City Council - Regular Meeting

Kelly Hales, the personnel officer with the school system. Welcome to you this evening. And we'll have some other guests that will be recognized a little later on for special presentation. Also welcome anybody in the audience with the press or joining us on our website, social media, or YouTube live tonight for this meeting. First order of business will be additions and or deletions to our agenda, Mr. City Manager.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. I have no additions or deletions to the agenda.

What's the pleasure of Council with regard to the agenda?

Mr. Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve the agenda.

Second.

Is there any discussion? All favoring this, please let it been almost saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. So the agenda has been approved. We're now down to our public forum. This will be a two minute time limit on the subject of the speaker's choice. If you would, when you come to the mic, please state your name and your subject for the clerk, please. First speaker tonight is Dustin Bingham.

Excuse me, do you want to excuse Jack West Johnson? Did I miss that?

He's supposed to be on the way and going to be late. I think he's going to be here. Okay.

I'm sorry, that was Councilman Jack West Johnson. I apologize. All right.

license plate readers and their place in America, of which I think they have none. I'm going to highlight three concerning cases that support my position. Canyon Ashworth, a journalist who found through public records that police who'd fabricated pretext to pull him over used ALPRs to track his daily movements without probable cause, suspicion, or warrant after he published an article criticizing the department's cooperation with ICE. Fourth Amendment violation, First Amendment violation of the right to free press. Bob Sklar, Indiana citizen whose only crime was speaking up in city council meetings, found information through public records confirming his suspicions that police were stalking him with no probable cause, suspicion, or warrant using ALPRs. Fourth Amendment violation, First Amendment violation of right to petition government for redress of grievances. Bringing it home to Thomasville, Erin Byerly, whose footage you used on your Facebook page, Thomasville videographer captured footage of your ALPRs for a video project, was paid a suspiciously serendipitous wellness check by two T-Ville deputies the same evening. And I'm still waiting for a public records request to show, to confirm whether or not I've been looked up in your flock database since I first came here to speak up about this. Dana Lomba, the glaring difference between my phone tracking me through towers, apps, and internet versus a government body, i.e. our local police department partnering with a private surveillance company that sells them tech, giving them a general warrant to passively surveil private citizens with no probable cause of suspicion or warrant, mimicking the tyrant King George's general warrants that inspired the Fourth Amendment in the first place, is that at any time with my phone, I can opt out. Mr. Mayor, you and your chief of police gave us the true governing authority, no ability to opt out of such a treasonous program. The plain language of and the impetus for the Fourth Amendment is sufficient to say that ALPRs have no place in America. Ye blind guides which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.

Next one, speaking this evening, General Bud Martin.

Okay, good afternoon, Mayor and everyone. That thing is falling right through here. Okay, there we go. I'm actually here today to present an award. As many of you know, we had a luncheon today here in Thomasville. It was a great thing with ESGR. I'm Brigadier General Retired Bud Martin, live in North Davidson County, and I'm the State Chair for ESGR, Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve. So I have an award that I want to present to your mayor tonight, and I'm going to read it. It says, The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Seven Seals Award is presented in recognition of outstanding leadership and exceptional support of the ESGR mission. Named for the seven service components of the United States Armed Forces, the award honors individuals whose dedication and advocacy has significantly strengthened and support for our Guard, have provided support for our Guard and Reserve, service members, their families, and the employers who make their service possible. This award reflects a lasting commitment to those who serve our nation in uniform, and as the State Chair, I have that Privilege and honor to be able to nominate your mayor and to present with him a Seven Seals Award for meritorious leadership and initiative in support of the men and women who serve America and the National Guard and Reserve. Sir, if you would come forward, I'd love to present it. Thanks again for our luncheon today. We had a great crowd. And this week happens to be Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve Week by the Governor's Proclamation. Thank you. Okay, you got it. Thank you, General. Thank you so much. Any comments, and I'll get out of here.

The first general I ever met was when I was in Vietnam. It was Christmastime, and he showed up at our base camp. Of course, it wasn't you at the time. But General Martin has been a real strong supporter of our Memorial Day things here for many, many years. And he's a great patriot and he's given the better part of his life to serving his country and doing things like this with our service around this area. And we appreciate that so much. And thank you for this award this evening. Thank you very much.

Can't say enough about our veterans, Vietnam veterans right here. And all I say to all our veterans who might be here, God bless you for what you've done for our country, and God bless America. And I'm going to have to jump in. Thank you. Thank you.

Now down to item four, recognitions and presentations. The first one is recognition of Piedmont Crossing fire derogation. I'm gonna come down front. We're going to award some challenge coins. I want to read this to you first, what the challenge coin is all about. The challenge coin has been used for centuries as an informal token of award and belonging within military organizations. It has gained more widespread uses by governments and businesses to reward and honor individuals that have demonstrated the qualities of the organization. The Thomasville Challenge Corps was created in 2023 to recognize employees and community members that espouse the city's vision of building a better Thomasville together and the core values of quality, service, integrity, equity, and innovative growth. Nominations for recognition can be made by employees or city council members to recognize the recipients for their work on behalf of the community of Thomasville. Now, many of these coins have been given out to several of our first responders and others that have done extraordinary work and bravery and so forth here in Thomasville. Tonight's presentation is going to be a little bit different. I'm going to let our city manager take it from here and then we'll honor these people with a challenge coin. You'll see what it's all about.

Thank you, Mayor. A few months ago, there was a fire at piedmont crossing and that call went out to our first responders who started the process of responding but before that they could even respond to the site a painting crew that was doing work at piedmont crossing on behalf of piedmont crossing was in the building that had the fire And those individuals, instead of seeking their own safety, helped the folks that lived in the Piedmont Crossing apartments to evacuate. And not only did they evacuate the individuals, but they also went back in after collecting fire extinguishers and extinguished the fire so that when our firefighters arrived, they just got to stand around and shake hands. So the fire department nominated this group and I'm gonna read their names and if they would come forward please. Marcus Hayden. Zeb Hayden. Scotty Smiley. Jason Venegas, Justin Venegas, and Jose Venegas. As you can see, this is a family affair all around.

Absolutely. So we have a group of, you might say, unlikely first responders here tonight, but they did what our first responders do. They saw a need. They had the ability and the capability to answer the call. And we don't know what the outcome would have been without these men here going into action. But we know for sure that the outcome was good because they did, for sure. So we appreciate all y'all did. If y'all would just come up here a little bit, we're going to get a picture of the group here. Thank you all very much. Our next proclamation is National Overdose Awareness Day, and this will be presented by Council Member Hunter Thrift.

Thank you, Mayor. I've got Councilwoman Lamb is also going to join me. We're both doing a proclamation tonight. And, Mike, if you and your son want to come up and join us. Proclamation by the Mayor recognizing August 31, 2026, as National Overdose Awareness Day. Whereas National Overdose Awareness Day is observed each year on August 31st to remember those who have lost their lives to overdose, to support families and loved ones affected by substance use, and to raise community awareness about prevention, education, and treatment. And whereas communities across the nation, including the city of Thomasville, have been deeply impacted by the ongoing public health crisis of substance use and overdose affecting residents of all ages, backgrounds, and neighborhoods. And whereas reducing stigma around substance use disorder is essential to ensuring that individuals feel safe seeking help, accessing treatment, and supporting others on their path to recovery. And whereas local organizations, first responders, health care professionals, and community partners continue to work tirelessly to provide resources, support services, harm reduction tools, and compassionate care for those in need. And whereas National Overdose Awareness Day provides an opportunity to honor the memory of those who have been lost, recognize the grief carried by families and friends, and strengthen our community's commitment to prevention, recovery, and hope. Now, therefore, Mayor Raleigh Orr, Jr. of the City of Thomasville, North Carolina, hereby proclaims August 31, 2026, as National Overdose Awareness Day in the City of Thomasville and encourages all residents to join in remembrance, education, and community support efforts that contribute to a safer, healthier future for all and is adopted the 17th day of August with our city seal on it. Thank you. Absolutely.

Thank you very much. And now, Council Member Dana Lomba will offer a proclamation for Suicide Awareness Month.

Proclamation for the celebration of National Suicide Awareness Month, September of 2026. Whereas suicide is leading cause of death across the United States, affecting individuals, families, and communities in every corner of our nation. And whereas raising awareness about suicide prevention reduces stigma surrounding mental health and encouraging open conversations can help save lives. And whereas community support, education, and access mental health resources are essential in fostering hope, connection, and healing for those who are struggling. And whereas National Suicide Awareness Month provides an opportunity for all residents to learn the warning signs of suicide, support those in emotional distress, and promote the message of compassion and understanding. And whereas the City of Thomasville is committed to supporting the well-being of all residents in standing with individuals and families affected by suicide. now therefore raleigh york jr mayor city of thomasville hereby proclaim september 2026 as national suicide awareness month in thomasville and they encourage all residents to promote awareness share resources and offer hope to those in need proclaimed on the 17th day of august 2026. thank you

mayor york thank you and i didn't mean to call your house today actually i was trying to call the council but i got your house i never come with anything written down right now we are way over 500 people that have been murdered by fentanyl in this county alone we're over 20 000 plus in the state of north carolina the chief the chief over here knows me from your police department when we can work with our local law enforcement where i got a call from i'm going to bring it up cheap from his department for help and we reached out and we worked together on that medical ministries is here thank you again for being out here she's one of the partners in davidson county We have to work together because mental health and addiction go hand in hand. You cannot treat one without treating the other. And we can stop this if we work together. I'm a son of a mother who was committed three, four times to a mental hospital. I'm the father of a son who was murdered by fentanyl. This is why we do what we do. We ask nothing from nobody in this area. But if you need us, please call on us and we'll come here. We might be here for everybody's day. We can arrange it. And thank you for the proclamations today. Thank you all.

Thank you.

We're now down to the consent agenda, and I recognize once again our city manager for this.

Mayor, council, your consent agenda consists of three items. The first is consideration of minutes of the briefing and committee's meeting of July 13th. Item B is consideration of minutes of the council meeting on July 20th. And item C is consideration of the revised capitalization depreciation policy, which somehow I ended up with. Thank you. Sorry, I apologize for that. I'm not sure what happened to it. The revised capitalization policy changes the thresholds for capitalization of assets and software to a higher amount. It's now $50,000 at a recommendation of our auditor. And then infrastructure gets changed to $100,000. But machinery, furniture, vehicles, and equipment remains at $10,000.

Okay. Thank you very much. What's the pleasure of counsel with regard to the consent agenda?

Mr. Mayor, I make a motion we approve the consent agenda as presented.

Is there a second? Second. Now, is there any discussion? Okay. All who favor this, please let it be known by saying aye.

Aye.

If you're opposed, no. So that has been approved. We have one item on regular agenda. Consideration of budget amendment 2027-P2-01. City manager again.

All right, this is consideration of budget amendment 2027-P2-01. The amendment transfers funds appropriated for pay-as-you-go capital items in the general fund to the police, parks and recreation, and public works departments. This will fund two police officers a park and recreation worker, and a streets laborer position that were frozen as part of the hiring freeze with the adopted budget. The total transfer amount is $214,403, which includes rescinding the capital funding for a boat trailer in the fire department, new computers totaling $35,000 in the MIS department, the childcare building renovations for parks and recreation, and a truck in recreation totaling $35,000. The garage door range building will not be installed, and a sprayer at the golf course will not be purchased. This amendment requires council approval.

Thank you for that. Now, what's the pleasure of council?

Mr. Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve the consideration of budget amendment 2027-P2-01. Second. Yeah, I have a motion to second.

Any discussion?

When we passed the budget that we passed, we knew that we were going to have to make some concessions. Thank you. I'll start again. When we passed the budget that we passed, we knew we were going to have to make some sacrifices and concessions. And we're going to see those play out throughout the year. And I appreciate Michael for highlighting them, because I think it's important that we understand what we give up when we don't increase our revenue. And so you heard the renovations to the childcare part of our parks and rec department would have been great. And we're going to put them off. Um, but hopefully we're going to keep fighting for them. They just aren't happening right now.

Any further discussion? Okay, all who favor this, please let it be known by saying aye. Aye. If you're opposed, no. So that has been approved. We welcome Mayor Pro Tem Johnson. He's coming in from out of town, so glad to have you here with us this evening. Okay, we're now down to our committee reports, and I'll start with our Mayor Pro Tem Johnson.

Thanks so much, Mayor York. I have submitted a copy of my activities to our clerk. It has been a crazy busy month for the month of August. As kids are getting ready to head back to school, we are really working to make sure that they have all the tools they need to be successful this school year. Excuse my tardiness today. I had the opportunity to travel out to our state capitol. I was invited by Governor Stein. to represent our great city on a veto of House Bill 320, which is a bill that is going to restrict a lot of our voting access, not only here in Davidson County, but all across the state. So I was very thankful to be invited and be able to represent the great city of Townsville and make it back in time for our council meeting. So I'll let that stand as my activities report.

Thank you. Council Member Daniel Palamba.

um just like jock quiz we have had a busy month um just highlight a few things we did do uh the pace pocketbook bingo which was on july 24th and that was a super fun time um we also uh did a chair big chair dogs ribbon cutting on august 3rd which was a good time nice to see everybody out um Too bad our national nights out got canceled on August 4th due to weather. But it's been a busy month. We did have a luncheon today, and it was a lot of information. And I'm glad to be on council for a city who supports our national reserves and our guards. So I do appreciate that. I have submitted my report to Wendy, and I will let that stand as my report.

Thank you. Council Member Doug Hunt.

I've submitted a copy of my activities to the clerk, and I'll let that stand as my report.

Thank you. Council Member Hunter-Thrift. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I have submitted a copy of my activities to the clerk. I just want to wish our teachers and our students good luck as school goes back and keep them in your thoughts and prayers starting a new school year. Also be mindful of that on your way to work in the morning and in the afternoon, children getting on the school bus and getting off. Keep that in mind. And I will let that stand as my report. Thank you. Council Member Peyton Williams.

Y'all already know I've not sent my activities to Wendy, but I'm going to. I promise. Hunter, thank you for the back-to-school note. I'm going back to school this year. Today was actually my first day, and it's very scary. So if you know a kid or a 31-year-old who has gone back to school, give them a hug because it's scary. And my thoughts and prayers are with all the families and kids starting back this year and the teachers. Thank you to the Piedmont Crossing paint crew. I have loved ones at Piedmont Crossing. I know lots of people do, and it's just so comforting to live in a community where there are random bystanders who will stand up and take care of our neighbors. So thank you guys, Wendy. I'm going to send you that report, and I think I'll let that stand. Thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Lisa Schiff.

Of my activities report, yay. I done it by lunchtime today, so yay for me. Please be mindful of the kids going back to school and watch for them, but also pray for them teachers and them principals, because them kids is going to give them a run for their money. Pray for our police department, watching over them kids at the school, our SRO officers, and I'll let that stand as my report.

Thank you. Council Member Erica Sanders. Yes, I have submitted mine.

Yes, I have submitted my report to Ms. Wendy, and I wanted to say last week I came to a meeting Our council meeting on, I don't know what date, but I'm kind of lost right now, and I've been busy. I've been very busy this month, but I want to tell y'all, you know, please just don't forget the homeless people that's out here, and also just let us love one another. And that stands as my report today.

Thank you. Like the others, we had several things this past month. I've just mentioned two or three of them. I had the privilege to help judge a car show for the Sisters of Hope fundraiser down at the Recreation Department campus. It was a good day. Some beautiful cars out there. I tell you what, people put a lot of time into it. some of these antique cars and newer vehicles too. But that was a good day, and as Councilmember Lomba said, the big chair dogs ribbon cutting, we did that earlier this month. And... It was my privilege to come and do a greeting for a group of firefighters from Mexico last week. They were here in this building. They were here for some training. They've been here for the last, I know the last two years, I think, at least, here in the city of Thomasville. And maybe they've been coming longer than that. But that was a good time we had there with them as we brought a greeting to them. I'll let that stand as my report. Now I'll go to our city manager, Mr. Brandt.

Thank you, Mayor. I have a couple of items I want to point out. In relation to the... Resolutions, there's a night of remembrance scheduled for August 29th at 8 p.m. at the old courthouse in Lexington, North Carolina that's sponsored by Race Against Drugs. It's a community effort, and if you're interested, there are luminaries that you can purchase as part of the fundraiser to remember loved ones. So that's on August 29th at 8 p.m. at the old Lexington courthouse. A few months ago, we had a discussion about fluoride and whether we continue to provide fluoride in our water as recommended. I'm gonna pass out a report or information that was released about two months ago regarding where the federal stance is on this right now. If you remember, we held off on making any decisions about whether we continue with fluoride or not. based on federal study. So what I've provided for you is a press release and then two handouts that were accompanied the press release I basically say that they're going through the process of an expedited review for fluoride under the Safe Drinking Water Act and that they are working out the protocol for developing the fluoride human health toxicity assessment. This stems from the concerns that individuals have raised in our community and throughout the country. regarding levels of fluoride that are put into the water system for dental health. I just wanted to give you an update that in our own studies, our water system on average met a level of 0.82 parts per million for fluoride in 2025. The recommendation from the federal government is between 0.7 and 1.0, so we're right about middle of that. What has been found is anything over 1.5 parts per million is where they have indicated that there is potential for some neurological damage in children. under continuous drinking of that level. So you'd have to intake a lot. In July of this past year, our latest report for the monthly report, we were at .77, of which .55 was what was put into the water system. and then the natural level of fluoride within the water was somewhere around 0.22 in that range so there is a natural level of fluoride that is in water and in our area so we don't have to put a lot more to get up to the level that is recommended which is that 0.7 to 1.0 So I just wanted to give you an update on that and pass that along. The other information that I had for you has slipped my mind. So apparently we're going to pass on that. And I'm going to end my report. I think July and August is tough.

Thank you very much. Our city attorney, Mr. Whitman.

Thank you. If I think of what it was, I'll let you know. And just to further what he said on that, and you'll see it in the study, they haven't actually found any substantive data to say that there's neurodegenerative defects in kids unless it's 4.0 or greater, but they want to continue to study targeting down to 1.5. There's no known harm right now where we're at, but again, we're following it closely. I wanted to bring to your attention the legislature was busy this year, so there's been lots of updates and changes. So some of the things that we're going to need to modify to make our ordinances in compliance with the new state stuff is related to home based businesses. This just came up before planning and zoning. We actually had one before us and this was coming down the pipeline, so we actually dismissed it and said you no longer need to do this. Home-based businesses, we may no longer require a zoning permit, business license, variance, rezoning, registration, or other approval for a home-based business that satisfies the new statutory definition of a no impact home-based business. And I'll send you guys a detailed memo about this so you'll understand what exactly is included in that. Minimum parking requirements effective January 1, 2027. We will generally be prohibited from requiring minimum numbers of off-street parking spaces. We must review our parking space dimensions, pavement standards, and certain residential fire access requirements. So of course your staff is doing that. stormwater regulations we are going to review our ordinances there the new law restricts the extent to which impervious area may trigger additional stormwater controls during redevelopment this is a particular concern with us with our several areas through town that have a tendency to flood so we need to pay close attention to that as well Water and sewer rates. We've got to go over our water and sewer rates because we operate a municipal water and wastewater system. We have to determine whether our rates charged to customers outside the corporate limits exceeds comparable inside rates by more than 25%. If so, there's additional procedure requirements apply when those rates are increased. So it doesn't trigger anything with us now. Doesn't mean that we can't charge more. It just means there's additional steps we have to take to do it. I see Peyton like... And then special assessments effective October 1st of this year, collection and foreclosure procedures relating to municipal special assessments need to be updated. Our current like nuisance abatement, it doesn't affect that. What it does affect are assessments for like infrastructure, streets, sidewalks, etc., If we have assessments for that and we end up, people don't pay them when we need to foreclose for those purposes, used to they fell under federal tax liens, they now will have super priority and come above federal tax liens. So that's good news. Police special separation allowance, which is effective immediately. There's changes under our statute that affect the calculation eligibility requirements for qualifying law enforcement officers, particularly officers who reach 30 years of service before the age of 62. So I'll work with Chief and HR to make sure all of that is in effect correct. Immigration and sanctuary policies effective now a municipality that violates North Carolina restrictions on sanctuary policies may waive governmental immunity under circumstances specified under the new law. So I'll give you guys additional information on that as well. And then the other area I thought was important for you guys are economic development incentive districts. For tax years beginning July 1st, 2027, Thomas will have a new economic development tool allowing qualifying builder inventory with an improved incentive district to receive a 90% property tax valuation exclusion. And so I will provide you guys with additional information related to that as well. But those are the key pieces and takeaway from this year's new laws. And of course, I will expand upon that.

Peyton's over there just chopping it a bit.

The other thing to point out, too, again, and I talked about this at briefing, I think, as well, or last council meeting. If I'm hot, most people are dying in this heat, okay? And it was hot. I was hot. So please, please, please check on our elderly and our shut-ins. We're seeing an uptick with mills on wheels of folks that are needing additional assistance, needing fans, things of that nature. And of course, if your neighbors are in need, there are resources in the community that will provide those. So please keep a check on folks. And that's it for my report.

Okay, thank you very much. We're now down to additions and updates. Does anyone have anything for that? If not, I'll ask for a motion to adjourn.

So moved.

Is there a second? All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. We're adjourned.