City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone. I'm Alan Jones, Mayor of Winston-Salem. It's my pleasure to call to order this June 1st meeting of the Winston-Salem City Council and ask the City Clerk to call the roll, please.

Council Member Joyner. Present. Council Member Clark. Here. Council Member Andrew Bowen.

Here.

Council Member Scipio. Present. Mayor Pro Tem Adams. Here. Council Member Taylor. Present. Council Member Hall. Present. And Council Member Burke. Here.

Thank you very much. Would you please join the City Council and me in a moment of silence? Thank you. And would you join the City Council and me in the Pledge of Allegiance? very much our sergeant in arms tonight is lieutenant james mitchell and our fire marshal with us tonight is fire marshal bradley watson thank you both for being there he is right there Tonight's meeting is being televised live on TV 13 as well as the city's YouTube page and it will be replayed tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. And again Wednesday at 9 p.m As you know copies of our agendas as well as videos previous meetings are always available online on the city's website You just click on watch meetings online option. Let's now recognize our city manager for his update. I

Thank you, Mayor. A few things tonight. One is just to remind the public as well, is the city's official celebration of America's 250th birthday will take place at the Winston-Salem Dash Game on July 4th. As part of this special community celebration, Mayor Jones will recognize residents who are 100 years of age and older. This recognition highlights the lives, experiences, and contributions of some of the community's most treasured residents. The deadline to submit nomination forms for this special recognition is today. So if you're listening and you have a member, please send those in today so we can get those in place. So family members, close friends, and caregivers still have time to go to the city's website to submit those recognition forms. So I just encourage you to look for that on the website. Also on the website, you can find information about the mayor's inaugural summer youth program, which is slated to begin June 8th with a three-day workplace training session. So this is designed for youth ages 16 to 18 who will participate in various job placement opportunities. We encourage people to register on the city website. Youth ages 11 to 15 are encouraged to register for our summer camp programs offered by the Winston-Salem Recreation and Parks Department, Salvation Army Youth Camp, or many other community-based camps that we have in the city. Along the same line, registration for the Winston-Salem Police Department's 26th Youth Citizens Police Academy is also now open. This is a free program taking place June 8th through the 12th and gives rising high school freshmen through seniors the opportunity to go behind the scenes of law enforcement, meet officers and specialized units, ask questions, and gain a better understanding of what policing looks like in our community. Typically, you can find that information on our website. So just while we're talking about youth, I think it's actually not William, I got William Royston. But I'll turn it over to Ben. We're gonna have a little bit of information on our pool program.

Good evening. Mayor joins Mayor Pro Tempore Adams, members of council. Yes, I'd like to introduce Heather Candy Laura, who is our aquatic supervisor, who's going to give you an update on our preparations for the high heat days at the pools this coming summer.

Good evening. Good evening. Mayor, Mayor Pro Temp-Adams, Council Members, I'm Heather Candelora with Recreation and Parks, Bryce Stewart. The Aquatics Division is committed to the safety of all pool patrons and staff, with a strong focus on protecting aquatics employees during extreme heat. To support staff during outdoor conditions, enhanced guidelines and the following preconditions are in place at all facilities. Enhanced heat safety measures are implemented based on temperature and heat index conditions. 90 to 94 degrees, increased monitoring, encouragement of drinking more water, additional pool breaks as needed. 95 to 99 degrees increased pool breaks staffing increased shade time and pool and water breaks 100 plus or heat index equivalent increased staffing pool breaks operational facility breaks and during high peak heat hours these thresholds ensure that consistent and proactive response to rising temperatures In addition to the written guidelines, the following precautions are also implemented at all facilities. Lifeguards are issued hats, cooling towels as part of their uniforms. Each pool is equipped with two to three fans and many refrigerators. All locations have access to functioning water fountains. Employee education has been provided through employee safety. including training on hydration, illness recognition, and acclimation to outdoor heat conditions. We also are working on installation of cold water fountains at all facilities, and addressing making sure that all of our staff are educated on hydration and heat safety measures.

Thank you. Any questions?

Thank you, Mayor Joyens. Heather, thank you for that update. I did have a question about operational facility breaks. I think you mentioned that under the section that was for 100 degree weather or more. Does the operational facility breaks mean that you may kind of temporarily close the facility, whether that's for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour. Is that what that means? Could you explain that?

Yes, that would be closing for at least an hour, maybe more during peak heat hours, like between 12 and 2 o'clock. Thank you.

Council Member Andre Boleyn. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I just want to say thank you for addressing this. Not only did we have a couple people speak on this last month, I received a handful of emails, but my teenage son, some of his friends know who I am, and they went to him and said, hey, could you please have your dad help on this? So there were many different ways that people would get in touch with me about this. So thank you very much for all of you for addressing this, and I look forward to seeing how it works in the future. Thank you.

Any other questions? Oh, may I prompt him?

Yes, thank you. Thank you, Heather. And maybe I missed it when you were talking. I apologize. Do we have like sprinkler cold water that just like a splash pad that comes down on people or kids when they're at the pools or the splash pads or it is just warm cold water?

It's ground temperature water. Almost all the water that comes out of our splash pads is ground temperature water.

I would ask or charge staff to investigate other cities that may have that and just to look at it, just to see because the environment is changing. You know, climate is real. And I think we're probably going to have more 90 plus degree days than we've seen in a while in the summers. and uh i appreciate the cold water the ice whatever but i think maybe we need to take our game up that we need to look at mr royston or whether they are sprinkler systems i've seen i think one in philadelphia because they have these splash pads and sprinklers everywhere downtown but i noticed that the water was cold and it was very very hot that day it was probably over 95 then but the children and adults were there because of the cold water. The water's good, but I think we probably put ourselves in a great situation if we start looking at the next. And Mr. Pate, I'm not talking about adding nothing to the budget this year. i'm just saying that we need to go investigate because we live in the south and we we've seen what's coming this week is going to make everybody kind of scratch their heads when a couple of weeks we was you know down in the 40s again so but thank you and your team and the staff any other questions thank you very much good luck this summer uh thank you we wanted to make sure that everybody was aware that we are we do we do take

heat conditions very seriously, and they have been and will continue to deal with those. If you read some of the articles that were recently talking about parks and recreation, not all of it was necessarily accurate or apples to apples, but one of the things that they did point out is that we have, I think, 14 splash pads in the city, which is more than practically anybody else. around so there's plenty of opportunities to do exactly what you said is to go and we talked about groundwater that's that's the temperature of water that would be coming out of the pipes in the ground which is always going to be cooler than the air temperature significantly but i think you're asking more about misting stations at our pools and we can certainly look into that A couple of final things. One is just, and I know council knows this, but just as a reminder, based on the feedback we're getting on our parking signage, we are changing the city parking signage to improve visibility, clarity, and ease of use for residents and visitors. so we've got an updated design that's being delivered now that will distinguish what is city operated parking from the many private owned lots in our city and reinforcing information about our city system so we we understand that a lot of people are confused right now so we're really making an effort to put in a new color scheme that differentiates what is a city parking spot and the what it costs to be there versus going into a private spot, which we do not have any control over how they're being regulated or what charges they want to make. So you'll see additional signage throughout coming through the summer on those signs. And we think that'll be a really a good informational item for visitors and for our existing residents. I will, as I have to reiterate this on every time, it's also just worth noting that in our city parking spaces, parking is free in the city on lots and on street spaces after 5 p.m. on weeknights and all days on weekends and holidays. So again, we encourage folks to come down and use our parking spaces to do their shopping, dining, other things that they enjoy doing. One of the things that happens in this city that gets a lot of press is public art. And so I think everybody knows that some installation happened. The Dandelion Public Art Project called Invasive Hope bloomed overnight last week. And we'll have a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, June 9th at 10 a.m. behind Truist Stadium on the Twin City Trail. But this is a... getting a lot of publicity already. I hope most people like I am pleased to see public art out in our areas. The Winston-Salem-Fort Sackett County Public Arts Commission envisioned this transformation public art installation to celebrate resilience, hope, and community connection. The ambitious project features a large-scale steel and aluminum sculptures along Salem Parkway and smaller institutions throughout Winston-Salem neighborhoods that will create a visual narrative that links the city's past, present, and future. And I will, it's not an absolute, but I'll almost guarantee that people are complaining that what's gonna happen with those things when a windstorm comes down. If you've been by one of those, you know that they are very sturdy. I do not think they're gonna come down as a problem. So we hope people will enjoy looking at those and viewing the public art for many years to come. And then as a last note, the Planning and Development Services Department will host their fourth and final meeting on the Northeast Suburban Area Plan tomorrow, Tuesday, June the 2nd at 5.30 at Forsyth Technical Community College's Transportation Technology Center at 4255 North Patterson Avenue. And with that, I'll stand ready to answer any questions.

Mr. Pate, would you just clarify how the sculptures were paid for?

The public art sculptures were paid for as a part of the bond referendum that was approved by the voters in the community. 1% of that referendum was set aside for public art. So that money that was used to create these sculptures as public art was a part of that bond referendum.

That's the only thing those funds could be used for? That is right. Other questions for Mr. Pate? Great, thank you, Mr. Pape. We'll now go to our agenda, which is broken into two parts, the consent agenda and the general agenda. It's always the practice of our council to take the consent agenda as the first order of business. There'll be no discussion of the items on this agenda unless a council member requests at which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered individually. Items not removed will be enacted to one motion. Council members, are there any items on the consent agenda you want to add? C-1. C-1. a motion to approve the balance.

Move for approval of the balance of the consent agenda. Second.

Second by Council Member Hall. This will be a voice vote. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? No. That's approved. Now we have item C1, please.

Item C1, resolution adopting the fiscal year 2027 Consolidated Housing and Community Development Program and the proposed 2026-2027 Consolidated Housing and Community Development Plan submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Mayor Pro Tem Adams.

Thank you. Thank you. I'm asking a question about, again, I've talked to staff over the past year or so about this, is the CHOTO designation. I see that we have a hundred and... 97 000 or something designated for that uh what i'm really wondering is have we officially communicated launch to the community that these different organizations non-profits with the ability to develop housing rehab housing whatever that they can apply to also be a children

So, Sharika Floyd, Neighborhood Services Department. Good afternoon. So, with the feedback that we received last year during the Request for Proposals process, we did redo the Request for Proposals to put in more information about CHOTO requirements and how to become an eligible CHOTO. And then there was some information that was shared for anyone that was interested. We did have one other agency that did state that they were interested. So all of that information was updated in the request for proposals. However, still this year, only one CHOTO applied. So with only one CHOTO applying, it goes to that CHOTO.

I have a concern. Okay. That, you know, like I tell people, I have no issue with the same people, you know, being able to apply. But the issue is when you only have one entity applying for money, buckets of money like this, and no one else is. I think it's our duty to make sure other organizations, nonprofits understand that they can apply too. Again, I just think it's a misstep on our part that maybe again, this is where we gotta go beyond what we normally do. We've got to get the word out because we have so many nonprofits right now building rehabbing housing in our community and I think that they just don't know and We may even have to have you know, I'll sponsor it in the Northwood I think we just need to get the word out so that we can be known to you know That we're doing the best we can to make sure that everybody has an opportunity to apply for this funding That's all I needed there. I can go ahead and Make a motion to accept see one

second second second councilmember clark and joiner simultaneously any discussion all those in favor of the motion please indicate by saying aye aye anyone opposed no or you can vote okay sorry we'll wait and see how everybody votes then that's unanimous thank you very much We'll now move on to the general agenda, which includes the adoption of the fiscal year 2026-27 budget and related budget ordinances and resolutions. There are four public hearings related to demolition ordinances, as well as an amendment to the utility agreement between the city and Forsyth County. When these public hearings are called, I will call on anyone who wishes to speak in the council chamber. We'll give them an opportunity. affairs opposition the opponents and proponents will each be given 15 minutes for presentation and three minutes for rebuttal if no one wishes to speak i'll close the public hearing and the city council will consider the item may we have item g1 please item g1 consideration of fiscal year 2026 2027 annual appropriation and tax levy and the project budget ordinance Mr. Tesh, I believe you're up to talk about your favorite subject.

Good evening, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, members of the City Council. We are here for budget adoption this evening. I will note there are many fewer items on the council agenda this year than there have been in the past. In the past, we have seen somewhere between 12 and 18 items because of different types of recusals. We do not have those this year. You essentially have two items. I have a presentation, but the two items that you have before you, the first one is going to be the annual appropriation and tax levy ordinance, as well as the project budget ordinance. So these are the budget numbers themselves. The second item with all of the attachments, these would have been separate votes in the past. hold them together so that you only have to do one vote. But again, those are all the parts of the budget process related to different things like the capital plan as a financial guide, the opioid settlement distribution resolution that you have to pass and things of that nature. Before you is item one, but I do have a very quick budget presentation. You have seen this slide several times through the budget workshops as well as the city manager's presentation of the proposed budget. Priorities for this year including maintaining the current levels of service as much as possible, strategic investments both on the operating and capital improvement side, we have talked significantly about preparing for future debt funded priorities or cash funded priorities specifically as they come back or our needs come back from the facility condition assessment that is being completed right now and then also continuing to stay a regional employer of choice with respect to our compensation and benefits package overall I'm not going to go over this in significant detail unless there are questions, but the Committee of the Whole did recommend a budget that reduced 0.4 cents from the proposed tax rate increase. The proposed tax rate from the City Manager's budget was 59.3 cents. That has been reduced to 58.9. You can see the items that were selected by the Committee of the Whole at the top of this slide, as well as that we called it $1.6 million, but the unrounded number, 1.583. Again, a chart that you have seen several times. The only difference in this one is the property taxes amount at the top. Under the recommended budget from the Committee of the Whole, the property tax increase is now less than 4%, which is just over $4.50 per month for the median household. This is one that we try to show you a little bit earlier in the process as we were a little earlier in the process and some of our colleagues were getting theirs out a little later. We have had an opportunity to grab the proposed budget information for the other four largest cities in North Carolina. The Winston-Salem information includes the recommended tax rate that you have before you tonight. But as you can see, when we include taxes, water and sewer, and all of the mandatory fees, we are the lowest cost municipal services provider amongst the five largest cities in north carolina the reason that we do this chart again for the public specifically if you look at both charlotte and raleigh and that lighter blue section of the top that are other city fees and charges you can see there are several places where they have chosen to keep the tax rate lower but they have chosen to charge specific fees and in this case particularly in Raleigh these are mandatory solid waste fees so you can see that although from a property tax perspective we are almost the same as Raleigh in terms of what the median household pays in property taxes you pay nearly four times more in solid waste and other mandatory fees That is the high-level information that I have for you for item G1, which again is the annual appropriation and tax levy ordinance, as well as the project budget ordinance. G2 will come forward just after that, which includes all of the associated resolutions and ordinances for the 27 budget process. And then G3 is a companion item, which includes amendments to the personnel resolution, which is also generally part of the budget package as well.

Any questions for Mr. Tesh? Thank you. Oh, Council Member Halsey.

And just a point of information, this is about voting for item G1 based off of what Director Tish just presented, right? Right. Okay. I do have on slide changes from the proposed budget recommended by Committee of the Whole. This particular one, yes. This particular slide has the elimination of the secondary revenue collections location at BPS on there. We may end up talking about that a little later. I'm not sure. One of the things that came up in the committee meeting last week, I believe, was making sure that there were no positions that were lost because of this was a concern. I presume that this is where I would state that, or it might be a different point, but I wanted to make sure that I had that on record. That was one of the concerns that I had with this particular item. Other than that, I can see efficiency numbers making sense for any sort of closure, but I wanted to make sure um that we touched on that that i touched on that um publicly because i publicly put that on record last week i just wanted to make sure that that was stated tonight before i did any vote once we get a motion the customer hall i'll recognize you and you can state that for the record on that okay all right thank you city clerk would you read item g1 please

Item G1, consideration of fiscal year 2026-2027 annual appropriation and tax levy and project budget ordinances, including the annual appropriation and tax levy ordinance for the City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina for the fiscal year 2026-2027 and the project budget ordinance for the City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina for the fiscal year 2026-2027.

Recognize the chairman of our finance committee comes from a clerk.

Before I make the motion, there needs to be one thing said that what we're not voting on tonight. The budget simply has a number in there for the nonprofits, a total number. It does not break it out by who's going to get it. A week from tomorrow at the Finance Committee, which is on the 9th at 4 o'clock, that's Tuesday at 4 o'clock, the Finance Committee will take up or continue the discussion that we had from the last committee, the whole meeting, talking about which specific organizations will be funded from that. But understand tonight, there's simply a one number in the budget, which is $912,000 or something like that. 956 550 for the general fund approximately yeah okay so anyway so that's what's in here and we will we will deal with the details uh next week and then that will be voted on at the second meeting of the month which is the 15th which by the way is the meeting the second meeting of the month is when we typically vote on the budget we're actually two weeks ahead of schedule which is nice to be anyway with that said I move to approve the annual appropriation and tax levy ordinance for the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina for the fiscal year 2026-27, which sets the tax rate at 58.9 cents per hundred of assessed value and approval of the project budget ordinance for fiscal year 2026-27, authorizing multi-year appropriations for various funds. Is there a second?

Second. Second by Mayor Pro Tem Adams.

Question. Yes. Councilman Clark, what was the tax rate that you quoted?

58.9. Okay.

Thank you.

I'll recognize Councilman Hall if you want to make your comment for the record on this.

I do. Thank you, Mayor Jones. Comment for the record is pertaining to the elimination, possible elimination of the secondary revenue collection site, which is at the Black Phillip Smith building on Patterson Avenue. It's very important to me that while we consider eliminating this particular site so that we can improve efficiency and operations and potentially have some cost savings, that any employee that would be affected by this would not lose their job for no fault of their own, and instead that we did our due diligence in making sure that they were able to continue employment, if that is their wish, to continue employment here, but that there would not be any loss of employment due to this particular vote tonight. Thank you.

One more comment? Yes.

uh excuse me you want to say amen to that mr tash or the manager there yes uh councilman hall had a discussion this afternoon we anytime that there is a a change in assignments to an individual based on efficiencies that we're trying to gain. Any employee in good standing, as always, we're looking to put them in, to keep them within department first, which is what we hope to be able to do in all those cases. But if that's not the case, then to make sure that they've got another opportunity somewhere else in the organization. We have every confidence that we'll be able to accommodate the employee that's at this facility in this manner at this time.

Thank you, Mr. Pape. Mayor Pro Temp. Yes, Mr. Tesh, the slide that shows the other cities, urban cities in North Carolina, I think it would be a good idea, again, if we make sure the public sees that. Because in their mind and what they're hearing is that we charge more than everybody else. And they need to see that we don't. But there also needs to be an education and explanation that people assume that we are the smallest urban city, which is... But they feel like, then why should we pay $1,450 when Raleigh is only paying $1,456 as well? And everybody knows Raleigh is much bigger. Charlotte is much bigger. Again, I know that we think people understand all of this, but they don't, a lot of them. So I would like to make sure that going forward that we make sure people see this and that we explain to them the why, based on population, based on economics in the area, the businesses and all this other stuff that goes into this rate, particularly the commercial properties declined and all of that. And then for me, I would just throw this out there with what's going on in Raleigh and them looking at all of these cities plus three or four more as to why we charge taxes the way we do. And I'm wondering if this is not giving them... also something to press pause and think about that you know people that don't know in raleigh they've never done municipal government to be able to want to say well winston-salem is charging more than raleigh and charlotte how is that you know again i think it just goes back to explaining to the public at a level that everybody can kind of grasp a little bit of it as to why we have to do what we do thank you thank you

Do we have a motion and a second on the floor? All those in favor of the motion, please indicate by voting yes. Anyone opposed, vote no. And that is unanimous, thank you. Now item G2, please.

Item G2, consideration of resolutions and ordinances related to the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget process, including a resolution approving the capital plan for the fiscal years 2026-2027 through 2031 and 2032 as a financial planning guide, resolution adopting the fiscal year 2026-2027 user fee schedule, Resolution directing the expenditure of opioid settlement funds for the City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina for the fiscal year 2026-2027. Resolution adopting an order to collect taxes for 2026, fiscal year 2026-2027, and delinquent taxes from 2016 through 2025. Ordinance amending Chapter 75, Stormwater Management, Article 3. and ordinance amending chapter 42 motor vehicles and traffic article four thank you customer i'm chancellor clark clark yes um

As Mr. Tesh said earlier, what we have done here, it used to be I would make separate motions on all these things and we'd be here till midnight. He has grouped them all together, but it's everything from, for example, we're changing this fee in the stormwater area. We're taking the opioid monies for specific reasons, etc., etc., etc. Please note, for example, the capital budget, we only approve next year's capital budget and the years after that are financial planning guidelines. So all this is wrapped up in here in one big, beautiful... Don't say that. No, don't say that. Anyway, with that, I move to approve item G2, adopting resolutions and ordinance changes, including approval of the capital improvement plan as a financial planning guide, various changes to users' fees, approval of opioid settlement fund uses, and orders to collect current and delinquent property taxes. Is there a second? Second.

Second by Council Member Scipio. Any discussion? Not all those in favor of the motion, please indicate by voting yes. Anyone opposed, vote no. And that is unanimous. Thank you, Council Member Clark. Item G3, please.

Item G3, resolution to amend Article 2 of the Personnel Resolution of the City of Winston-Salem to standardize pay increase timing across police, fire, and general employees.

Mr. Tesh.

The item number three is a companion. As we said, each year is part of the budget package. We do bring necessary amendments to the personnel resolution. If you have specific questions about what is contained herein, I'd be happy to allow our Human Resources Director, Dr. Kina, to do those. Otherwise, this is a standard part of the budget package that you adopt each year as well.

Any questions for Mr. Tash or Dr. Jones? If not, Mr. Clark, go ahead.

I move the resolution to amend Article 2 of the Personnel Resolution of the City of Winston-Salem to standardize pay, increase timing across police, fire, and general employees. Is there a second?

Second.

Second by Mayor Pro Tem Adams. Any further discussion or questions? If not, all those in favor of the motion, please indicate by voting yes. Anyone opposed, vote no. That's unanimous. Thank you very much. Congratulations, Mr. Tesh, to you and your staff. Great, great job. Item G4.

Item G4, public hearing and consideration of an ordinance ordering the demolition and removal of a structure at 1135 Argonne Boulevard located in the Southeast Ward.

This is a public hearing. Is there anyone in the council chamber who wishes to be heard on this proposed demolition of the property on Argonne Boulevard? seeing no one i'll declare the public hearing closed and recognize um i guess councilmember taylor's his his word thank you mayor members of the council i move for approval of agenda item g4 the ordinance for 1135 oregon boulevard second second by mayor pro tim uh and councilman jordan uh any discussion if not all those in favor of the motion please indicate by voting yes anyone opposed vote no now it's unanimous thank you thank you item g5

Item G5, public hearing and consideration of an ordinance ordering the demolition and removal of a structure at 1331 Houston Street, located in the Southeast Ward.

This is the public hearing. Is there anyone in council chamber who wishes to be heard on this proposed demolition at 1331 Houston Street? Seeing no one, declare the public hearing closed. And again, recognize Council Member Tyler.

Thank you, Mayor. I move for approval of agenda item G5. Second.

Second by Councilman Recipio. Any discussion, questions? Not all in favor of the motion, please indicate by voting yes. Anyone opposed, vote no. That is unanimous. Thank you. Item G6.

Item G6, public hearing and consideration of an ordinance ordering the demolition and removal of a structure at 2705 Stokes Avenue, located in Northeast Ward.

This is a public hearing. Is there anyone in the council chamber who wishes to be heard on this proposed demolition of 2705 Stokes Avenue? Seeing no one, I declare the public hearing closed and recognize Council Member Burke.

Thank you, Mayor. I move for approval of agenda item G6, the demolition ordinance for 2705 Stokes Avenue.

Is there a second? Second by Mayor Pro Tem Adams. Any discussion? On all in favor of the motion, please indicate by voting yes. Anyone opposed, vote no. And that is unanimous. Thank you. Item G7.

Item G7, public hearing and consideration of an ordinance ordering the demolition and removal of a structure at 410 Berry Street, located in the East Ward.

This is a public hearing. Is there anyone in Council Chamber who wishes to be heard on this proposed demolition at 410 Berry Street? Seeing no one, I declare the public hearing closed and recognize Council Member Cipriot.

I move for approval of agenda item G7, the demolition ordinance for 410 Berry Street.

Is there a second? Second. Second by Council Member Hall. Any discussion? Questions? All those in favor of the motion, please indicate by voting yes. Anyone opposed, vote no. That is unanimous. Thank you very much. And item G8, please.

Item G8, resolution amending an agreement between the County of Forsyth and the City of Winston-Salem, dated April 20th, 1976, relating to the Utility Commission.

Can you say a brief comment about this, please?

Sure, Mayor. So in 1976, when this agreement was entered into between the city and the county to create the Utility Commission, the whole intent behind the Utility Commission was to have a nonpolitical board overseeing the operation of our utilities. And as such, language was included in that original agreement that said no member of the county commissioners or city council could serve on the Utility Commission. um the language that is before you tonight basically takes that same language and just further expands that to say no elected official in forsyth county can serve on the utility commission so it keeps that same premise in mind and captures to apply that across the board to any other municipality other than that the agreement is the same right and the county will be considering this change that's correct mayor so um the amendments to the agreement have to be approved by both the city council and the county commissioner so go to the county after this right

So I recognize the Chairman of our Public Works Committee, Council Member Burke.

Thank you again. I move for approval of Agenda Item G-8, Resolution Amending an Agreement between Forsyth County and the City, dated April 20, 1976, relating to the Utility Commission. Second.

Second by Council Member Hall. Any discussion, questions? Yes, Council Member Clark and then Council Member Sipio.

I was just going to say the Utilities Commission has been a home run for this community. It has done an outstanding job. We have some of the most competitive water and sewer rates in the state. They also run the landfill, which runs very nicely, and we need to be sure we keep politics out of it and have just good citizens running it as they have for many years. Thank you. Council Member Sipio.

Yes, I don't know, Mr. King, if you know the answer to this, but because there are other municipalities about, I think it's eight or seven that surround us, is it the county that sort of ensures that they have representation from the various other municipalities?

That's right. So it would have to be because the members, the five members of the council appoints have to live in the city of Winston-Salem city limit. So I think the county does try to seek to try to spread that around and seek members from all over the county on their behalf.

Thank you. All right. Is there a motion? We do have a motion. Excuse me. All those in favor of the motion, please indicate by voting yes. Anyone opposed, vote no. And that is unanimous. Thank you, Council Member Burke. That's all on our agenda. Anybody have any comments or are you ready to go? I entertain a motion to adjourn.

So moved. Second.

Motion by Mayor Pro Tem, seconded by Council Member Hall to adjourn. All those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? We are adjourned.