City Council - Regular Meeting

social media or website and and those others that might be joining us on those meetings. So, thank you very much. Uh we're now down to additions andor deletions. Mr. City Manager, thank you, Mayor Council. Unfortunately, I'm going to add to the agenda tonight, not take away from the agenda. Sorry. Um, I'd like to add 7 C under your regular agenda, which would be a consideration of a road closure ordinance for spring days for Saturday, May 2nd. This is a request by the Chamber of Commerce. And I would also like to add 7D, which is cons which is consideration of employee health plan for fiscal year 2027. I'll explain the details when we get there. And I'd like to um add a close session as number nine and re number from that point on. And that close session will be for personnel and for real estate matters. Those are my additions request. Okay. You've heard this these additions. So, what's the pleasure of council with regard to the agenda?

Mr. Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve the agenda as amended by our city manager. Second. We have a motion second. Any discussion? You may record your vote.

Okay. waiting on two more.

Yeah, Lisa turn

always Okay, we have seven affirmative and no negative votes. So, the agenda has been approved. So, we're down to item three, public forum. We've had one uh speaker to sign up tonight. If you would come, uh uh Tony DS, come to the podium, please, and state your name and your uh subject for the clerk, please.

I'm Tony DS. I'm here to speak on behalf that I'm running for county commissioner and I would like to address the mayor and the city council members and all the constituents. Um my family's been in this community for three generations. We've had uh business owners for three generations. I um I've lived here all my life. I plan to live here the rest of my life. I want to ask and a lot of uh Thomasville natives don't understand that as a uh primary they can vote in the primary for the county uh commissioners and I've heard it several times. Oh, I'm in the city. You can vote as a city in the county election. Um we've got a lot of nice candidates. Uh there's four incumbent I mean three incumbents. We're running for four spots. There's 12 of us. Uh early voting started a few days ago and March 3rd is the uh final vote and I would love to have your support and thank you for the time. Does anyone have any questions? No questions heard. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, council.

Thank you very much.

We're now down to item four, public hearing. This is regarding the $950,000 community development block grant to assist with the redevelopment of Carver Park and the Reggie Strickland Community Center. I'll declare the public hearing open and I would ask anyone that would like to speak in favor of this to come to the podium. I think our recreation director is going to address us first. Good evening, mayor and council. I'm Corey. I'm the parks and recreation director, and I'm here to support to seek support for the CDBG neighborhood revitalization amendment. Um, this opportunity came from our administration recognizing a way to redirect existing funds to use to improve and support the Regional Strickland Center and Carver Park enhancement project that's underway. Uh currently the RFQ for design is out for architects and seeking those folks. We look forward to that becoming a community initiative to talk to our community about what they'd like to see with a new facility while honoring the history. Um this park has and center have been have a strong history in our community where generations of kids have played, families have gathered and community pride grew and continues to grow. Investing here means a safer and new and better space for recreation and community connection. Let's honor the park's history and build upon it because strong neighborhoods um start with strong gathering places. Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Is there anyone else who would speak uh for? Not seeing anyone. Would anyone like to speak against? Okay. Not seeing anyone. Uh this public hearing was to give the public a chance to uh speak out on this project. So this will take uh we'll go move forward from here. So I declare this public hearing closed. We're now down to item five recognitions uh and presentations. The first one will be proclamation recognizing Black History Month for February. This will be done by council member Erica Sanders. And I think uh Wendy Sellers will come and receive this. Okay. The proclamation Black History Month February 2026. Whereas Black History Month is the op observance of a special period of time to recognize the achievements and contributions of African-Americans to our city, state, and nation. And whereas the obser observance presents the special opportunity to become more knowledgeable about black heritage and to honor the many black leaders who have played a part in the progress of our county. And whereas such knowledge can strengthen the insight of all our citizens regarding the issues of human rights, the great strides that have been made in the crusade to eliminate the barriers of equality for minority groups in the continuing struggle against racial discrimination and poverty. And whereas

as a result of their determination, hard work, intelligence, and perseverance, African-Americans have achieved exceptional exceptional success in all aspects of society, including business, education, politics, science, athletics, and the arts. And now, therefore, Raleigh York Jr., Mayor of the city of Thomasville, North Carolina, hereby proclaims February 2026 as Black History Month, and encourages all citizens to participate in the educational and celebratory events honoring the contributions and accomplish accomplishments of African-Americans. Adopted this this 16th day of February, 2026. Raleigh York Jr. Mayor, city of Thomasville attest Wendy Martin, city clerk to Wendy Salace.

Thank you. Thank you for all your hard work and everything. God bless you. Just say one thing.

Yes. Okay. Thank you so much, uh, Mr. Mayor and the council members for this proclamation. It really means a lot. Um, on behalf of myself, Anthony Long, and uh, Shelley Johnson, um, we greatly appreciate this proclamation. This will be our ninth Black History Month program that we have hosted here in Thomasville. This year, it would be held at Ballpark Community Center uh, this Thursday, uh, February 19th. We will have a viewing of all of our displays. Great uh African-Americans right here from the city of Thomasville that have done exceptional things in our community uh in our county and in our state will be on display. And then we'll also have um a black excellence awards program where we uh recognize great strides and great um offerings that African-Americans have done in our community. and that will be at 7 pm. So, I hope you can come out. Thank you, Corey, for always being ex accessible for us to have our program. We appreciate it so much. Thank you. Cameron, would you like to join me, please?

Is there anybody else here? Yeah. Anybody from the committee that would like to come up, come on up. While you're coming up, I'd just like to say, Erica, you did a great job. This is her first opportunity to read one of these at a meeting and she's one of our new members on council. So, she did a great job this evening. Yeah, please do. Please do. So, this is a new group that's coming together.

And uh so we we're going to do this proclamation now uh in celebration of America's 250th anniversary. Whereas the year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, a historic milestone that honors the courage, vision, and sacrifice of those who established our nation. And whereas the America 250 initiative invites communities across the country to reflect on our shared history, celebrate our achievements, and inspire future generations to uphold the principles of liberty, justice, and democracy. And whereas Thomasville, North Carolina, proudly joins in commemorating this significant occasion, recognizing the contributions of our citizens to the growth and prosperity of our city, state, and nation. And whereas this anniversary provides an opportunity to honor the ideals that unite us, the uh to engage in civic dialogue and to reaffirm our commitment to building a stronger, more inclusive future for all. Now therefore, I, Raleigh York, Jr., mayor of the city of Thomasville hereby proclaims the year 2026 as the 250th anniversary of the United States of America and encourages all residents to participate in activities and events that celebrate our nation's history and heritage adopted this 16th day of February 2026 signed Raleigh York Jr. mayor of city of Thomasville and a test by Wendy Martin, our city clerk. So, we're looking for a lot of good activities to take place during this year. I'm going to let Cameron tell you a little bit about this group and how maybe you can participate. So, Cameron,

take it away.

Oh, thank you. I didn't know I was going to speak today, but uh we're really grateful to uh Wendy, Katon, Denise, and uh the mayor, a couple of the council members as well that are helping us out with this initiative. It's going to be uh quite a festive and patriotic year with lots of really fun things coming up. So, um if you have any ideas and you want to share them, uh we're working on a Facebook page and an Instagram and we're going to be putting all that out there soon. Right now, we're working on getting our logo, which is uh being created by one of our students in one of our high schools right now. We don't know which one yet because we're having a logo contest. So, as soon as that uh logo contest is finished with our high schoolers, we're going to pick a winner and then we'll uh start putting things out there. So, be on the lookout for some really exciting stuff this year. And thank you so much for your support, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you. Thank you very much. and and all of you join in and participate in the activities. Help plan. If you have an idea, let Cameron know of something that would be good for us to do during this year to honor our country. So, the greatest country in the world, we have opportunities here, greatest town in the world, Thomasville, too. So, this is for you and the committee as we move forward. And thank you very much and thank all of y'all. You got it.

Our next proclamation will be proclamation recognizing women's history month and this will be presented by council member Dana Lomba. And I think uh someone is here to accept that in the audience. Is that right? Nancy Leisure. Nancy Leisure. Yeah. Nancy. Miss Nancy.

Hey, how are you? Good.

A proclamation by the mayor for Women's History Month 2026. Whereas women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways. Whereas women were important in the establishment of early charitable, philanthropic, and cultural institutions in the nation. They contribute a significant portion of the labor force, served our country courageously in military, and have played and continue to play critical economic, cultural, and social roles in every sphere of our life. And whereas women have served our country in early leaders in the forefront of every major progressive social change and movement, not only in securing our own rights in suffrage and equal opportunity, but also in the abolitionist movement, emancipation movement, industrial labor movement, and civil rights movement and peace movement and other movements which create a more fair and just society for all. Whereas despite their these con contributions, the role of women in history have been constantly overlooked and undervalued. And whereas the city of Thomasville Council is committed to working within the layers of our community to pro promote understanding, enhance knowledge, seek opportunity and all, and encourage acknowledgement of those who work for the betterment of their neighbors. And now, therefore, Raleigh York Jr., Mayor of City of Thomasville, North Carolina is honored to declare March 2026 Women History Month in Thomasville. And he calls upon all residents to observe the month by participating and supporting all activities celebrating and contri contributions of women. and within whereof I have here unto set my

hand affixed the seal the city of Thomasville, North Carolina the 16th of February 2026. Thank you.

Do you want this? Yes. Okay.

I want to say thank you uh Mr. Mayor and to all the city council members. um the city of Thomasville, Parks and Wreck, um and so many of you in this audience um for supporting Sisters of Hope. Uh we are a a nonprofit women support group here uh located in Thomasville. We've been here for about uh four years now. Um we also go to the prison and we also help the women in our community. Uh what we do is offer whole life recovery, rediscovery, care, coaching and mentorship for the women. Um, here we are in process of opening a a transitional house for women who are coming out of incarceration. Um, I'm sorry. Um, we uh have a few things coming up for fundraisers. Uh, we have information here. If you're interested in that, you can go on our website at www.sistersofhopinc.com and find out all the events that we have coming up. We would love your support on this. We also are partnering with um Awakening New Life Movement to start a recovery support group for women here in Thomasville at his dwelling place. It's going to be on Fridays. So if you know anyone who is in need of support, those who have had any addictions or had a bout with addictions, any trauma, things of that nature, and any loved ones who have um loved ones who, you know, they need support as well because an addict is just not an addict by itself. When one person is sick in the family, the whole family is sick. So if we can help people healed and get and become whole, um we can change some things, guys. we can change the next generation, especially these kids because a lot of women who are homeless and and um are addicts, they come with kids. So, just think about that and I just want to leave you with that. But I say thank

you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

fund a tax collection department for less than what they're proposing to charge us for this service, but it will be an increase. Davidson County. Sorry, I didn't realize I was so far away. Uh Davidson County is charging more for taxes for tax collection uh in the coming years. Uh the first year will be approximately 50 to 60,000 more uh in the next fiscal year and that will rise over the next two years to 1.5% of our total tax value. Okay, I defer to council for action on this item. Mr. Mayor, I make a motion that we approve the advalorum for the Davidson County Tax Office. Uh just so everybody knows, we can't fund this for the amount that they're charging us. We couldn't hire the people and do this ourselves. So, they kind of got us over a barrel. We really don't have a whole lot of choice in this matter. So, if we tried to hire it, it' cost us even more money. So, uh, with that being said, I make a motion to approve.

Is there a second? I'm seconding under duress because I have something to say in discussion, but I'll wait. Okay. So, we have a motion to second now. Is there any discussion?

Yes. So, the county is committed to bringing the fee that they're charging their municipalities up to the level of other uh counties in North Carolina. They are not willing, at least right now, to adjust their tax rate to be anywhere near what other counties are willing to do. So, they're having to come up with resources that they don't have because they're struggling to retain staff that they need. And this is a drop in the bucket. It's not really going to affect them. It's going to affect the city. So, you're going to hear a lot about tax rates and revaluations and everything in the coming months. I just want people to be aware that the taxes that we pay fund our police and our fire and our city manager and our parks and recreation. And in the county, they fund health and human services and all kinds of other important things, transportation. And when we don't have a a substantial enough tax rate, we don't get those services and the county has to find those dollars elsewhere. So, in my opinion, I think that's part of why this is happening now. And I think it's really uncool that they are nickel and dimming their municipalities. But I am going to vote for it because we don't have another choice.

Okay. Is there any further discussion?

Okay. You may record your vote. I have uh six uh yes and I have one no. Uh Council Member Johnson, this has been approved. We're now down to item B, consideration of an ordinance to repair or demolish 212 East Sunrise Avenue. Mr. city manager. I apologize. Um the planning and community development uh department has determined that the property located at 212 uh East Sunrise Avenue is in derelic condition and they have attempted to work with the property owner to restore that property. uh and the property owner has uh not been able to perform the upgrades necessary to the property and so they are requesting that you adopt this ordinance to repair or demolish uh under order of the council uh which would give the opportunity for the owner to make a repair if in the next 30 days make plans for repair and if not we would move to demolish the building using uh city funds and then place a lean on the property if not paid.

Okay. What's the pleasure of council with regard to this item? Mr. Mayor, I'll I'll make a motion to approve the ordinance to repair or demolish 212 East Sunrise Avenue, sir. Okay, we have a motion to second. Now, is there any discussion? Just to clarify, uh, Mr. City Manager, no one currently resides at this residence, right? No, it's not a residence. It's a commercial property. Any further questions or discussion? I'll just thank our code enforcement department. They do not have an easy job, but they're working really hard to help identify some buildings that we can take care of. Should have been tore down a long time ago

and we're doing it. Mhm. Anything else?

Okay, you may record your vote. So, this vote is 70. So that has been approved unanimously. Uh item C is road closure for May the 2nd for spring days. Mr. City Manager. Okay. You should have an ordinance before you. Um a the city, excuse me, uh East Main Street is a NC DOT maintained street and they require 60-day notice when we uh close those uh NC DOT streets. So, this is a request from the Chamber of Commerce to close uh the um uh East Main Street between uh R uh Salem and and uh Memorial Park Drive for uh spring days, which is scheduled for May 2nd, which is a Saturday. It's also the start of our farmers market. Uh and um we have to present this to the NC DOT as soon as possible. So, that's why it was placed on your agenda this evening. Okay. Having heard this, what's the pleasure of councel?

Mr. Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve um the spring days um road closure ordinance for May 2nd from 6:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Is there a second? Second.

Okay, I have a motion, a second. Any discussion? Okay, you may record your vote. And we have 70. So that has been unanimously approved. We're now down to item D, consideration of U the of health plan for 2027. Mr. City Manager, thank you. Uh you're being handed out uh the updated information about our health plan for fiscal year 2027. Uh as as we discussed at our budget workshop a few weeks ago, our uh health plan uh costs are projected to rise by 10% this year, which is significantly higher than in previous years. As as many of you know, we've are part of a consortium uh called NCHIP, which is managed by Gallagher Group. Um we typically have a increase in uh employee insurance of about 4% every year. We usually beat the market uh pretty substantially uh comparatively to what we've seen before. However, the uh GLP1 medications have really affected the uh the cost of insurance and many health plans are making steps to remove the GLP1s from their uh uh drug prescription formulary processes to reduce the price. Uh when we discussed this at our budget retreat a few weeks ago, uh the council said that they weren't really willing to do that. Uh however, we went back to our Gallagher group and ne and tried to work on what we could potentially do. Uh and

so what they are basically proposing is a 7.6% 6% increase with an agreement that we remove the GLP1 drugs for the purposes of weight loss only for weight loss. If they're for diabetes or any other system, then they would stay in then they would be on the medical plan. for the weight loss, which right now is a very small percentage of our insurance carrier uh members, we would offer a $300 prescription co-pay that we would pay per month. If an employee is using the medication as a weight lossonly drug, then they would have the option to to switch from an injectable to the oral version of the weight loss medication um and only pay more than likely would pay $50 themselves out of pocket and then we would pay 300. So it's a $300 benefit to the employee every month. So that's a instead of being a $350 a month insurance pay that the employee would be paying, there would be just a $50. Now, if they choose to stay on the injectable, that cost is anywhere from $900 to $1,200. They we would only cover $300 of that. But if they wanted to stay on it, then they could cover it. Uh but there is an oral version of it that is much less expensive. And so what they're proposing is is that we would move uh those 15 individuals that are currently on it and it it'll change throughout the year as their doctors prescribe but um we would pay for that separately in a different

category which would help us reduce the cost of our insurance increase uh but still provide the coverage at a very reasonable rate uh for the employee. So that's what we're proposing. We have to make this decision now because uh we have to go into the process of of setting all this up for the next fiscal year. So, we have to make a decision by the end of the month. Oh, I'm sorry. Can I talk? Go ahead and ask a question. I was going to ask if we could put this back on committees, but y'all need to know in February. Yeah. Regrettable. When we had our retreat, the council consensus was not to change anything,

right? The the difference would be right now what we were expecting an increase of 144,000 at 4%. At 6% it's 216,000 increase. For 10% increase it's 360,000. By going to this plan we can save about $60,000. Um and we're probably going to face this next year also. So, it's a so the these GLP ones are really really affecting the market um and trying to balance this out and we felt like this is this is a proposal that re significantly reduces the cost um that for the employee if the employee changes to the oral version of the medication um and uh and keeps it at $50. Their typical uh prescription co-pay for this is $35 right now.

So, I just want to make sure I understand when we talked about this at the retreat, what we expected it to increase if we didn't change anything is actually much higher. Well, it's 10% which is what we talked about at at retreat. But there's a way to reduce that a little bit if we target the individuals that are on that and still give them a significant benefit. they still get the coverage. Um, w we'll pay for the majority of it. They just have to make a decision to go to the oral verse the injectable.

Want to make a point. Things are expensive. This is why we pay taxes to pay for people's healthcare who work for the city and do what we need them to do because I I would like to not change anything.

I have zero desire to change as well. Personally, I I appreciate uh Michael for giving us flexibility because my hesitation being fully transparent during the retreat was this very much thing that the increase we know is going to be drastic typically about 4% going all the way up to 10 10%. We're seeing how much exactly that number is affecting on our actual budget and that's a big chunk. So, this flexibility will allow for our community that are or our members that are on the plan that are using the U GP1 to continue that. But again, what we're even talking about with council giving us that flexibility to be able to not have to be stuck with this bill at the end. And so, personally, I think this is a really good move. It gives our employees an opportunity to make options for themselves and their own personal lives while still ensuring that we are being very cognizant about how much this is costing the taxpayers. Okay. Right.

I need to know. I need a I need a decision. I need a motion. Okay. What I need is at this time is a motion on this item. So, do I have a motion? Mr. Mr. Mayor, I make a motion that we approve the consideration that was presented by our city manager for our NCIP funding rate request to allow for the flexibility of both programs. I don't understand which one are you saying?

So, as presented by our city manager, that will allow for our options for the GBP1, but not making sure. Yeah. Option renewal for this one, the black one. If you flip over your page, there's an option one, which is the GLP1 coverage through RX Save Card. That shows you how much it'll be um averaged out $32,000 in a $4,500 set aside per month. That's a per month rate that we're paying. When you're talking about the deficit for the coming years, what number did you use to plug in there for that deficit? We were using a 6% at that time.

All right. And I'm going to amend that motion to include it to approve for option one for GDLP1 coverage uh through RXA card which will allow for that 7.6%. So there'll be a 3.6 increase over what they were saying the 4%. Okay. Okay. We have a motion on the floor. Do I have a second? I Okay, we have a motion to second. Now is there any further discussion? I I just want to say one one thing about it. Um

um for the I think it's good for people that have diabetes or got some real stress issues with their health, but I also think that um we need to try to save some money, too. So, I like I'm I'm both ways. I feel that is needed for people who got different different um health problems, but then on one side I feel like we need to save money too.

I definitely agree with you, Councilwoman. I think this will be a really good way for us to ensure um like what we were talking about um that the this medication while it is very helpful for our community with folks that are suffering with high blood pressure, diabetes, and other pre-existing conditions with under this coverage plan, it would allow for them to still be able to receive that medication. Uh but for the folks that do not have those pre-existing conditions, uh if they would like to get under the coverage of this medication, it would allow for them to do that at a at a little bit higher of a rate while not costing the taxpayers money because at the end of the day, this is the taxpayers's dollars that we are uh considering to spend at this extremely high rate. We know we have to do it. Um but personally, this seems like the best option. I I'm not going to say we need to save money on employee healthcare because I just don't think that we do. I think that there are other avenues and options and I've never been on a GLP1. I take a medicine every six weeks via infusion and I've had to stop taking it multiple times because my insurance changes and that's really messed up. and now we're talking about doing that to our own people. Um, regardless of how we feel about the medicine or how much it costs, it's it's directed by a physician and I don't think that we should be standing in between that.

Can we um hear what you have to say about you said that y'all was going to um have some benefits for them. They the people that's on it will get benefits, right? They're not coverage. You're not going to totally lose everything. So, let's talk about that. So, they will get a prescription card. They will get a prescription card that has a $300 value every month. Okay.

If they stay with an injection, injections cost between $900 and and $1,100. So, they would the the individual would be responsible for the difference between the 300 and whatever their insurance would cover. Um, so that's that's yes, that's a significant amount of money. However, there is a GLP-1 oral medication that has come out by one of the companies that makes the GLP1 that is charging $350. Um, so we would cover $30 of that $350. Right now, if you're on the medication, it's being covered uh with a $35 pharmacy co-pay. So, it's only $15 more.

So, how much would they have to pay? The ones that $50 if they switch to the oral if how much would they have to pay if they don't switch to the oral? It could be $800 or more dollars. Oh, yeah. So, and the and the pill form is only one type of GLP1. I'm not a doctor, but I read and I the pill is just one kind of GLP-1. There's multiple kinds and if you're switching between kinds, they might not be as effective. And the injectable versus the pill, the efficacy is different.

And we're not we're not our employees doctors. So, I feel like if we're saying, "Here, take this medicine now. We're not going to pay for it." I personally I I can't support that. If the oral doesn't work, if the oral doesn't work, they're going to have to go back to the shot that was working and they can't afford that. So, they're going to be without the medication. Period. If it doesn't work and then they'll be back on their heart medicine. Correct. They're going to be back on their heart medicine. They're going to be back on cuz

I went on it. I'm not ashamed to tell people I went on it. I have come off of my asthma medicine because I no longer have to use it because I lost weight. I no longer have to worry about my blood pressure skyrocketing and taking blood pressure medication. I can keep that under control by taking this by keeping my weight under control. And it's it's not about well quit eating because it's not that simple. Okay. I just can't do that to my employees. Last question. Uh Mr. City manager, if we don't move with this, where would the 60,000 be coming from? Like, where is it?

Well, it would come from somewhere. I don't know at this point in the budget where it would come from. Sorry about that. I I don't know exactly where in the budget because we're still early in the budget process. I mean, granted, we have a large budget, so $60,000, we'll find it somewhere. Uh, but it means that something won't get funded quite as much as it as it would be. I mean, that's those are the decisions that we would make. Okay. Anything else? Everybody ready to vote? Okay. Hold on just a minute. Let me Oh, did you want to say something? Let let me let me go back and start over. Mayor Dana's gonna say something. Okay, go ahead.

I'm sorry. I was gonna say that our employees do work hard for our city. Somebody needs to turn one off. There's four on.

Yeah, it's it won't do but before at a time. I was going to say that our city employees, they work really hard for us and to take their meds away from them that are working to go to a pill form that might not work and then have to go back and then have to spend all this money and then have to go back on medications for their heart, cholesterol, and whatnot. I just I don't I don't agree with that. I think we need to support our employees as much as possible. Okay. Since y'all said all day, which I didn't know,

that if he can find if they can find that $60,000 and it won't hurt anything, why not keep it? These are and this is budget season. These are the concessions that we make. So, if we as a council up here decide that we don't want to save our money this way, just be prepared. In a couple months, Michael will be like, "Well, now you got to save money this way." But they do it every time. So, okay. It'll work out fine. All right.

Okay. Let's uh I'm going to start the vote. And so, you may vote. If you if you vote for the motion, you'll be voting to give give those that are taking that medication a $300 card per month to pay for whichever medication they want to. And if you vote against, then you will be your vote will be that you do not want to go to that. You want to leave it like it is with full coverage to employees. So you may record your vote. Okay, we have one yes and six nos. The yes was council member Johnson. The rest were nos. So we will leave it like it was as uh with full coverage. I would preer prefer a second vote that's in the affirmative uh for

Do I have a motion? So move. Is there a second? Second. Second. Okay. Any discussion? I will say this real quick. I am extremely proud to serve on a city council who values our employees. This is a service that we should provide. anything that we can do to help improve the lives of our employees who dedicate a ton of time to serving us. That's all I want to say. And

I definitely want to make sure that um as myself, my vote is very clear. It's not about not supporting our employees. It's about understanding that there are 15 people that are utilizing this service and is affecting the vast majority of all of our employees on the Thomasville City Council or Thomasville City. And so what my no vote was in that respect is understanding that because again with this medication while we are not doctors it is not an end- all beall save all solution eventually they are taken off this medication and if they don't know about how to eat healthy about doing things that actually reduce your weight then that will result in them having to be back on this medication. So let me be very clear. I support our employees a thousand% and all the hard work they do. But that's why I voted no and we'll be voting no again.

Okay. Is there any more discussion? I just want to say that um I just want to thank each and every one of y'all for all everything that y'all saying and doing. Um the reason why I ch I I'm saying yes only because I feel that if they can find it to be able to keep it then I will go for that and that's why I said yes.

Okay. All right. You may record your vote. Okay, I have a vote of six yes and one no. The no is council member Johnson. So, it has been approved to continue the coverage as it was and as uh the instructions were given at the retreat. Okay, we're now down to our committee reports and appointments. So, we'll start this evening with Mayor Pro Tim Hunter Thrift.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, on behalf of the personnel finance committee, I'd like to make a motion uh to appoint Neil Grimes to the ABC board, Larry Dar, Crystal Hodes, David Stanley, and Alyssa Cross to the beautifification committee. Scott Hunt to golf committee, Mary Sullivan, Austin Hill, Cheryl Jeff to historic preservation with Raymond Bridges serving as the alternate member on historic preservation. Jane Hill and Carl Shatley to planning and zoning. Justin Finch, Scott Styers, and Nancy Stton to parks and recreation board and Heather Warren and Davi Shukla to the tourism commission. And that is a motion coming from personnel finance. Second.

Okay, we have a motion second. Any discussion? Okay, you may record your vote. We have 70. So, those appointments have been approved.

Thank you. Um, I do want to mention a few things coming up this month. On March 14th, Communities and Schools of Thomas will host our annual fundraiser and we're trying something new this year. Uh, we're calling it Survey says because I can't call it Family Feud, but it is a play on Family Feud where we will have u some celebrity contestants from around our community come and they will uh compete against each other and it'll be held at the Thomasville Women's Club at 6 p.m. Our tickets are for sale online. We're looking for sponsorships. We'd love to have uh as many of you attend as you can. All of the money made from that uh goes directly to serving our students in Thomasville City Schools. Um another fundraiser coming up is the uh North Carolina Memorial Day parade and ceremony pancake breakfast uh which will be Saturday, March 21st from 7 to 11 at Central Wesleyan Church uh 300 HLE Street. Uh and it is uh pancake breakfast is all donationbased. though we'd love to have you all come and uh eat with us on the 21st. And I will let that stand as my I did submit a copy of my activities to the clerk and I will let that stand as my report.

Thank you very much. Uh Council Member Payton Williams. I did not submit a copy of my activities to Wendy. I was on a real streak. I'll get it back. I'll send it to you tonight. Um happy Black History Month. I think it's really poetic that we are moving forward with the Strickland Center project in February and I'm very excited to see uh what becomes of that building because it's long overdue and I'm grateful for the council for um putting it forward and moving it forward now and for all the support that it has in the community. I think it's really great and I'll let that stand as my report. Thank you. Uh council member Lisa Shell.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor. I have submitted a copy of my activities report. Um, congratulations to everybody that received all the proclamations tonight. Um, I'm excited about the Strickland Center. Um, there's a lot of history there and it needs the renovation and the love that it deserves and I will let that stand as my report. Thank you, Council Member Erica Sanders.

My activity report submitted it. I have submitted it. But I do want to say February the 3rd committee we I have we had a committee meeting. February the 4th retreat. February the 5th another retreat. February 9th briefing. February the 10th chambers um banquet. February the 16th council meeting. That's tonight. And I want to say thank you all for everything. And I want to just say I want to thank our citizens for coming out tonight. This look real good. And I pray that y'all would continue to come to see what your city is doing, to see what we're we're doing. We we love you all and we are so grateful tonight to see each and every one of y'all. So, thank you for that. God bless.

Thank you. Oh, your birthday. You spend it with me. Council member Duck. Yes, I did. Yeah.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, it was a rather slow month this month due to all the weather that we had, but I would like to take the time to thank our city employees for doing the best job that they could with the snow removal and the icing and throwing out stand and those things like that to help us get around the city. I mean, uh, we're not used to getting 15 inches of snow around here. So, just the fact that they got out there and did what they could, you know, some people complained they didn't get it all. You can't go all the way down to the pavement. They have to stay a little bit off of there. So, they did a great job. our city employees have once again came forward and and and made us all look good and I appreciate them for that and I have a gave uh city clerk a copy of my activities report and I let that stand. Thank you. Thank you, council member Joz Johnson.

Thank you so much, Mayor York. I have submitted a copy of my activity report to uh our city uh clerk. Um and it has been a great month so uh far. Happy Black History Month and also happy women's history month. Uh we have uh two community events. one that we uh was talking about for Thursday. And then on February 28th, uh the MLKSAC is having a uh five E of Black History uh which will be a really good educational event for our community at 10:00 a.m. which is at 108 Salem Street. So, I definitely encourage our community to attend these two amazing events for our community to really pay homage to the amazing people that came before us to lay that groundwork. Also, like was mentioned by Councilwoman uh Payton and also Councilwoman Shell about the Strickland Center. Uh we are definitely excited about this investment, this needed investment in this uh neighborhood. And one of the things that we were definitely hoping to hear tonight with the public hearing uh was how our community felt about with the direction of where we're moving. Um, personally with the 950,000 that we'll be moving from the CDBG grant, I definitely want it to be clear because I know a lot of folks in our community are like, well, this was for affordable housing and now we're doing a park. Yeah, it's not just a park. It's a park that in for our community has a lot of historical significance for a long time hasn't been invested in and to the level of where we are talking about for this year. And it's not going to be just a park. It's going to be a community center to be able to allow for our community to really be able to utilize it and really uplift that community. And so I wanted to add that part into my activities report as well as uh Councilman

Hunt, sorry, brain uh fart there for a second. Really hit on it with our record stating snow uh fall that we had. I know like many of our members on council, our phones were blowing up about street removals and getting snows uh cleared off the streets. Um and I know I definitely uh probably annoyed Daryl um with our public works department a lot, but I really wanted to say thank you. not only for their 24 service around the clock. Um because a lot of folks didn't see amount the amount of work that they were doing, not just during the day, but also about 3 or 4 am. Um which we got complaints about that too. Um but they really did amazing work for our community to really make sure that we were able to get to work, get to the things that we need to do safely. So I really wanted to give them uh that shout out for their always doing amazing and uh incredible work. And so I will let that stand as my activities report.

Thank you. Uh, Council Member Dana Lomba.

Um, I have submitted my report to Wendy. Um, and I just want to say that going back, I did have a busy month. Um, doing the city tour with Michael, uh, my eyes were open to a lot that goes on with, um, our limitations and, um, ability of our city's water and sewer plant. Um, that was major for me because I'm like, hey, let's bring everything to Thomasville and if we can't support it in our water and our sewer system, then we can't have it here. But, um, it opened my eyes to a lot of that. And then my very first, um, council retreat, um, it was amazing. I was really scared cuz everybody was like, people leave crying and upset and they want to fight and but we didn't. We laughed. We had fun. And I feel like we got a lot accomplished and that was really good. Um celebrating um the Thomasville 250 committee. I got to join that with um my partner in crime and tourism Cameron. So we um got a lot of things down on paper and we're going to have a lot of exciting things coming out in the next coming months um weeks probably. um talked to a lot of um constituents here in Thomasville, different concerns. We also did um boogie bingo for a fundraiser for first smart start fundraiser. That was so much fun. I know the mayor was with me and we had a absolute blast doing that.

Carolina booiss. Um yeah, Duke lost at the very last second. Um, moving right along. Um, but other than that, I just want to say thank you to um, Daryl and the street people for, like Doug said, getting the roads cleaned up and getting everything moving and back to normal, sand down and all the things. Done a really great job and I will leave that as my report. Thank you.

Uh, I'll just mention a few things here that that I was involved in and others as well. Uh that's up here probably. Uh the YMCA annual awards banquet was uh was this month and uh a lot of lot of good people there. Uh and enjoyed the uh the people that uh I saw there. Uh Willie, he was he was one there close by. He's he's looking around. Yeah. Uh but but enjoyed uh meeting with them and the people that were recognized welld deserved. So that was that was a lot of fun. Uh and the city council retreat has already been mentioned. It was a good retreat and uh everybody put their ideas out there and we'll move along and u go in in what direction that the council has charted now for the next uh several months. The smart start fundraiser. I enjoyed that as well. That was a good time just to sort of lay back and have a good enjoyable evening and do a lot of laughing and uh

and have Michael service. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, Michael was he was there. And u and then the the chamber annual meeting and those that received uh awards from the chamber at that uh that had to be rescheduled because of all the snow. So, I got it in though and that was a real good evening there as well. So, that'll stand as my report. I now go to our city manager, Michael Brandt.

Well, obviously there's a lot of dittos that go around, but but to be clear, there were two members of our organization that were recognized by the Chamber of Commerce. Uh, Mr. Doug Hunt was uh represented as the small business of the year award. Uh, so congratulations and James Picket was nominated for a volunte spirit award, I'm sorry, of the Chamber of Commerce. Uh James is a member of our recreation part-time and he's does a lot of volunteer work and has worked for the school system for a long time. So that was a richly deserved uh award that he received and apparently we kept it pretty quiet all the way up to the moment of of presentation. So yeah, so it works worked out really well. So I'm very glad to to see him recognized. Um I too recognized the work that our public works uh folks did uh and other departments um in including recreation department uh maintenance staff came out. We don't normally have 15 inches of snow. Uh the the morning of I think I sent out an email saying the weather service was calling for about six inches. Uh they obviously undersshot that one. Um and uh uh so usually they're pretty good about being right on target, but this time they weren't. Uh our folks worked 24 hours, 7 days, uh you know, for about three days straight. We had 12-hour shifts running. Um we had very few uh activities um overall in the city because people couldn't get out and drive too much. Uh but the reality is is that even though we normally maintain about a 100 miles of road and the NC DOT maintains the other 100 miles, when a snow event occurs, we're maintaining all 200 miles of road, including our major highways. We we only saw DOT once or twice come

through our main roads uh during the initial first 48 hours of the storm. Um so our folks did a really great job as best they could do. Uh we did have a couple of of uh issues um you know that that we damaged the plows, we damaged the uh um the the tires and things of that sort. Uh but there were no injuries and uh you know we recovered very well. Uh and we were able to serve our public the entire time. There were no issues with our water plant, sewer plant, fire, emergency services, all were able to respond. Uh so I really appreciate the work that they did and and it's a reminder of how much work they do and how of course how quickly we forget uh when we suddenly can't do something uh or don't have a garbage pickup uh how quickly we rely on that. So uh it was great work for them and all of our staff involved with that. Um, I will uh leave that as my uh update, but just to be clear that I do serve you every day uh regardless, but I don't always serve you alcohol every day. So, that that was a volunteer effort on my part. I was not not in city uh garb that day.

Thank you, Mr. Thank you very much. Uh Mr. Mayor, can I say something? Sure. I know we give all the kudos to sanitation, but I also want to give a shout out to our police department for all their hard work during our snow and ice storm. Also, our fire department cuz they had to go out on calls. They even offered the employees that was on the sanitation department that couldn't get home. The fire department and stuff offered them they could come there and sleep and rest. So, I didn't want to leave our police department or our fire department out. Thank you. Thank you very much. Our city attorney, Mr. Whitman.

Good evening, everyone. I just wanted to say that um during the the snowstorm, we unfortunately were not able to deliver all of our meals on wheels routes because our volunteers, many of them are elderly and though our sanitation department did an excellent job clearing our roads, there were sidewalks and other things that made it treacherous for our volunteers. fire department came in pitch hit for us because when we got backtoback storms, we were really worried about not putting eyes on these folks for an entire two-eek stretch. So, we all bundled up together and the fire department did two routes for us back to back on that Friday just so we could get eyes on folks. So, when I called, they said, um, we already have physicals scheduled, but we're going to make it happen for you. So, it didn't matter, you know, what they had going on, they stepped up to the plate to make it happen for us. So, we really appreciate it and thank everybody who did reach out and check on your neighbors who were elderly and shut in to make sure they were okay. Most all of the people that I called to check on said, "My neighbors come checked on me. I'm warm. I've got what I need. I'm okay." So, we were happy to hear that. And I will tell you, they did such a great job cleaning the streets that I popped myself right on into work the very first day. And it was quiet and the phones didn't ring and I got a ton of work done. And I also have to just say Cameron, those are the hottest shoes I've ever seen. And if people can't see those shoes, they need to see those shoes. They made me happy thinking about spring. And the flowers were budding today. The hyestence are coming out. So spring is coming. So that's all I have to say.

Okay. Thank you. We're now down to item nine, close session. So I will need a motion to go in close session. So carried. Is there a second? Second. Any discussion? Okay, you may record your vote. And we have 70. So, we'll now go into close session. Appreciate you coming, Tony. Thank you.