um it is very inspiring every single day um with their dedication, their commitment, and their compassion that they show up for our families and our children. Um, and I'm just so proud to be a side of them. Um, so again, we thank you for this nation and we thank you for your support. [applause] May I add, uh, if you go outside and you see all those pin wheels out of the front of the building, that is in recognition of child abuse prevention month. So, it's very critical. If you see them throughout the city, that's what it's all about. Thank you.

[applause]

WE are at this time. We'll consider the removal of items from the consent agenda and adoption of the entire agenda as presented. Removal of any item from the consent agenda would only be necessary if any member of city council wishes to vote on a specific item separately and a motion would be required. At this time a motion would be in order. Council is your pleasure. Council member Recctor move to adopt. Got a motion for approval from council member Recctor. Council member Butler Barlo. Second.

Second from council member Butler Barllo. There's any discussion of the motion? Hearing none, council members, prepare to vote. Please cast your vote.

The motion is approved by a vote of 8 to zero. Madam clerk, do we have any speakers at this time? We have no agenda speakers this evening. Would you please present the items for consideration?

Consent agenda item number seven, an ordinance to accept and appropriate sponsorships from Town Bank and Centa Cares in support of the Suffach Public Library Children's Festival. Consent agenda item number eight, an ordinance to accept and appropriate funds from the federal Federal Emergency Management Agency through the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation in support of the Crumps Mill Dam project. Consent agenda item number nine, an ordinance to accept and appropriate funds from the OBC Healthc Care Foundation and the Western Tidewater Community Services Board for the Western Tidewater Specialty Docket Program. Consent agenda item 10, an ordinance to appropriate funds from the general fund committed fund balance capital reserve fund and to transfer funds to the capital projects fund or the access road project. Consent agenda item number 11, a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a change order to an agree agreement with MBON construction company incorporated for the construction of the Suffach Fire Training Burn Building to include the access road project and consent agenda item number 12, an ordinance to appropriate funds from the refuge fund committed fund balance for the purchase of refuge trucks. Mr. Many, will you please provide an overview of the items?

Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of council, consent item number seven. The city has received funding in the amount of $2,500 from Town Bank and 500 from Centara Cares in support of the Suffach Children's Festival that will be held May 2nd, 2026 at Downtown Festival Park. Adoption of the ordinance will increase the planned revenues and expenditures of the general fund budget by $3,000 and does not require a local match. Consent item number eight. The city has received nine $90,000 in grant funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency through the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. The funding will be used for engineering on the rehabilitation or replacement of the Crumps Mill Dam. Adoption of the ordinance will increase the planned revenues expenditures of the public utilities fund by $90,000 and requires uh a match in the amount of $48,46154 which is provided in the public utilities fund consent item number nine. The city has received $300,000 from the OBC Healthcare Foundation to assist with the Western Tidewater Specialty Docket Program for a three-year period. The Western Tidewater Community Service Board has returned unused funds from the recovery court program in the amount of $120,6983 cents. These funds will be used to support the Western Tidewater Recovery Court Program. The Western Tidewater Behavioral Health Docket aims to provide mental health services, substance abuse services, and court supervision. City of Suffach will provide a local match for the three-year grant in the amount of $160,000 from opioid abatement fund funds in the consolidated grant fund. Is of White will provide a local match in the amount of $80,000. Southampton will also provide a match of $40,000. Adoption of the ordinance will increase

the plan revenues and expenditures of the consolidated grants fund budget by $74,6983. Uh, and I mentioned the suffuk match of $160,000. Consent item number 10 uh for council's consideration is an ordinance to appropriate $96,000 from the general fund committed fund balance capital reserve fund and to transfer to the capital projects fund in support of the access road project. The funds will be used to complete the access road at the joint operations and training complex on Carolina Road. To give you a little more context, I draw your attention to the slide deck. On the left hand side uh gives you a general vicinity if you're not familiar with the uh complex off of Carolina Road. The yellow star is just north of the airport uh coming off of the 58 bypass. So, this is just south of the public works operations center. What you see on the right hand side is the uh soon to be complete fire burn train building. Uh that was uh originated with a $485,000 grant provided by the Virginia Department of Fire programs. Uh next slide, Valerie. This grant provided the opportunity to begin to master plan the joint operations facility. Uh the funding that I mentioned in the a little over $900,000 is represented in that uh purple dash line. So we would build the access road from its current location where parks and wreck and police operations are going out to the uh burn building. You can see storm water management is in place. Also underground is water, sewer, and storm water facilities. Uh what has occurred over a number of years is just unfavorable bidding. So, we've been breaking out the

road uh trying to get better uh opportunities here. We believe in working with the contractor of the burn building uh that we have found the best number to complete this project and so we would request uh the funding for this project to move forward. Adoption of the ordinance would increase the revenues expenditures of the fiscal year 2526 general fund and capital projects fund by $96,000. Consent item number 11. This is the companion piece to the item that I just briefed you on um regarding the the Burden building and the road, the access road. So, this would uh necessitate uh the the need for an amendment to the current contract with MBcon Construction, who I mentioned is building the Burden building. They would then move forward with the construction of the access road project. And so this amendment uh as you see in your package would allow that project to move forward with this contractor. And finally, consent item number 12, cities uh for city's consideration is an ordinance to appropriate $900,000 from the refuge committed fund balance for the purchase of two refuge trucks. As we have outlined uh in the operating budget as well in in previous presentations and working with SIPA and some agreements that the council has approved, we are moving forward with a new recycling program at a regional level. Uh moving forward, our proposal July one is to uh work with the SIPA sort program. Sort is the separation of organics, recycling and trash program. the the sortation and the recycling would happen at the landfill at our transfer station versus at your curb in your can. Uh in preparation for this activity uh and shift, we would uh need two additional

uh refuge trucks and in order to be prepared by July 1, we would request the funding uh for this operation. That concludes the consent items. Thank you, Mr. Manager. If there are no questions about the items at this time, a motion would be in order to approve the consent agenda as presented. Council member Williams. So move a motion for approval from council member Williams. Council member Johnson. Second.

Second from council member Johnson. Is there any discussion of the motion? Hearing none. Council members prepare to vote. Please cast your vote. Madam clerk, kindly record the vote. The motion is approved by a vote of 8 to zero. Okay, we have no public hearings or ordinances this evening. Uh we do have a resolution affirming commitment to fund the locality share of projects lender agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation. This would be for fiscal years 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030. Mr. Manager, please present the resolution for consideration.

Mayor, vice mayor, members of council, I'll ask Greg Benton, public works director, to walk you through the resolution and a quick briefing on some of the projects planned.

Good evening, mayor, vice mayor, councelor, uh, Mr. Manager. This resolution positions the city to fully participate in VOTE's funding programs FY27 through FY30 by formally committing the city's local share. It ensures we remain eligible for state and federal dollars that support capital improvement projects and investing in our transportation system across the city. Through VOTE's six-year improvement plan, SUV currently has approximately 80 projects programmed, including roadway widenings, interchange improvements, bridge replacements, trail lengthening, signal enhancements, and pavement resurfacing. This resolution provides both the financial commitment and administrative authority needed to continue advancing those projects and seeking financial flexibility for long-term planning. The photos are representative of projects that have been funded with state of good repair funds, smart scale funds, and revenue sharing funds. This slide highlights past projects as well as future significant projects that have or potentially intend to use the other funding sources of transportation alternative program funds, congestion mitigation and air quality funds, regional surface transportation program funds, Virginia highway safety improvement program funds, federal lands access program funds, and access roads program funds. In short, this is necessary step to secure outside funding, maintain project momentum, and deliver on our long-term tr transportation priorities for the city. Pending any questions, that concludes my brief.

Okay. Thank you, Mr. P. Council. Any questions or comments? Okay. Hearing none, a resolution has been presented for your consideration and a motion would be in order. Council member Williams, move for approval. A motion for approval from council member Williams. Council member Butler Barllo. Second. Second from council member Butler Barlow. Any discussion of the motion? Hearing none. Council members, prepare to vote. Please cast your vote.

Madame clerk, please record the vote. The motion is approved by a vote of 8 to zero. Uh we do have one staff report this more this this evening uh concerning the North Sixth Street drainage and improvement project. Mr. Manager,

Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of council, uh Greg Benton's going to walk you through uh a new project that public works is working on related to drainage. This item advances the North Sixth Street drainage improvement project. We're addressing a known drainage deficiency by installing approximately 1,200 linear feet of storm water piping along with curb and inlet improvements to mitigate reoccurring flooding along Sixth Street. This location functions as a primary collection point. Most of the upstream drainage flows downhill into this area. Importantly, this project represents the final segment needed to connect the water flow of Lloyd's Place neighborhood subdivision to the Shingle Creek outfall, which you can see at the top right of the slide where the blue end the blue line ends. Once connected, it'll allow for the full system to function as designed. An easement is required as shown in blue to install new storm water piping and connect to the existing piping at Seventh Street that leads to the Shingle Creek outfall. The city has the ride ofway as shown in red along Sixth Street. That's where we will pipe in the ditch and provide curb. The existing pipe as shown in yellow cannot be accessed for maintenance as we do not have easement or right of way. Completion will improve system system performance, reduce flooding impacts, and provide necessary long-term maintenance access. Pending any questions? This concludes my brief. Okay. Thank you, council. Any questions or comments? Thank you, Greg.

I'm sorry. Council member Williams, Greg, if you would. I just have um two questions. Yes. Um the existing piping that runs across that church parking lot um will it impact that parking lot? I mean will you have to what what what would happen to the existing piping? So we will leave the existing pipe in place.

And there is an inlet uh in the parking lot right now that does exist. Okay. Okay. All right. Thank you, council. Any other questions or comments? Okay. We'll now move to motions. Let's see. Our first motion is a motion to schedule a public hearing for April 15, 2026 to receive public comment on an ordinance authorizing the acquisition of permanent and/or temporary easements either by agreement or condemnation for the North Sixth Street roadway drainage design project. And I'd also like to bring to everyone's attention that the date for the proposed public hearing is April 15th. as I mentioned, uh, not April 1st, which was erroneously posted on the city's website. It is April 15th. Uh, with that being said, at this time, a motion would be in order to schedule that public hearing. Council member Williams,

move for approval. Motion for approval from Council Member Williams. Vice Mayor Ward. Second. Second from Vice Mayor Ward. Is there any discussion of the motion? Hearing none. Council members, prepare to vote. Please cast your vote. Madam clerk, please record the vote. The motion's approved by a vote of 8 to zero. Our next motion is a motion to schedule a public hearing to be held on April 15, 2026 to receive public comment on the proposed fiscal year 2026 2027 operating and capital budget. Uh council motion would be in order. Council member Bud Barlo.

Move to approve. A motion for approval from council member Bud Lab Barlo. Council member Recctor. Second. Second from Council Member Rector. Is there any discussion of the motion? Hearing none. Council members prepare to vote. Please cast your vote. Madame clerk, please record the vote.

The motion is approved by a vote of 8 to zero. Our next motion is a motion to schedule a public hearing to be held on April 15, [clears throat] 2026 to receive public comment on the proposed fiscal year 2026, 2027 annual action plan for the city of Suffix Community Development Block Grant Program and the Western Tidewater Home Consortium Home Investment Partnership Grant Program. And a motion would be in order. Council member Bennett. Move for approval. Got a motion for approval from council member Bennett. Council member Johnson. Second.

Second from council member Johnson. Is there any discussion of the motion? Hearing none. Council members prepare to vote. Please cast your vote. Madame clerk, please record the vote.

The motion's approved by vote of 8 to zero. Our last motion is a motion to schedule a public hearing to be held on May 6th, 2026 to receive public comment on the proposed fiscal year 2026, 2027 citywide effective real estate tax increase due to reassessment. Council, a motion would be in order. Council member Recctor, move to approve. A motion for approval. Council member Recctor, Council Member Johnson. Second. Second from Council Member Johnson. Is there any discussion of the motion hearing? None. Council members, prepare to vote. Please cast your vote. Madame clerk, please record the vote.

Motion is approved by a vote of 8 to zero. We now move to non-aggenda speakers. Madame clerk, do we have any speakers this evening? And if so, please explain the guidelines.

We do have non-aggenda speakers this evening, Mayor Dan. Each person participating under the item of business entitled non-aggenda speakers shall limit their remarks to the services, policies, and affairs of city government and shall be permitted five minutes for the purpose of presenting their matter. Speakers appearing before city council will not be permitted to participate in the following activities. To campaign for public office, engage in personal attacks, promote private business ventures, or use profanity. Speakers who violate these rules will be declared out of order by the presiding officer and will immediately yield the floor and be seated. Our first speaker is William Andrews, 5045 Bay Circle, representing self regarding code enforcement. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, uh, Mr. Vice Mayor, city manager, and, uh, council members, first of all, I want to thank you for the benediction today because it speaks exactly to where my heart is on this matter that I'm about to, uh, speak to today. And, uh, I live in a little neighborhood called Respus Beach. It's in North Solo. We really don't see a lot of police folks out there because we pretty much take care of each other out there. We're a small neighborhood of 90 units that uh is pretty cohesive and we we work together. Uh I am not going to say how I'm how I'm involved in our civic league. I'm involved in it, but I am here as myself today. And the event that I would want to bring up is short-term rentals in residential areas, which speaking to your folks in the uh zoning department,

the fact of the matter is things like short time vacation rentals or rentals that are less than two weeks in residential areas are not permitted. That's it. It's just not permitted. That's the way I understand it with speaking with the zoning folks. So, first of all, I have no complaints here. What I'm trying to do is just make you aware of a situation that we think is happening in in that I think is happening in our environment. And I know other people who will probably be following behind me. So, I'm kind of trying to lay the base course for this road for the engineering department there, whoever heard this to to because more people are going to be following me. Short rental short-term rentals are becoming a growing concern in our neighborhood. Um we have two in the neighborhood right now. One was addressed last year and found out uh about because of the fact that there was a confrontation that involved law enforcement and then we found out that this house was actually being used as a short-term rental. Okay, that short-term rental is still posted on Airbnb and Virgo and everything like that. So, it exists in the city of Supple. That has nothing to do with your your zoning folks because I'm going to bring up their pro what their situation is down the road. The second point I want to make is uh we are really kind of well known for being a quiet and friendly neighborhood. We usually don't even have to put up a for sale sign to sell our house because one of our relatives or somebody else's relative is ready to buy it. Uh we're known for our quiet, friendly attitude and and it's just it's it's not a problem there. Recently, one of our new neighbors that have moved in got together with a bunch of investors and have purchased a house for the specific purpose of running an Airbnb. There is

no people living in it yet. It hasn't come up for rental yet. It's about to come up for rental. Our biggest concern is we we know everybody in our neighborhood. We get together for the the Fourth of July holidays, all the summer holidays. It's a nice place to celebrate out there with friends and families. Take your take your hair down. But um I'm looking at places like the city of Jacksonville where you know when you rent out an Airbnb whether it's legal or not, you have no control of the people coming in there and I just don't see that really meshing with our tight-knit neighborhood. So that's what one of our concerns are. So, they purchased this unit specifically to capitalize on our cohesive, friendly, peaceful resources because we're at the waterfront environment and uh run it as an Airbnb. There's currently nobody living in it right now. It's not going to be designed to use for a rental. That's me talking to the owner who is actually a resident in another house in our neighborhood who's in there with other investors. Um I just see multiple problems coming up with that. So, we actually have two that are coming up and I'm trying to warn you that this is coming down the line here. Uh, I talked to this is where I ran into uh not ran into Mr. Melon. This is how I got to meet up with the zoning department and I found out that what my neighbor is intending to do because he hasn't done his due diligence and I'm not slamming him. What he's intending to do is run his Airbnb but Mr. in engaging with Mr. Melon, he just tells me that they're not permitted, which is absolutely fine. But when I try to look up the ordinance to share with my neighbor, there's nothing out there, which brings up another communications and messaging matter in the commercial world. So, one

of the things that I wanted to put out is uh looking at the Airbnb and Vargo sites, you can find whatever you want as to how receptive SUFFK is to the short-term vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods. And of course, because we don't have anything stated, there's no AI pulling down this info or saying that they're just not permitted. So they say SU suffoc it's boilerplate. Suffoc is reasonably or flexible with short-term rentals, but consult with your local authorities to do that. Make sure you have your business license. Make sure you're set up for collecting taxes, making sure that you're set up for your rental uh inspections for for people to move in. And well, when you come to city hall to do what Airbnb and Verbbo tells you to do, get your business license because it is a commercial endeavor. Well, there are no businesses because business license for that because it's not permitted. That's all. It's not posted anywhere for me. And and I'm not saying I'm not saying it's not posted anywhere. I'm saying for me or people from the outside looking in to what our policies are for investors who are interested in investing or for hosts who are interested in hosting. There's not a lot of guidance out there. There's not even the guidance saying that these type of venues are not permitted. Um so what does that what that makes the host do? Of course they say you don't need a business license. You don't need to do anything like this. Well, Based on what I'm seeing right here, because we still have rentals being posted on Airbnb and

Fairgo and other such sites, they're running like there is nothing stopping us from like there there are no regulations. Suffoc is very lax. And I think it's quite the opposite. And the only people that know are the few people in the zoning office that it's just flat not permitted. So, I kind of want to bring up there's two concerns. There's the enforcement because we can't enforce it until a citizen actually comes into some sort of law enforcement compl or complaint or makes a complaint on residents occupying the Airbnb. So, an event has to has to come to play come to pass before people can even make a complaint about these illegal Airbnbs. I'm [clears throat] sorry, sir. That concludes your time.

Okay, just wrap it up. Great. Thank you. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Roy Johnson, 1877 White Marsh Road, representing Self regarding concerns about uh Amazon delivery drivers blocking traffic. Good afternoon uh mayor, vice mayor, city city city manager, all council out of all the hund and some thousands of people in suffer. I wonder sometime I'm the only one that these delivery drivers be worome and in the way. Uh they park anywhere they Washington and Main Street and the residents out in where I stay and wherever else they just park block the roads and then you got to wait. They go back about 16th of a mile back a lane to cur one package. You got to sit at the end of your driveway to wait for them to come back. And that's for that's for the Amazon to prime. And they got a lot of young drivers. I don't know whe this a matter need to be brought to the whole council or not. And uh but I am bringing it. Uh these people come up with these truck hammers. Now they got these young drivers and they set out there and they don't know what they doing. They run in the dish. They run you off the road and they just don't know what they're doing. And then on Maine and Washington, they just they got designated parks for them to park and make their drops off. But every time they pull to pulling pull in their spot to park, somebody's in the courthouse or lawyer or somebody going to court and they got their spots blocked all the time. So it just jams up Washington in the main street a lot of times. That's one. Want to thank Greg Benton, the uh public director uh public works director for being so prompt on a matter that I brought to him back in December and he acted on it within 30 days within in the 300 block of uh Washington Street. I want to thank him for that. Uh, another matter right quick. I wanted to uh find out who is the individual that I contact to think about uh considering adopt street and uh the receptionist that takes your

appointments to come in here on the first Wednesday gave me uh Muslim McDaniels little control manager and stuff. But for my councilman Williams, I need to find myself four or five people that will help me if I do get the street adapted on on White Marsh. If I do get I would need at least three or four other people off of that road, which the road is 7.6 miles long and that's too much for one person to take in control and try and keep it clean. So, if I can find someone that you know on that road that can meet me halfway and we do what we need to do to keep that street clean as much as possible and keep wrecks down to a minimum on White Marsh Road. Um, and that's it. Thank you, council.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is William Webb, 810 Dunville Avenue, representing South regarding project management. Good evening, mayor, vice mayor, members of council, and city leadership. I stand before you today to speak about the city's most precious non-renewable resource. It isn't our budget, our infrastructure, or our land. It's our time. Time is the one thing we can never buy back. And yet, over the last week, the city of Suffach has allowed years of it to be taken from its citizens. Route 58 is the most heavily traveled artery in this city. It is the lifeblood of our daily commute. Recently, a contractor was permitted to close one of the westbound lanes at the Sipsa project 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We understand that construction is a sign of progress, and progress requires some level of sacrifice. However, there is a fundamental difference between a necessary delay and an unnecessary burden. For nearly a week, that westbound lane has been closed. During that time, I and thousands of others have sat in gridlock. Yesterday afternoon, I spent an hour and a half of my life sitting in traffic for a closure that served no active purpose. As I drove through the construction site at 5:00 a.m. this morning, the disparity was glaring. On the eastbound side, crews were working diligently completing a concrete pour on the flyover deck, uh, getting the road deck in place. It was a hive of activity. But on the westbound side where we have this lane closure, not a single work light on, not a single truck, not a single employee out there. Not a single shovel of dirt had been moved on that side of the road since the concrete barriers went up. When I came through this afternoon at 3 p.m., traffic was already backed up for miles all the way back past the Hampton Roads

Executive Airport. And what for? There was one lone excavator about 20 yard or 20 feet off the road moving a little pile of dirt. Hours of people's times lost for no real reason. Let's look at the math of that inactivity with over 45,000 vehicles traveling those westbound lanes daily. The added congestion from this premature closer closure has cost our community a combined 10 plus years of human life in just one week. 10 years of family dinners missed, 10 years of productivity lost, and 10 years of unnecessary stress, all for the sake of staging a site that isn't yet being worked on. In my professional life at Norfick Naval Shipyard, we deal with this staging issue constantly. Recently, we have implemented a new motto, focus and finish. We don't start a task and we certainly don't impede operations until we have every tool, every person, and every piece of technical data ready to complete the task all the way through. The city of Suffach owns its roads and it's the gatekeeper of these project plans. We owe it to every motorist to be more critical when reviewing these lane closure requests. We must demand a better balance between a contractor's ease of construction and the public's ease of life. I'm asking the city to adopt a focus and finish mindset on these requests. Do not allow our travel lanes to be closed until the work is ready to both begin and be finished. Do not allow our residents life to be treated as an infinite resource for contractor's convenience. Let's value the time of our citizens as much as we value the completion of our projects. Thank you. Our final speaker this evening is Wayne Boyce 5121 Indian Trail representing self regarding city safety issues.

Good evening, Mayor Duman, Vice Mayor, Council, and staff. My name is Wayne Boyce. I live at 5121 Indian Trail, Suffach, Virginia. At the last council meeting, you approved an ordinance change to allow battery energy storage systems at manufacturing facilities in suff. This passed by by a seven to one vote with Councilman Johnson cancel casting the only no vote because he didn't feel he had enough information. Thank you, Councilman Johnson, for your no vote. I didn't rebuttle because I wanted more information myself and I was caught off guard. So, here's here are some of my questions. Who or what triggered looking into this ordinance change? Number two, is there a certain company asking for this? Number three, how large can this facility be? Number four, how much land will be disturbed? The picture that was displayed seemed very large. Mr. W said that these battery storage facilities come with concerns such as disposal and recycling or any guidelines in place to see if this is done properly. He also said there were risks that come with lithium batteries such as fires. Here are my concerns. These battery storage facilities are and I mean are severe fire risk including difficulty to extinguish a thermal runaway incident which is a dangerous uncontrollable chain reaction in a battery where internal heat causes rapid temperature increases.

I know you've seen videos of lithium battery car fires and how intense they are. These fires also create toxic gas emissions and explosive hazards. These battery fires are also cause contamination from firefighting, water runoff because it takes huge amounts of water to suppress these fires which can contaminate the groundwater. So, is this ordinance change worth the risk it would put on our firefighters lives and health who are already stretched to thin now with our growth just to attract new business to suffer. Number two, noise concerns cause with these these because in most cases an an inverter is required. This can cause a problem just like the problem on White Marsh Road that hasn't been fixed for three years. Number three, these go hand in hand with solar farms which you say won't be allowed now. I don't know about later. Number four, they also go hand in hand with data centers who cannot operate without energy backup systems. I hope this ordinance change is not for the purpose of attracting data centers in Suffuk. We won't allow. Thank you. Suffer and this is our dirt.

That concludes the speakers. Mayor, thank you madam clerk. Do we have any new business this evening? No, sir. With that being said, council, do you have any new business that would require action? Hearing none, we'll move to announcements and comments. And at this time, I'll ask if communications department has any announcements.

Good evening, mayor, vice mayor, members of council, Mr. City Manager. I'll begin tonight's announcement with an update from our finance department regarding the city's budget process. Beginning today, residents can track the city of Suffach's budget process online by visiting sufficva. us/budget or by clicking the budget tile on the city's homepage. This online resource provides transparency and allows citizens to stay informed every step of the way during the FY2627 budget process. In addition, the finance department will host an open house or open house hours on April 7th from 4 to 7 pm at the North Suffach Library. This will give residents an opportunity to ask questions, share feedback, and have one-on-one conversations about the proposed budget ahead of the public hearing scheduled for April 15th. The economic development department celebrated several ribbon cutings since our last council meeting, continuing to show strong business growth across the city. Throughout the month of March, we welcomed new businesses and expanded businesses, including Chick-fil-A, Prudin Family Dentistry, and Silven Learning. These businesses not only provide valuable services from dining and health care to education, but also create job opportunities and contribute to the continued economic strength of our community. We thank each of these businesses for choosing SUFFK and investing in our city's future. The Suffach Economic Development Department is excited to share the recent funding announcement from the office of the governor. On March 27th, local business Wese Fish Company was awarded a $248,000 grant from the governor's Blue Catfish Processing Flash Freezing and Infrastructure Grant Program. The funding will support expansions at the company's Suffach facility where Juan Cheese Fish Company will invest in advanced automation equipment. The

upgrades will increase production capacity for retail packed blue catfish products while also supporting Virginia's seafood industry and local economic growth. Secretary of Virginia's Department of Agriculture and Forestry Katie Frasier was at the event to share the announcement with the public as well. SuffK City Treasurer Andrew Owen has been named to the board of trustees of the Virginia Association of Counties and Virginia Municipal Municipal Leagues Pool Other Post Employment Benefits Trust. That's a mouthful. The board manages the assets invested by political subdivisions to fund retirey health care insurance and other post-employment benefits. Local governments that invest in the trust substantially reduce the long-term cost of providing such benefits. Congratulations on this accomplishment to Andrew. The Suffach Police Department and the Suffach Sheriff's Office recently participated in Little Feet Meet on March 25th with Suffach Public School children. Engaging with our community's youth and families in a positive and encouraging environment. Events like thi this provides opportunities for our public safety teams to build relationships, promote trust, and connect with the next generation in meaningful ways. The Suffach Workforce Development Center will host a business leader apprenticeship event on April 30th from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at their location on at 157 North Main Street. This session is designed for individuals interested in attending registered apprenticeship programs. Attendees will learn about the benefits of the apprenticeships, including workforce development strategies, training structures, and available funding funding and support resources. For more information or to register, contact the SUFFK Workforce Development Center at 5147730.

The City of SuffK Department of Public Works and Public Utilities will ho host a joint job fair on Saturday, April 18th from 10:00 a.m. to 2 PM at Public Works Operation Center located at 800 Carolina Road. This event will connect job seekers with hands-on career opportunities in both departments with the ability to apply and interview on-site. Department representatives will be on hand to answer questions and share insights into their roles and human resource staff will be available to assist applicants and provide information on the city's benefit package which includes competitive pay, paid holidays and leave participation in the Virginia Retirement System and opportunities for advancement. Residents are encouraged to pre-register at sufficva. us/jobfare, though walkins are welcome. And a quick update on the VOTE roadway project on Route 58 near the Sipsa landfill. Pavement construction is currently underway on 58 eastbound with the closed lane expected to reopen by midappril. Work is also in progress on the 58 westbound where pavement construction is expected to continue through late May with a closed lane anticipated to reopen at that time. The city of Suffach and VOTE thank motorists for their patience during this roadway project and remind drivers to use caution when traveling through the work zones. And Suffach Transit is proud to announce the winning names from its make your mark contest which invited the community to help share shape the identity of two regional transit routes. After receiving strong participation from residents across Suffach, Isle of White and Portsouth, the two winning names were selected. The Peanut Express route, which will connect Suffach and Windsor, and the Seport Express route, which will connect Suffach and Portsouth.

The new routes will officially begin service on May 4th, expanding regional mobility and strengthening connections between neighboring communities. This enhancement support supports Suffach Transit continued commitment to improving accessibility, supporting economic growth, and providing reliable transportation options. Suffach Transit would like to thank all who participated in the contest. And for more information on the new route or schedules, visit suffachtransit.org. And the SUFFK Public Library is proud to announce that it has received two awards from the Virginia Public Library Directors Association, recognizing its innovation and commitment to serving the community. The first award for impactful technology use recognizes the library's expanded access to modern resources like Tony Boxes and figurines for children, additional Wi-Fi hotspots, and Nintendo Switch kits. These enhancements will bridge the digital divide and open up new learning opportunities for residents of all ages. The second award for innovation, excuse me, innovative service delivery acknowledges improvements such as wellness booths, teleconferencing areas, electric shopping carts, and assisted technology devices. All aimed at making library services more accessible, inclusive, and responsive to community needs. These recognitions reflect the li ongoing efforts to evolve beyond traditional services and serve as a hub for education, access, and community connection. Congratulations to the Suffach Public Library team. And the City of Suffach Planning and Community Development Department wants residents to know that they understand how land use and reszoning can be an intimidating and sometimes confusing process. That's why they've teamed up with the city's communications department to make a fun, easy to watch instructional and educational video to

demystify the process. Let's check it out. [music] When a property owner wants to improve, build on, or develop their land in the city of Suffach, they must abide by the zoning and development regulations that apply to their property. These regulations can be found in SUFFK's unified development ordinance. If existing zoning does not permit the use the owner wants, they can request a reszoning. A reszoning or map amendment is the legislative process of changing the zoning district on the city's official zoning map so the property can be used in a different way. Most of the time, a resoning in Suffach is submitted by the property owner, a contract purchaser with the owner's written consent, or the owner's authorized agent. The request must meet the criteria and procedures set forth in the unified development [music] ordinance and the code of Virginia. Mary owns a property in Suffach and wants to develop it as a coffee shop with apartments above, but her property is not in a zoning district that allows that use. Her first step is to meet with City of Suffach staff for a presubmitt meeting. These meetings have representatives from across the city who will be available to answer questions and provide Mary with important information and feedback on what would best fit her needs and help make her proposal feasible. During this presubmitt meeting, no official decision is made. It simply allows Mary an opportunity to become familiar with the resoning process and become familiar with aspects of her application that will need to be carefully considered. Based on that discussion, Mary selects a zoning district that could work for her proposed use, such as B2, General Commercial, or CBD, Central Business District. She then submits a completed resoning application to the city. Planning staff [music] review the application for completeness to ensure all required materials are provided so that city staff can evaluate the request appropriately. Staff then review Mary's resoning request, considering factors

such as whether the proposed zoning is consistent with the city's comprehensive plan, the character of surrounding properties, community needs, and the proposal's impact to public facilities like schools, roads, water, and sewer, and emergency services. Generally, city staff will have several rounds of comments before an application is ready to be considered by the planning commission and city council. This can take several months or longer depending on the request. Once Mary answers all outstanding questions, staff prepare a report with a recommendation based on their evaluation of the application and presented to Suffix Planning Commission, which will consider the staff's recommendation. Prior to the planning commission meeting where Mary's application will be considered, notice of the request is published in a local newspaper, posted at the subject property, and sent to property owners that adjoin Mary's property to inform the public and to advertise the date of a public meeting held by the planning commission. At that meeting, community members may make comments in support of or against the reszoning request. Once the public comment period is over, the planning commission will discuss the case and make a recommendation to the [music] SUFFK city council. The planning commission's role is to provide the city council with informed recommendations on land use proposals prior to the city council making its final decision. Before city council reviews and acts on Mary's resoning request, public notice of the council's public hearing is provided. This includes updating the sign posted on the property with the council's public hearing date and publishing a notice in the newspaper. Mary's request is then considered by the city council at a zoning public hearing where the council votes to either approve, deny, or defer the request. If council approves the reszoning, the ordinance [music] is adopted and recorded and Mary's property is officially reszoned. She can then begin developing her idea into reality. You can learn more about SUFFK's land use regulations by visiting the city's planning division webpage or [music] reviewing the unified development ordinance online at www.suffukva.

us/planning. Good morning. What can I get started for you? A latte with oat milk, please. You got it.

And lastly on your screen are the many ways residents can stay connected to the city of SUFFK. Thank you and have a good night.

City Council and we're going to start with council member Wright soon as I find where you are here. There we go. Good evening. I just wanted to remind the residents of Sleepy Hole Burrow that on Saturday, April 11th, I am hosting a design and chat with our seniors 55 and over. Um, and it's an opportunity to sit to speak with me and we're going to design um a floral arrangement. The class is almost filled, but there are a few opening spots, but the registration will close on Friday. So, I'm just encouraging all to sign up. I also wanted to thank our non-aggenda speakers um for speaking today. And I have a particular question, I guess, in regards to Mr. Andrew's question regarding short-term rentals. My question there is I'm I guess I'm not clear. He said the zoning office says that it's not permitted, but yet there's no ordinance. Do we have an ordinance on short-term rentals for the city?

So, council member, our zoning ordinance, there are two types of zoning ordinances. There's one type that says all the things you're not allowed to do, and then there's the other type, which is what we have that you can't do something unless it's on our list. Okay? And that is not on our list for a residential subdivision.

Okay? So can't do it because Okay, got it. All right. Thank you. And then the last thing I wanted to say, I wanted to congratulate our treasurer for his award and acknowledgement and also the uh planning department for putting together that video. It was a very good comprehensive video that covered pretty much everything. So, with that, I will say good night, Council Member Recctor.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, Mr. Mayor, you're every time we go to events and whatnot, you're very fond of saying, and I believe you're 100% correct, that the strength of our city is our citizens. And along those lines, I'd like to pass along a story from uh the priest at our church who was in the office alone one Friday afternoon a couple of weeks ago when there was a knock at the door and uh he went and there was a gentleman there. He invited him in and sat him down. Um found out that he was a copier salesman and was going around town to the different businesses and whatnot trying to promote his business. And he said that the church was his 35th stop of the day. And he made a point of telling my priest that virtually everywhere that he had been within the city of Suffach, everyone treated him very well, treated him very kindly, treated him with respect. And he said that was very much unlike his experience in some of the other cities around Hampton Roads. So, uh, kudos to our citizens, uh, for not realizing that they were unofficial ambassadors, uh, and and I want to thank them for showing the goodwill to somebody who was just trying to out who was out just trying to make a living. Also, kind of along those lines, I attended the memorial service for uh, our friend Bill Peachy uh, who had passed away. And one of the things that I came away from that service that was mentioned during the eulogy was um Bill was known for a lot of quotes. Um but one of the quotes that they referenced that really stuck with me was he used to tell people that he knew that his home was in heaven but he was not yet homesick. Um but we believe now

obviously that that he is home. And then briefly, I want to congratulate the Suffach Elks Club on the celebration of their 125th uh anniversary. It was a well attended uh event. A lot of good people there, a lot of good speakers. If you're head of the Elks, you're referred to as the Exalted Ruler.

Um boy, if that isn't a great title, I that would make me almost want to join the Elks Club just so I could potentially become an exalted ruler. Um, I attended the Wanchese uh grant ceremony. Um, golly day, who knew that the blue catfish was such uh a bother to our local waterway ecosystems? Um, when they get ramped up, they were talking about being able to process maybe as much as 5 million pounds a year of this invasive blue catfish. And then I heard somebody else say that's a good start, but they estimate that the that there's close to a billion pounds of blue catfish in the Chesapeake Bay. So, they got a long way to go. Um, I want to thank the city for putting together that video um for the zoning process. We might also want to consider doing short little videos like that to explain some of the other processes that citizens get confused um about easily. I I thought that was very well put together. um certainly didn't cover everything, but I think it covered 95% of the important stuff that anybody that wanted to consider a reasonzoning um would would need to consider. And then finally, um Sunday is Easter Sunday. I just want to wish everybody uh a happy Easter. And with that, I'll say good night.

Council member Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. I'd [snorts] like to thank those um speakers that came out tonight and spoke. Um council is listening. We um we love to hear what your concerns are and we want you to continue to come and speak to us and let us know what your concerns are. Um I want to thank the citizens in the Wellville borrow for coming out to both of my 2026 town hall meetings and I am pleased to announce that we had a total of 115 people to attend both meetings including staff. um to the city manager and his staff. You guys did a phenomenal job and I'd like to thank you again and thank the citizens in the Wellville borrow. I also attended the Suffuk Elks Lodge number 685 125th anniversary. Um, it was a great event and I would like to commend the organization for their dedication to making a positive difference in the lives of others and to the suffer community. Uh, also to the Kingsfall High School margin band, you guys were amazing. My word for the month of April is consistency. Consistency is the reliable repeated application of discipline, actions or behaviors over time, creating stability and trust. And with that, I'll say good night.

Council member Butler.

Thank you, Mayor. Um, I want to say thank you to everybody who made presentations or who came to speak tonight. We always appreciate hearing from everyone. especially appreciate the presentation on the budget. We all have a lot of reading to do. Um but I thought that was really great and um good information and thoughtful planning and um uh just appreciate the staff's and the city manager's work on providing us with a really comprehensive budget. Um I wanted to mention the event at Wani's uh fish company. Um very exciting for me personally to have the secretary and the deputy secretary of agriculture here in Suffukk to promote um agriculture which we count aquaculture as part of that umbrella of agriculture and forestry and um that was it was a great event and I appreciate those the folks from Richmond. We also had some Virginia Tech folks so I had all my people in the house and that was great. So um a good event and um well attended and the fish was good. Um, third thing I somebody mentioned to me that I didn't say anything last time, but it's planting season. Um, equipment is hitting the road. Folks are starting to put corn in the field. Um, we're wide and we're slow. Uh, but we'll get out of your way fast. Just have a little patience and enjoy the scenery and the spring weather and the uh the nice views of rural Suffuk. Um and to all the farmers who are planting uh agriculture is in a tough situation right now with high cost and low uh potential profits and um we weather it year in and year out and I just wish everybody a good and safe planting season. And lastly, I'd like to say to all who celebrate uh happy Easter. It is Holy Week and it also I believe Passover begins today also. So, if you celebrate those holidays, I wish you all the best and I hope that you have a a good time with family or church

family or however you celebrate. And with that, I'll say good night, Council Member Bennett.

Thank you. [clears throat] I'll be kind of brief, I think, tonight. Uh, first, I would like to say thanks to all the speakers that came out tonight. And uh it's always good to get information of things that's happening in their communities and things that we can work to try and help with. Also, I attended the wine cheese um uh gathering and I think the catfish was uh really really good. So u some of the others had spoken. I I really didn't realize that they was such a big uh problem in the bay with they ate just about everything that goes out there. So I didn't realize that. I thought it was way just ate maybe a few minerals or something like that, other fish, but eat crabs and you name it. So but anyway, uh that was great and um great for uh everyone that attended. Also, I just want to ask something here. uh it's been on my mind and that we it's been brought up a couple times. Want us to think about uh Mr. James Lawrence. Uh I knew him way back for years before he got in an accident on Porson Boulevard and uh he's a part of uh getting the u redeveloping housing authority and also Parker Riddic uh village and all that. He's been was a great access in the city of Suffuk and uh the family have asked and they came to the council meeting once I know and I think uh I received an email I think other council members did as well about naming the uh uh the shelter after u Mr. Lawrence gave the name of James Lawrence on the uh homeless shelter. So, I would like for counsel and staff to take a look and see if they agree with u name Damon um the shelter

after uh James Lawrence and you I'm sure you can find a lot of information on him about things that he was involved in in the city. So, I know he did get killed on the corner of Suburban Drive and um Porch Boulevard. That's where he got killed at an accident. So I would appreciate if we take a look at that and u consider what the family have asked us to do is to name the building after him. Uh the other thing I just want to mention is uh the presentation of the budget this afternoon was great. It's a lot of information and I'm glad to know that it's online and in the library and all the other public buildings and I'm hoping that people will actually go out and take a look at it and make sure they understand what is in it. So when the public hearing come up they can come up and speak what they think and what they like about it, what they dislike about it. Uh not talk about it after it's approved about what has taken place. I hope they would have the understanding they have a voice that they can share with us uh prior to council voting to approve this. There are a few things in there. There's some u increases and uh uh so I think people want to look at it and take take uh time to understand what it's all about. If you have question, call uh any of your fellow council, my fellow council members, I would say, or city manager, someone that has the knowledge of the budget and let them explain to you whatever that you don't understand that's in the uh in the budget. So again, I hope people will take advantage of that. Also, uh, I want to say that, uh, Sheriff David Miles, uh, mother passed, lost his mother a couple days ago. And,

um, the wake is going to be, uh, tomorrow from 2 to 6:00 p.m. at Graves Funeral Home on 6 uh, 1631 Church Street, North. And the homegoing will be Friday, April the 3 at 11:00 a.m. at First Baptist Church, Gimton, 1617 Shell Road, Chesapeake, Virginia. So, my condolence go out to Sheriff Miles and his family, the loss of his mother. And again u as everyone has stated this is uh this coming Sunday's is Easter and u suffoc has started Passover this week services start at uh this week at uh first baptist Orlando each day Wednesday Thursday and Friday and it's from 12 to 1 so uh that's the citywide uh Passover they usually have each year so again uh I just want to bring that to everyone attention And with that, I would say that's all that I have at this time. Thank you,

Council Member Johnson. I don't I'm tired of coming last. You did good almost last.

I also would like to send my condolences out to Sheriff Miles. I'm I'm so sorry about his mom. Um, also would like to say to the people of the city, thank you to the city manager for what he's done with the budget and with the things that are going forward. If if we can't be any more apparent, transparent, than we are trying very diff, something's a miss because it's all out there and and uh we really want the public's input. The three speakers that came tonight, four speakers, I'm sorry. Um, thank you to all of you. um you bring us information that we need to recognize, information that makes us stop and think again about what's going forward and if there's things we need to be doing to change the way our city is. It's just like with with the um respe housing and that type of thing, we need to be aware. So, thank you. I learned something new tonight. Um in all in all four cases, um the W cheese, I was going to say something about that, too, because I was blown away by what WISE has done. If we don't think we're in an agriculture city, come on. this this fish thing is big big stuff and it's big for the a industry. It's big for the state. It's big for us. We got the big dogs here from from um Richmond and it was a very good day and we were recognized as the city that we are. We're a good city with things moving forward on all kinds of planes. I thank the EDA for their part in it and um we just got so many other things we need to be doing as well. So, I'm I'm so pleased for our city and and the fish was pretty darn good for catfish. Um 58. We're getting ready to tear 58 in sections again. I'm going to just tell my constituents, tell the people out there to recognize what's going on. They've got some more improvements to finish and it's going to be finished at some point. I promise you. But just they're posting daily as what what they're going to tear up. So just be aware, keep the speed limit down. 45 was set to start with. Let's keep it there for the time being. And please beware.

Be careful because this is be going to be going on for the next how many weeks? three to four weeks, five weeks, six weeks. It's it's a while coming up. So, just pay attention. Be safe. With that, I'll just say happy Easter everyone. Vice Mayor Ward.

Well, we He's not last. He's Anyway, uh yeah, I like I like to thank the speakers, too. I think uh like councilman said is always here uh complaints or just ideas or something like not all complaints but uh you learn something and I didn't know anything about that and uh I really appreciate them coming up because that's one of the reasons why you elect us to see what we can get things done to make suffer a better city. So I thank them and I also like to thank the budget. I think it was a good budget and and it was hand in hand when I when we first met me and the mayor and you and you knocked knocked her out the park and especially with uh the city managers coming up and making it easy for us to really comprehend what's about to be presented. So that was a good job to me manager. Thank you so much for that. Um, I got a couple of things I I didn't know about D Sheriff Davis M's mother, but he got my he got my condolence with his family. There's a couple of people I wanted to mention. Uh, Harvey Clark. A lot of people know Harvey Clark and you know how he was. You either like him, love him or hate him, but I consider him a friend of mine when I first came to Suffuk. Um, and Harvey Clark was one of the first guys that he really came to let me know who was what, who was who, who didn't do this, what community did that. So, I really think Harvey Clark and don't think it was a friendship that we didn't argue. He everybody, but he had some good ideas and some of his ideas I still use. So, Clark family have my condolence. Um, I don't know if y'all y'all remember Rhys Spears. Reese Spears was used to be working for the Suffuse Harrow and I always remember the first

day he came and we was an event at the old hotel on Route 10 and he was taking pictures and um and I was telling him what to take cuz he didn't know the people in in in the meeting. But anyway, uh from then on we became friends and um I think that on he went to out the country with Jamaica, Bahamas, he went there and seen the living of that that that that country and I think he became a minister. I think he might have preached in service. So my condolence go out to Reese who I considered a friend. um city manager I have you know is the weather have changed and um I I'm start walking again so I always complain about that on college drive uh right across from Bank of America them leaves and and branches all up there and you had to duck your head and all this type of stuff could you know I complain about all the time so possible way y'all going just cut that down for people who got baby carriage and stuff like that don't have to go in the street. So I appre I appreciate that. I want to uh thank uh Mr. Harry Com for doing a great job what he do for the city and uh for the social social service. I think that uh he's a good person that we have and like people say it's not us it's the people and he's one of the people that shines in this city and I thank him so much for the things that he have done you know cuz I will test you and I did test and he passed flying colors and I thank him for that and I also want to thank Brandon Rogers uh he also have uh been tested with me and I think he doing a great job and he do listen and he did

get response. It's not like you don't get in contact with somebody and they take months to get back with you. So I don't think that's a that's a good job or you if your leadership do the do the job and I really appreciate them two guys. Um I want to thank um Miss uh Miss Council Samisha Council. She's a president of a a group and uh she allowed me and Mr. Johnny Edwards to talk about redistricting especially in Suffuk and uh it was a very good meeting. If you know Johnny Edwards, he can break it down to the letter and the response we got, we receive because like it or not, when you talk about redistrib, I think we hold that crown. We understand what goes on in the city of Suffuk. So, I really appreciate her appreciate her contacting us and allow us to talk with her group and the people they had on Facebook. It was a lot of people I found out later on. And uh it make you feel real good when people understand that, you know, we got the best not only people, but we have our heart for the city of Suffuk. And so when we share about redistricting, we know the ins and outs and we know the numbers. And that's what's that's what's important, the numbers. So I thank her and her group. I don't want to misquote her name of the group, but Miss Council know that uh I respect them and I thank her so much for being a part of that. And I want to ask you this question. City manager, the adult apartment, is it full already or people are in there? Because I see fences going around. I don't Are

you referring to the shelter? Yeah, shelter. No shelter. Yes, it's very active. Um last check it was at full capacity.

Great. Great. I I've been seeing the work out there and I was just seeing uh what they fooled yet. I'm glad to see that. Thank you so much for the great idea. Um with that, I will say uh God bless. Okay, I'll go ahead and wrap it up. Uh I want to start by offering my condolences to Sheriff Miles and his family on the passing of his mom and uh also my condolences to the family of Reese Spears who was very active in the paper. I believe he was the editor when I was first elected and responsible for covering the majority of uh news that was coming out of the council chambers and I think he moved on from there and did some missionary work and has been back in town and participated in a couple of uh ribbon cutings and some other activities. So I know he'll be missed. um the gentleman that came out and spoke about the Airbnb and uh uh short-term rentals and what have you if it's something that you know we need to look at uh just to try to be proactive get ahead of it because we are a growing city and as we've come to learn if if it's you know it's coming to SUFFK whatever it is is going to be coming to Suffach so we might as well get ahead of it so we'll we'll make sure that we do take a look at that uh in the near future And then if it looks like it needs some work, we'll get it to the planning commission on ordinances. There's a little process to it, then the planning commission, then back to us with some recommendations. So that's how that process would work. Uh there's actually been quite a lot going on the last week or so. We talked about the ribbon cutings, so I'm not going to belabor them again, but we got a lot of folks that want to come and do business in our city, and rightfully so. Uh the wine cheese thing was didn't seem like a big deal when I first asked about it. How can catfish be such a big deal? You know, big old slimy fish. But anyhow, uh this this the state came up with almost

a quarter million dollars. And I think what gets lost in the translation is kind of a the money that went to wine cheese was to facilitate the processing of the fish. So what it does is it it makes it easier to bring it to market. So when it's easier to bring to market then it becomes a market for the fishermen to actually an incentive to catch the fish to bring them to one cheese they process the fish and then it's going hopefully it's going to end up on a restaurant plate somewhere or in the grocery store. So it's it's a whole chain you know it's it's conservation and economics in the same in the same breath. it doesn't happen that much, but in this case it does. So, we're fortunate that W Cheese was there and we're fortunate that we had the support uh the folks that got involved in one maybe the folks that got involved in that process as far as facilitating the whole thing. Uh my hats off to them. Uh the Elks Club, the 125th anniversary, as some co-ount, my council members have uh mentioned it. It was very well attended 12th 25th anniversary. Our congresswoman Jen Kiggins was there as well. Uh they recognized uh James Butler who was one of the well I think his father grandfather started Butler Paper Company, but it was they honored him for two things. Number one, he'd been a elk member for 67 years, but he also just had his 100th birthday. And um I mean if if I could even dream of being a condition he was in at 100, I mean it's just amazing. So, it accomplished a couple of things. The Kings Fork Marching Band was great. Just a very good event. Uh, I attended a gala, the culture arts center. Council member Bennett was there also, nursing CAP, and I think they've been around for a few years, but I really wasn't familiar with

the organization. And it was I mean, the event itself was was off the chart. But what they do they serve as they encourage youth, they mentor youth, they counsel youth and try to guide them in pursuing a health profession in the health uh sector. And it's very one-on-one. I got to speak to several of the past participants from two and three years ago and they've been mentored and some of them have graduated school. They're still in school, but they're also they already have a job in the in the health field. So, I wish them well in their future endeavors. Yesterday, I went to the YMCA. They opened up a new teen center uh which is very much needed. Uh it's upstairs and it's devoted to nothing but activities and an opportunity for teens to get together after school. I think from there till closing. And they also are working hand inand collaboratively with four kids. So these families that are being accepted in four kids if they have teens it also gives the teens something to do which they really didn't have. I mean four kids doesn't have they're more equipped to handle younger kids but not teens. So I appreciate them working together. Once again alluding to what council member Rector said. I mean, one of the one of the things that makes us great is our community, our our volunteer organizations, our citizens, and these are examples that are going on. You know, they're going on every day. You may not know about it, but they are going on every single day. So, I want to thank them for what they're doing. And with that budget presentation, I'm going to mention that. If you didn't see the work session, it's worth a look. Look at the budget. It's in there. Great job. We've had some excellent budget presentations over the last years that I've been

involved in them. If this wasn't the best one, it's pretty close. And in how it was presented, it's clear. It's concise. It covers everything. It has significant numbers that you can look and see how we compared other localities. And what's most notable, and after reviewing what's going on in a few of the other cities, and I brought this up earlier, is that, you know, we've got some challenges ahead right now. The economy is uncertain. We're talking about tariffs. We're talking about who knows where fuel prices go. And as long as fuel prices stay up, everything else is going up because everything's got to get from point A to point B before it gets to you. And that usually takes fuel. So, unfortunately, it's going to affect everybody. Hopefully, it won't be for long. But even with that being said, and with us being fiscally conservative, which we've always been, which creates, and we we talked about a surplus, but it's not a surplus. You know, when you have a surplus of money, it means you have money you don't know what to do with it. Well, believe me, we know what to do with millions and millions and millions of dollars of needs. I mean, we take $400 million to build schools for everything that they wanted. This just one example I'm not picking on. So it's not a surplus. What it is is surplus revenue over what was budgeted the year before. So it's a surplus over budget which means that you budget conservatively. You budget for lower revenues than you predict and you budget for a little higher expenses than what what you feel may come about. So we don't have any surprises. that we were able to maintain all the level of services that we've had, improve upon the level of services we have. We're hiring more people. We're putting 60% of it almost back into law enforcement and public safety in schools. That's where 60 cents out of

every dollar is going to that. So, we're able to do all these things because we have been very fiscally conservative and good stewards of the citizens money. we're getting returns on our money and because of that we can continue to offer these services and at the same time we're also offering some tax relief and I don't think there's there may be another locality that is going to provide some type of real estate uh reduction and ours isn't much but it's something and you put that together with the last four out of five years you know we've already have the third lowest tax rate and we're lowering it a little bit more So, we're doing what we can. I'm very proud of everybody that was involved. Everybody that's involved. It's not just putting the budget together. But one reason that we can be fiscally be in this position is that our employees, our management, and city manager on down, we're doing I feel like we're doing the most we can with the resources we have and we continue to improve upon it. So, as long as we're heading in that direction and we're going to be a well, we already in a very envious position, but the trend is going to continue that way. So, with that being said, um I think it's time to ask for a motion to adjurnn. Let me see if I can find a volunteer. Oh, look, I found one. Council member Wright.

Motion to adjurnn. First one to hit the button, too. Weren't you? We got a motion to adjourn for Council Member Wright. Followed by Council Member Williams. Second, ma'am. Any discussion of the motion? Anybody wants to say stay? Let me know. Okay. Hearing none, council members prepare to vote. Please cast your vote. Madam clerk, kindly record the vote. The motion is approved by vote of 8 to zero. This meeting stands adjourned.