Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Good morning and call the meeting to order. The pre- agenda for the Wilmington City Council. I will take a roll call at this time. Mayor Prom, are you here? I am. Council member Joiner, are you here? I'm here. Council member Andrews, are you here? Here. Council member Laauo is not here as of yet. Council member Santiguita here. Council member Clinton Quintana. I am here

and the chair is here. Everybody's here and accounted for. We have a quorum. Uh C1 is an approval of the minutes. C2 is a resolution authorizing city manager to execute a contract amendment in the amount of $461,840. Regina's LLC of Riceville Beach, North Carolina for the annual needs brick street maintenance contract. C3 is a resolution declaring 52 Motorola radio surplus property to be donated to the town of Holly Ridge and to New Hanover County. Item C4 is a resolution authorizing funding for the Wilmington Police Department transition from shotguns to rifles. C5 is a resolution authorizing city manager to purchase 25 pursuit rated Taho from Capitol Chevrolet Incorporated of Raleigh, North Carolina in the amount of 1,325,175 from the fleet replacement fund. C6 is a resolution authorizing city manager to apply for a governor's highway safety program for the year 2027 bike safe regional coordinator grant in the amount of $5,000. C7 is a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign the public comment letter on Duke Energy's bannual carbon plan and inter integrated resource plan. And then C8 is a resolution amending the city of Wilmington Housing Affordability Advisory Committee bylaws relating to membership. We have obviously public information, public hearings. PH1 is a resolution approving an amendment to an installment financing contracting an amount not to exceed $75 million to finance and refinance various city projects. ordinances. 01 is an ordinance amending the Wilmington City Code Chapter 1

general provisions. 02A is a resolution officially accepting public streets, pedestrian improvements, and storm drainage facilities within William Booth Drive. And then 02B is the ordinance establishing the speed limit of 25 miles per hour on William Booth Drive. Resolutions R1 is a resolution approving the issuance, execution, delivery of not to exceed $15 million storm water fee revenue refunding bonds and providing for certain other matters in connection with the issuance. And then R2 is a resolution to sign the Capefir Council of Government's joint letter to the Environmental Management Commission identifying specific concerns related to the Fugquway Verina's proposed interbasin transfer request. And then we'll have our final item which is RP1 which is reports of council's appointments committees for boards, commissions and committees. And that concludes all of the items that we will be discussing and voting on tomorrow evening. Is there anything else? Um, madam manager.

No, Mr. Mayor. Okay, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor. Yes, sir.

I I I don't want to I typically wouldn't do this, but I I've done um I I got a problem with C4. Um and and and I I I just don't think it's timely. I I don't think the timing is right for for us to have this on the agenda. Um, and and I'm I just want to verbalize that now and not take anybody by surprise tomorrow. But because of some of the issues that we have going on concerning WPD and weapons and and citizens in our community, I I just think that C4 is untimely right now. And um that's just my opinion on it. And like I said, I don't want to take staff by surprise tomorrow when when I'll be in opposition of it. So I just want to put that out there right now.

Yeah. Do we do is the chief here? I don't know if the chief can just come up and just kind of explain what's what's happening here and what's with different what it is. I I just don't think that the the temperature is right for that right now with with some of the questions that we're being asked by our citizens. And honestly, I I don't feel comfortable with it or making a decision on it right now myself. Okay. I just wanted to hear from the chief myself because I I' I'd like you just a little bit more clarity into to this process and why we're doing this.

Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, uh Mayor Protown, members of council. Um we are just very bluntly extremely behind the curve. Um you know, 1997, uh Bank of America North Hollywood shootout. Uh LAPD went up against uh some armed gunmen who were carrying AK-47s with drumfed magazines, fully body armored from their head to their toe. uh they had to go down the street uh because they had 9mm handguns and 12 gauge shotguns uh and go to a gun store uh to tell the gun owner they were taking weapons from his gun store to be able to meet the firepower they were up against. Uh we are routinely seeing uh criminals in this community and across the country uh who have firepower that exceeds uh what we have. Uh we need to keep our officers first and foremost safe and we need to keep this community safe. uh that we are 30 years almost uh behind uh 1997 uh when law enforcement agencies started transitioning from uh 12 gauge shotguns to patrol rifles. Uh they allow us to be much more accurate uh at a much greater distance uh and to not put our officers uh in harm's way as much and again to try and keep our community members safe. We just need to be able to uh address criminals who unfortunately uh don't necessarily always abide by gun laws that are put in place. So right now the the u the policy is that each car has is is equipped with a shotgun.

Most vehicles are equipped with a 12- gauge shotgun. That's correct. And then if an officer wanted to bring anything in addition to that, could they do so because there was some understanding that this kind of a hodgepodge of not hodgepodge but

No, that's a good way that's a great way to describe it actually. It is absolutely hodgepodge right now of we have a policy in place that allows officers to bring their own patrol rifles. Uh we have to have armorers that look at those to make sure they are a certain make certain model certain standard uh with the caliber and things like that. Uh but it's not consistent across the board. Uh we need to be able to have consistent uh weapons platform across the board. We issue all of our officers the same handgun. Uh we want to make sure all of our officers have the same long barrel weapon as well. uh a 12 gauge shotgun uh in today's day and age is just has very limited use and very uh limited range as well.

So just um and you may not know the answer to this but in in regards to the public policy with other departments from within the region including the sheriff's department which is the largest sheriff's department in the state. What do you know what their policy is? I'm not sure. Uh Mr. Mayor, but I'd be more than happy to get that information to have it available for tomorrow night. Just curious just to see what the other agencies that are surrounding us are are doing in in respect to this. Anybody else on this? Okay. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Mr. Mayor, not on this, but on number C5 or on item C5. Yes, sir. I had asked at our planning retreat when we were going to get an update on our fleet transition fund, and I'd like um some more information about that before I vote in favor of C5.

Okay. And can we get get that information or maybe somebody can come talk to us right now? I see somebody moving to the front. Good morning, mayor. Good morning, council. Um, excuse me. I had a meeting on Friday with u the transition study team. Uh, they are putting together a narrative of what they've done and uh where we're headed. I'll be happy to provide that to you as soon as we get that from the company. Do we have any sort of timeline on when we might expect to get that narrative?

Because of the changes that we've done um and restructuring in the city, it's um set us back in some time and once we have an idea of the placement of all of our vehicles, then we'll be able to move forward with that and study. So respectfully, I did not hear an answer on timeline and I'm not going to be able to vote in favor of C5 until I have an answer on timeline. Thank you. Yes. Anybody else? Mr. Mayor, I have a question about 01. And this may be an IT issue. When I open the red line attachment, I don't actually see any redlinining, so I'm not quite sure how to tell what's changed. Um,

are you talking about on the one that specifically says red line? Yes. Okay. I can double check on that with the attachments. Okay. And I'll I'll send you one directly today. Okay. Thank you. Am I the only one having that issue? Okay. I think everyone's having that issue. Okay. I'll check on that. All right. Thanks. Those are those are just showing that the red line being the the changes that Yeah. Showing what's changed. I mean, I can I can read the final copy, but I like to make the comparison. No problem. Thank you. We'll do we'll get that out today. Okay. Anybody else?

Yeah. Mayor, I just want to go back and um speak on, you know, what uh Mayor Pro Tim Spears spoke about. It does seem like the temperature is not right for this to be approved or even brought to council. um just keeping our ears to the ground and everything that's going on. Maybe it could be um you know it could be reintroduced at a later time, you know, in another month or two, but not completely just going away with it. It just doesn't feel right just with everything that's going on and all the investigation. So,

okay. Okay. Anybody else? Okay. With that, if nothing else, then we will see each other tomorrow night at 6:30. And I believe there's two committee meetings. Uh Madame Clerk, could you We have two meetings after this. Um I only have one and that's the naming and facilities committee. Okay, very good. So with that we stand a journal.