Hello everybody. It's a pleasure to have everyone in here. Um, we won't have a New Orleans jazz band today like Monday night, but uh, we are here to get to business and do the people's work. Madame Clerk, will you please call the role?
Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mayor Williams, I'm here. Mayor Proton Middleton, I'm here.
Thank you. Council member Baker, here. Council member Cabayro. Council member Cook here.
Council member Freeman has requested an excused absence for today. And council member Wrist who's in the building. He's here. Thank you so much.
Um announcements. Um I feel like I have a lot that are going to be shared by a lot of folks. So, I'm just going to do uh one to start us off, which is that yesterday I had the opportunity of doing a tour of solid waste and some related
uh facilities. So, I want to give a special thanks to Casey, Carlos, and Marco who are on the bus with us for all of those different ones. Um we met Trre at the um headquarters. Um and we met Super at the headquarters uh who is our newest mascot.
um a literal trash can with a cape on it. Very, very cute. So, some photos to follow. Um and then Dan and Muriel who took us around the lift station and um and then we were able to go talk with folks about composting and then we also visited the recycling plant um where we send off our recycling and got a tour um to see how that functioned and it was extremely enlightening.
I got to go uh with council member Rist and Mayor Prom Middleton um and had a had a great time. I think we learned a lot. So, just wanted to say thank you to the city staff who made that possible and uh those are my announcements. Thanks. Thank you. I thought you all were going to the solid waste water management
facility which is like the most Yeah. So, I I I learned that. Uh yeah, that's another that that place is phenomenal. But the views from solid waste when you go way way way back.
Yeah. Some of the most beautiful open space we have. All right. Mr.
Baker, just want to say thank you to everyone who's here and watching at home and good to see you all colleagues. Uh nothing for me today. Council member. Uh thank you.
Good afternoon. I don't have much. I just wanted to shout out a a book speaker who was here yesterday that um was hosted um by Housing for New Hope and it was a really um incredible um author and I just want to mention the book um hold on Brian Goldstone. Yeah, Brian Goldstone. He wrote a book around homelessness. Um that is something um I will find the title but I just wanted to shout out uh the
author and housing for New Hope for hosting him um and Duke for hosting him as well. Uh it was a really uh great talk and uh learned a lot and I think that um a lot of great lessons for learn for Durham around homelessness. That's all. There is no place for us.
Thank you. Thank you council member Rrist. Thank you Mr. Mayor.
Good afternoon colleagues. Good afternoon, staff, folks listening online and here in attendance. Um, yeah, it seems like a it's been a kind of whirlwind since Monday night. We got had a late meeting Monday and seems like things have been non-stop since then.
Um, yeah, the the the um solidways tour that I went with council Cook and Mayor Pertim was incredibly fascinating. I just want to thank the staff. I want to thank Casey Harris Pratt and Carlos Lions and the other folks who who um um guided us along and hosted us. you know, um, so much of what we do in this city is the stuff that we it's the it's the front basic stuff we love seeing.
It's like buildings, the built environment. It's our parks. It's like culture, you know, and the folks at Solid Waste are dealing every day with the stuff we all
get rid of. We discard, you know, and that's some really important work. It's dangerous work. It's messy work.
It's loud work. Um, but it means that like, you know, we don't have trash packing up in our our where we work and where we live. And so, they do incredibly valuable work to keep this a safe, beautiful city. And I really want to appreciate the work they do.
That's also incredibly fascinating. And also watch from behind the scenes what this recycling whole business looks like and how that's processed is like really really informative. And the more we can do obviously to reduce the amount of trash going in our waist streams all the better off we'll all be. Um a couple of things I want to thank Council Member Cabierro um and our consultants at H HRNA Consulting for the incredible work on housing that you've done.
And we had a presentation on Wednesday also um with the joint durm housing initiative task force. Some great stuff that's coming out of that in terms of data on the housing supply housing needs to really set the table for the work we're going to be doing going forward on to address that the critical housing needs we have in Durham. So thanks for that. I know there's more work to be done a lot of recommendations. So look forward to more
of those those u the actions coming out of that task force. So thank you for leading that. Um also this morning we had the the mayor's parks challenge. Right.
So thanks to Emily Macintosh and the folks from the parks foundation and DPR for organizing that at I think about 20 parks around Durham, right? Thanks to our corporate partners who are part of that. I was at Bay Harrove Park with little pocket park right there in Old North Durham. I've never been to before in 30 years in Durham.
Great little park. We planted some amazing uh perennial flowers and grass and stuff. So, it's a lot of fun and I really appreciate the work the DPR has been doing across the whole system to really to really increase the visibility and the sort of like the the visual appeal of parks. When you enter any Durham public parks, any DPR park, you'll see this kind of signature planting.
So, you know, you're at a DPR facility and that work has been really instrumental in in both the brand for DPR, but also beautifying our city. So, kudos to the parks and the folks who are doing the maintenance of those those garden beds in all the parks. So amazing stuff.
Um, mayor, I think you're going to also speaking of books, you're going to be doing a little talk tonight with uh the mayor of Raleigh and one of the authors of abundance. So again, great conversation I look forward to about another important topic that we're talking about in this country about how do we how do we get out of the scarcity mindset and really think about abundance for our communities that we can have housing in a quality environment and roads and and all the things we want and do that in an efficient way to deliver local government. Right. That's what this is about, right?
How do we deliver local government in a better way at a time when government is really under pressure um and a lot of a lot of um denigration of the role of government? We're hearing from our federal leaders, but the critical importance of local government in getting stuff done for our residents and how do we get that done quicker and more efficiently. So, I look forward to that conversation and thanks for your leadership on that. That's all I got.
Thank you. Thank you. Everyone's home. Good afternoon, your honor.
to my honorable colleagues, to everyone in chamber with us today and whatever platform you may be watching. Good to be here uh today. Uh just want to echo the
uh the great time we had with my colleagues, Council Member Cook and Council Member Ris yesterday touring solid waste. I this this wasn't my first time visiting, but it was it was a very different visit uh for me when I first got elected. I uh went through the org chart and as part of my own self-education to visit um everything on our org chart some years ago and it have hit uh a couple of departments here and there since then. But um yesterday although I had been there I learned a a lot of new stuff because I had a different set of eyes, fresh voices and fresh eyes with me.
Um, and I want to thank council member Cook and the risk because some of Council Member Cook and Risk because some of the questions you asked actually prompted um some some fresh new perspectives for me on a department that I was familiar with. So, it really speaks to the importance of of churning and getting fresh eyes and fresh voices in the discussion. So, I want to thank you both uh for helping me learn some new stuff although I had been uh before and I want to thank this incredible staff. Much of your work goes unheralded and doesn't make the paper all the time but this city could not be
what it is. We take so many things for granted. Turning on the water fountain, walking on a clean street, um not smelling garbage in our streets. Um this city could not run uh without all of you.
So, so from all of us, thank you so much uh for what you do and thank you for allowing us to to visit and tag along and get in your way from time to time for a little bit uh so we'll know what we're voting about that these votes won't be abstract and kind of uh uh separated from from real real world facts. Uh finally today, Mr. May colleagues, I'm going to get out of here a little early um that if the meeting isn't already over, uh by about uh 2:30, I've got to head to the mountains. I'll be convening a meeting of Western leaders uh from our state uh to further talk about recovery from Hurricane Helen.
Great progress has been made, but we still got a lot of work to do. So, under the eegis of the league uh and along with Governor Stein, we'll be uh convening a meeting of Western leaders uh from our state. Um, and I want to thank again Durham for being right at the top of the list uh of municipalities
and towns in our state that have surged expertise and help and resources uh to our neighbors uh and our friend in in Western North Carolina. We are all Western North Carolina. We are all North Carolinians. Thank you, Mr.
Mayor. Thank you, colleagues. Thank you all. And yes, the mayor's corporate challenge is happening uh today.
Uh well, actually ended an hour ago, but parks all across the city. Um I started out at Merrick Moore in Wills this morning and uh just went out. Um but it's been quite a busy day. I spent some time with Leadership Triangle.
Um and that was a phenomenal panel. Uh Camille Barry of Chapel Hill Town Council. Um she's a really good friend of mine. She's the um I call her the Chelsea Cook of Chapel Hill because she asks so many questions.
Um but we all are smarter at the end of those questionings. So every town needs one. Mr. Mayor, every city needs one. Um, and and then we have uh we had um who was Jennifer Robbins from K Robinson
from uh Kerry. Uh Janet Cowell, mayor of Raleigh. Uh Jennifer is the mayor prom of Kerry. Um we had uh Corey Branch uh former mayor prom of Raleigh and uh Karen Howard, county commissioner in Chadam and myself uh at Leadership Triangle with nonprofit leaders all over the triangle.
Uh and regionalism is so important guys and and I love being a regionalist and um working with my kind of parks across the triangle. Uh and I hope that we can do more together. Um this morning I open the day up um welcoming emerging executives to Durham. These are uh economic development directors uh chamber representatives, nonprofit representatives at the Bulls Park and the PNC club from all over the state, mostly from smaller communities. Uh, and I talked about the importance of connecting the dots across our cities. I mean, across our state economically,
which, you know, that's why we need rail, you know, um, if we can connect the triad and the triangle, Charlotte to the triad to the triangle, there's a lot of, uh, benefits that can be for everyone in between and those major corridors. Uh, so um, I'm going to keep pushing that agenda as the mayor of Durham. and uh you know we're right in the heart of the state so we benefit from it all from rail coming through here um to you know two interstates coming through here however I am going to seek on how we can get this train horn to uh stop blowing all the way through the city all the time um that's my personal bias gosh they do it on purpose um and and yes I on a more somber note I I um am getting more and more warrant notices uh which is is getting scarier. Uh warn is basically when a corporate partner has to notify uh the city and the
mayor's office and the county comm the the mayor and the county commissioner chair uh and the city manager. I'm not sure if you get these. Yeah. City manager and county manager of when there's going to be a significant reduction in force.
We are losing jobs left and right. It's bad. It's bad. this morning RT uh FA uh FHI sent their email that's literally across the street but that's one of the most significant uh NOS's in the world housed right here in Durham they are having to cut hundreds of people RTI um the Museum of Life and Science is losing their funding it's it's just bad you know um between Duke and Carolina alone in their health area health research area is about $3 billion. They are losing a lot of resources. Uh and the the United States as well as the world rely on our
metro medical uh region for a lot of research. Um and and I'm I'm really worried about that. Um we're we're talking probably Duke alone maybe anywhere from two to 700 million in cuts. So, um, it's going to be a rocky road ahead and and and I hope that, uh, we just can hold on.
Um, I do believe, and I'm saying this in a in my opinion, in my interpretation of what's going on, I do believe there's been some mass market manipulation happening and we are catching the short end of the stick. Uh, so I do hope that it self-corrects soon. Um, and so I'm keeping my eyes on what's happening at the national level because it does affect us at the local level. Lastly, I will say colleagues, I am preparing to request a presentation to come before us on our elections. Um, not sure if you uh have noticed, but our elections have become a lot more expensive. Uh, Madame Clerk, I'm going
to ask you, catch you off guard. Uh, could you just kind of remind me of where we are in this? Like, there's like a significant increase. I did talk to Mr.
Bowden and he so yeah you guys need to uh take a look at this. So uh what could you remind me of what the increase is on these offyear elections? Mr. Mayor I don't have the exact figures but I can estimate I think for both the primary and general we're nearly at um $900,000 an expense for that and we're getting extremely low turnout.
Uh we're talking 900 almost a million dollars on an off-year election. Um, I think this is something that we need to look at. I've gotten lots of uh interaction from community members that are saying you need to change this. I can't change this by myself, but this is something I I'd like for us to at least hear colleagues and um and bring bring before us. Council member Caballero, do you do you want us to schedule a procedures committee with city attorney's office so
that they can give us some guidance on legality around what those those steps are? Yep. Let's do that. Council member, also um Madame Clerk, what what's the cost for like not offyear, whatever the other year is when there's larger other elections going on.
We have um general and primary every two years. So it's the same price. Yeah. Well, to answer your question, it's just ever increasing.
to answer your question. Uh that's the question I ask you board of the uh director of elections. Uh pretty much if it's on so this is a it's a a question we have to deliberate amongst one another and answer um if we went with the presidential year which we go back and forth. Remember Charlie Reese and I talked about this um do you have your main election during the presidential year or not? We do do one every other year because of our uh
staggering but uh it's a matter of do you not pay much of anything or do you pay you know your do you cover the foot the bill for the entire election. So, right, we pay the same amount every year though, right? So, like, so even if it's not a every other year for our local elections, but what I'm saying, what does it cost for than the, you know, on the even years essentially? Yeah.
Nothing. Nothing. Yeah. Yeah.
We we don't pay uh council member. It's nothing. It's zero. Who Who pays for it then?
It's it's the general election, so we get on that ballot. Mr. Mayor, I do think there is some cost, but you are you're spreading it along among a number of different because there are so many different elections going. So, the state is paying a portion, the the countyy's paying a portion, that sort of thing. Yeah, he said pretty much not much at all. But because we're sharing it with so many others, we do pay, we contribute, but when we don't, we cover it all ourselves, but we can
put it in procedures and talk through it. Um, add another I just was saying basically when we do it when we're the only people on on the ballot then we're covering the full cost when we are sharing it in even years with others whether it's presidential or not. There's also midterm elections then that cost gets spread with whoever else is on the ballot. So it's just a proportion versus a whole.
Yeah. So we get to know what our proportion is then of Yeah. of the whole and it's not anywhere near a million. Yeah.
Yeah. We're we're talking a significant difference. All right. So, uh I um should we go to procedures first before that?
That that would be we're meeting next week and so we can at least not to talk about it but at least to schedule because folks who are on procedures committee can at least have a conversation on when we can talk about it. Right. Okay. Because it's always hurting cats to get us all where we need to be. So that that just is an opportunity to at least say, okay, this is how long city attorney's office needs for research. Um and and then we can get
scheduled. That's my um recommendation. Yes, madam clerk. M madam attorney, you you have the look on your face of saying something.
I'm good, Mr. Mayor. Okay. Oh, question.
Yes, sir. Um Madam, it the the remedy would be the only remedy would be for us to change our elections, right? And is that fully within our purview or I mean if if we're going to if if we're if we have elections every two years anyway we got to pay for them if we're looking to either coattail ride the coattails of the even your election presidential year elections then that that essentially means we're going to be changing or or talking about changing our um elections and is that would that fully fall within our purview or would that require uh I would like to have an opportunity to research search that and brief that for you. But I do know that our counterparts in both Raleigh and Charlotte have changed to even year elections is how I refer to them because then you're at least on um statewide
election ballots are going on in the even years irrespective of whether it's a presidential year or a midterm of some sort. Um, and I would like to get with my peers to kind of talk through the steps of how they did that and what was entailed and sure and I will provide that information to you. And if there be any implications for having a a staggered council as opposed to all of us being up at the same time um which which has its own set of of you know issues and questions as well. So thank you.
I look forward to the conversation. Thank you. it and I think where you're probably going it'll require a charter uh some I don't know we'll get we'll we'll bring it to uh procedures and take it there but I just wanted to put it on your radar I'm about to bring that before us um yeah yeah um and I I think I think it'd be interesting to have a conversation holistically as well I mean we we had an email exchange uh several months ago um I was asking about uh having a discussion about wards award system and whether we want to move to
true ward system or whether we want to maintain it the same. I think it's a that'd be an interesting question to have at the same time. So, agreed. Thank you all.
Yes, ma'am. If council members want to send me uh anything that is related to elections with question marks, I remember that one that has come up for years. um please just email me and then we will make sure that we can give a total list to city attorneys so that they're not chasing little threads um and get it scheduled and coordinated so that we are moving in alignment and not um and being intentional. Thank you.
All right. I thank you all for Yes, sir. No, I was just gonna I'm just looking for clarity. Um what what is the process here as it relates to the procedures committee? Well, we well basically so council member Javiero chair Caviiero chairs the procedures. So this would be a change in our operations uh procedures
rather. So what we'll do is bring it to the procedures committee pretty much lay all of this out. It'll have all of the information and research done with it and then we'll bring in whoever we need to bring in for a presentation. But at least we'll have and then it comes back to right bring it back to us.
We'll have a menu of things to to talk about. I just wanted to put it on our radar. Um that's an area we can save a significant amount of money. All right, let's get to it.
Yes, ma'am. I just want to clarify. I don't think that council member Freeman ended up asking for that absence. Oh, yeah.
So, I'll make that motion now. Will you please? Yes. Um, I'll make a motion for to excuse council member Freeman from today's work session.
Okay. All right. It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor?
I. All oppose. All right. And I look forward to if you all are available. Seeing you at the urban ministries gayla tomorrow night as well as equity before birth tomorrow at Museum of Life and Science at 4 o'clock
and then urban ministries after that. Also, the chancellor of NCCU is uh doing a two-eek celebration of installation. So, uh there are lots of events. Uh her gayla will be tomorrow night as well.
m. actually um her installation ceremony um 9. Thank you for saying that. My calendar says 7:30 and I was like why 8:30?
Park 8:30. Okay. All right. I'm still It's better than 7:30.
All right. Mr. Board of Trustee over there. Are we on board with that?
All right. 9:00 it starts, but I get there if you can. Yep. See you all there.
Yeah. All right. Thank you all so much. Let's get to the business.
Mr. Manager, you good afternoon, Mayor, Mayor Prom, members of council. Well, the city manager's office has no priority items,
but uh take a point of personal privilege and thank the council members for their uh kind comments for the solid waste staff who absolutely uh deserve that praise. I will and also for the comments about our assistance in western North Carolina. Um but I also want to turn that around and uh thank the council members and the mayor prom for taking the time to uh do a deep dive with our staff and to to see some of the lesser scene parts of the operation. We appreciate you uh spending your time to educate yourselves and uh to to see the the work that they do.
They appreciate it and we appreciate it as well. Thank you. Thank you, Madame Attorney. Good afternoon, Mr.
Mayor, Mr. Mayor Proim, and members of the council. The city attorney's office has no prior priority items today. Thank you, Madam Clerk.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I have my board committee and commission report. The first nomination is for the participatory budgeting steering committee.
Luwellyn M. Estabbon is the nominee. Mayor's Hispanic Latino Committee appointments, there are two,
Victor Ayani and Marciano Solano. And for the final workers rights commission diverse background nominees are Marcus B. Spates and Kaia Taylor. for the low-wage industry category, Elise Balin, Nino Martin, Corey Wegart, Gary Wood, and the final Durham Largest Workplace for the Workers Rights Commission.
The nominations are Antonio Luster and Garrett L. Robertson. And that's the end of the report. Thank you so much.
Yes, go ahead. Um, I was going to pull number three briefly. Um, I know that's not relevant, but I just want to make sure for the staff person that they stay on after the clerk's items are approved. So, you're looking to speak with the staff person for that?
I just have a couple questions about the workers rights commission. Okay. Very brief. I just want to make because I know we do that in advance so that the staff person doesn't have to wait till the very end. So, I just wanted to alert whoever is
listening that I'm going to pull that item. All right. Sounds good. Thank you.
So, at this time, um, I will read the consent agenda. Number one, participatory budgeting. Um, may prom, I'm going to ask that you read the, uh, I'm struggling already. No problem.
All right. Consent agendas as follow. Item number one, particip participatory budgeting steering committee appointment. Item number two, mayor's Hispanic Latino committee appointments.
Item number three, Durham Workers Right Commission appointments. That's being pulled. Council member Cook. Item number three is pulled.
Item number four, approval of city council minutes under departmental items. Item number five, city code amendment for water and sewer connections. Can I pull that one? Item number five.
Item number five is pulled under the community development department. Item number six, contract with corporate facts, Inc. for the preparation of the 5-year 2025 through 2029 consolidated plan, 2025 annual
action plan, citizen participation plan, and 2025 through 2029 analysis of impediments to fair housing choice. Item number seven, trails at Twin Lakes development loan commitment. Hold that one as well. Item number eight, second amendment to contract number 18394 between the city of Durham and Durham County for the provision of the housing opportunities for persons with AIDS HOPWA housing assistance and related supportive services under our general services department.
Item number nine, electric vehicle supply equipment pre-assessment and design build contracts with MLS Electric, Inc. Item number 10, first amendment to the climate core agreement between the city of Durham and Strategic Energy Innovations, Inc. Item number 11, preliminary guaranteed maximum price amendment to the construction manager at risk CM contract with Lechase Construction Services LLC for the city hall and annex HVAC project. Item number
12, parking facility structural maintenance FY24, package number one, project contract change order number two with Carolina Restoration and Waterproofing, Inc. under our public works department. Item number 13, drainage structure improvements SD 2025-02. Under our solid waste management department, item number 14, contract with with municipal media corp for recycle coach, an all-in-one waste and recycling communication tool.
under pull that one just to note we we talked a lot a lot about the yesterday about communicating with our residents about how they can better recycle and reduce the contamination in our recycling stream. So good stuff. Are you pulling it up? Just appreciate the comment.
Technology solutions department. Item number 15, contract with Kerasoft Technology Corporation to purchase Nanix licenses. Item number 16, contract with Sharp Leasing USA Corp. for leasing and upgrade of printer fleet under our transportation part department. Item number 17, municipal maintenance agreements with North Carolina
Department of Transportation for signing and pavement marking work performed on state roads. uh for public hearings for our upcoming general meeting. City County Planning Department. Item number 18, consolidated annexation.
Romero residence. Item number 19, consolidated item page, Miami Design District. Item number 20, TC24003, a privately initiated unified development ordinance, UDO text amendment. Item number 21, consolidated annexation, page corners.
Item number 22, zoning map change 1202 Ellis Road in the community development department. Item number 23, propose substantial amendments to the FY20 through 25 consolidated plan and FY21- 22, FY22 through 23, FY23 through 24 and FY24 through 25 annual action plans for community development block grant CDBG and housing opportunities for persons with AIDS HOPA. That ends the reading of the printed agenda for today. Madam clerk, do we have any citizens matters?
I don't No, just they're all resource. All right. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
That's the uh agenda with it. I I have items number three, five, and seven pulled. Mr. Manager, do you concur?
All right. All right. Sounds good. We'll go to item number three.
You guys don't want to stay and listen to the interesting stuff. Uh Miss Propes, Jana, could you give me a call? Oh, hi. Thank you.
They were ready to go. Real work to do. All right. Thank you.
We'll go ahead. Item number three. Um, Council Member Cook, I'm going to be so All of these are yours. So, are they all?
They're all mine. Okay. Yes. And I only did three.
That's not that bad. Okay. Um, this one's going to be so so fast. My first one is that um Nina Martin has an A on the end of it's n I N A and it's misspelled in both the memo and also on
our ballot. So I just wanted to note that um and because that person has published a lot of work under their name. Sounds like that needs to be correct. Um, and then do you have a sense, and this might be a better question for whoever the le liaison is, as to why there were no meetings for three months at the end of the year because we were looking at the attendance reports and for some of them who had just gotten on the board, they only had like two meetings out of six months to see.
Recheck my emails, but I know that I could say that Antonio, the head person, was sit on one of them. Mhm. And I know till the end of the year they usually have meet and greet like Thanksgiving and Christmas they all f all on the fourth Tuesday so it's around the holiday. I see.
Okay. I just I just wanted to make sure because there were no meetings scheduled and so yeah it was around I know the November December was around the holiday and they just say we just not going to meet. Okay, that
totally makes sense. It was just a lot of people. It was like six or eight people for Yeah, it was eight vacancies and then it was just like weird to see no meetings for several months. But that totally makes sense.
Towards the end of the year since we do fourth Tuesdays and it falls around then they usually don't meet cuz everybody be out of town or Totally. Yeah. Okay, cool. Those were all my questions.
Thank you. Excuse me a moment. Can you introduce yourself? Hi, assistant clerk Ashley.
Um, what else? Diana. Oh, Ashley Adams. Yes, thank you Ashley.
If I could if I could add that, Mr. Mayor. Yes, sir. Um, so I just want to follow up on those comments.
Thanks for pulling that item. Um, I want to note that the the liaison to the workers rights commission as council member Freeman who I think chose earlier this year, let the mayor know she wouldn't be able to to meet that responsibility. So that was passed back to the mayor. I think Derrick's been attending. So, actually the chair reached out to me at some point and said, "Hey, you know, we're we're sort
of we asked questions about our role in the city. " So, I went to one of the meetings just to attend to see what they're up to. I think the workers rights commission is an important part of um what we the sort of advice we get as a city council. Um I know one of the meetings actually when I'd planned to attend I think they had a AV thing that the reason they couldn't sort of do a zoom call and that meeting got cancelled.
So there was some concern that they feel like they have not had proper support from the city council and so something the mayor and I have talked about. Again, I think it's an important function. I want to make sure they're properly supported. Um and so that's something that is is worth some further discussion here.
Yeah, I'll uh I'll go back to Thanks for that. Um and this is on us colleagues. Uh we we have 29 boards, committees, and commissions, and it's seven of us. And we we all are assigned I assign all of you all, including myself, to uh these boards, committees, and commissions. I try my best to get us where you get you where you want to be. But then you're
going to have to take some that you just don't want. Um unfortunately, Council Member Freeman has just a lot of conflicts for whatever reason. Um, which council member Rissa, I appreciate you for taking on way more than anyone else. You um, and I there are a lot of boards, committees, and commissions that are not on our 29 that the mayor has I'm required to be a part of.
Uh, and it's probably about 12 of those. Um I I think the best the best thing we can probably do is just you know I can have some meetings scheduled to where you know they can meet with me and I could share those updates with the council. Um right now yeah there is no representative from the council to um that committee and I have tried to fulfill with myself or my staff uh fulfill those in you know those engagements um but also I don't we also are not required you know so we aren't
required to attend every meeting that uh the the committees boards commissions have so uh but it's just a matter of communication and I'll make sure I have my staff reach out and try and schedule a meeting with the chair so I can get some updates. Uh I I know I can't take on anymore. Uh if any of you all want to take on some more, that'll be great. Uh Council Member Freeman has about four and we all should have about nine.
So, um so just to bookmark off of that, just a question for a different day, but I just want to raise it. Um there's a lot of people that apply to these boards. a lot a lot of people and we do have a significant number of boards and it is my intention to um speak with colleagues um about potentially like doing some sort of overview of what we have and and the efficacy of all of these boards and council or committees. Um, not again not a question for today, but just putting that on y'all's radar that that has been something that I've been thinking about anyway. And this is kind of why I pulled
this item because I was concerned with that number of people we were appointing that those meetings hadn't been occurring. And um, like you said, that's a that feels like a very important um, item particularly given, you know, mayor, what you just said at the beginning of the meeting about our workforce and and the changing the rapidly changing landscape. So, um, that is my intention moving forward. So, just look out for an email from me, colleagues, about about some ideas around potentially looking into the efficacy and and just making sure that we're doing the best we can.
Um, and and utilizing the people who are signing up to do that volunteer work with us, right? To make sure the time is well spent. Yes, exactly. And I don't know if this is a procedures thing, is that or is not?
No. No. What? Thank you.
Uh, thank you, sir. Thank you, colleagues. I think it's worth noting how some of these boards get born. Um, some of these boards are reactionary out of an issue that's an issue at the moment. Um, none of these boards and commissions should be generated by council attendance. Um,
what usually happens is an organic um, ongoing need is identified and the board becomes self-generating because the mission is clear and because the what needs to be done is everpresent. The workers right commission was born out of quite fr honestly a hotbed moment when we were talking about raises and talking about unions and talking about uh uh u other issues and those things are episodic right they eb and flow when we get around budget time some things become more uh uh for more for than others some then they recede. So some of these boards and commissions were not born out of the council. Somebody or sometimes a council member will say because an issue is hot, we need a board and commission for this particular issue. And then when that issue is, you know, either the raise is passed or the thing is done, then the issue kind of recedes. But if we have to, and to Council Member Cook's point, if we have to kind of think about, and I'm not talking about for this board particular in general, if we have to kind of think about making up work for them to do,
then maybe that board's life has, you know, maybe it's we some of these things can be deacto and ad hoc. Um, and I think so we've got some boards that were meant to be uh specific for a season that just we kept going. Um, some should be standing and some are ad hoc. Um and that may be well worth looking at.
But the workers right commission was born out of a movement and a very uh intense period of focus uh union driven wage driven. That issue receded and I think that's why we're seeing kind of a lull u and asking what next. Yeah. That's why like task forces and ad hoc work.
One sec. Let me get council over here real first. Yeah. Thank you. I just wanted to say to that point where there have been his I think the clerk's office is working on I think the bylaw question for boards and commissions and so I'm wondering if a part two of that is to look at which boards and commissions consistently just have low attendance or we've had problems challenges getting
those boards appointed. I know that I think it's the appearance commission has also really struggled to maintain um membership and quorum and so I to to some folks questions here I wonder that is not a new thing like this has come up every few years that do we have too many partly because we're asked to um be liaison to these boards and commissions um and and there's also some that are just required we have to have a HRC that's tied to the fair housing act planning commission Right. So, some of these are required and some of them to the mayor prom and council member Cook's point are you know in response to something um that you know the community safety and wellness task force was a task force for a reason. They did their work.
They disbanded and so there may be other things that we need to think about is it really um you know I think Discover Durham's board you have to have it. It's our tourism board. We have to have representation there. So there I I would appreciate from the clerk maybe some here are the things that you can't
really get rid of and then here are the here are the boards and commissions that um are purely voluntary um and here are the ones that maybe have struggled within that bucket. Thank you. Okay, we'll review that and get back to you. Thank you, Mr.
Baker. Yeah, I think there's there's also just es and flows in in civic engagement. And I remember there there have been certain times where there's just been a million applications for all boards and commissions and then sometimes we can't we can't find anybody for anything. Um and certain boards, you know, obviously draw a lot of applicants and others don't.
Um, but specifically to Durham Workers Rights Commission, I'd be interested I don't have time, but I'd be interested in connecting with you and you and Council Member Freeman and thinking through specifically to that board um what the future looks like and potentially serving as leaison as well, but we can follow up on that. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. And then could we just get a list, Diana? So, some places have alternates, right? So, like some of our boards and commission assignments
have an alternate and some of them don't and it's not unified. And so that could also be a way to solve it is maybe a council camp member can't get there all the time, but if that one has an alternate between two council members, they can get most of the meetings covered because that's how it's with some of the other um boards and commissions. Thank you. And and I want to remind us like it is great for us to be there, but it's not required.
Uh some are some some things I have to have you guys on and myself. Um, but it it us being present means a lot to the community members that are in that are involved and engaged. " But I I just want to share a sage piece of advice because when I was first appointed, I asked Mayor Schul very candidly, right? Like, oh, it's it's council meetings, it's work session meetings, and it's also all these boards and commissions. " like if you can get there 50% of the time, you're making a good effort. And so I am just sharing that with colleagues and do not think the expectation is to get there more, but um
most of our boards and commissions do not meet in January, sorry, December or July. That is a moving whatever. So then you're taking two months out and then you're only getting there 50% of the time. So it's actually not that many meetings added.
Now we all have a lot on our plates, but like if you kind of look at it in that way, then it's versus like, oh, it's 12 meetings and seven boards and commissions. It's like no we're and and one of the things I will be asking in our bylaw conversation is that every board and commission does not meet in December and July to give staff a break as well because a lot of our boards and commission also have staff leaison and we have to be mindful about their um time as well. Yes sir. To for um um madam city clerk for your analysis would also be good to to clarify which boards is the city council representative because some of them we were voting members.
Some of them were just like like I'm a liazison to DH vote. Yeah. But we we can't vote anymore. It's u I forgot what that Yeah. But a lot of these were like we're part of the quorum, right? So that so I think
it'd be worth noting which on which boards are we actually standing members where we like impact the quorum and which ones are we just sort of like observers. Right. I understand and we'll have to review the bylaws to determine that. All right.
So we'll get this feedback from uh Madame Clerk and uh we'll we'll bring this discussion back up. Thank you uh Council Member Cook for bringing number three out. Just tell us you read every syllable of the packet without telling us. You know, identify and misspell names and stuff.
Nerd. She's a nerd. Super super smart. Thank you.
I'm going to take that as a big compliment. Oh, I just called you a hot nerd. Nerd. Um, are we ready to move on? I can go ahead and number five.
Oh, sorry about that. Mr. White Man. Mr.
Yes, I'm Scott White man from the planning department. I also have Sarah Long, our senior planner with us as well. Okay. Um, just a couple of questions.
Um I am looking specifically at the at the contract. So in 7B it reads that this that it's subject to city council approval and also it might be subject to annexation at the distin at the discretion of council. And I was just wondering if you could procedurally tell me what this is going to look like. So, how it comes to us, what it looks like, um because I I imagine because of the way that this is written, it's not going to be standard um as a public hearing. So, I just was hoping for some clarity around that. Certainly and what we'll probably uh the public works department administers the actual program so we we'll need to get some
better answers from them but um there is a current city procedure for which um extension agreements need to go to council for approval and which ones can be approved by the administration. So this code amendment would not change that procedure at all. It would just add this um slightly larger exemption from which ones would require annexation. Okay.
And then as part of that then we we will be tasked at deciding if there's an annexation needed as part of that as well. Will that be will we get information about that from the staff report? I guess I'm just curious like how we would know from looking at a utility agreement whether or not it would be a good idea to annex. I assume that's going to come as a recommendation from the department but I'm just curious about it.
Yeah, and certainly we we will lay out the the benefits and costs for annexing. Um I think there's actually a case on the agenda for this uh for this meeting that fits in that category. Perfect. Okay, great. Well, we'll see it
in real time. Um the this is at this would be at the cost of the homeowner to connect to those services. Um, but assume assumably we do still take on the cost in terms of maintenance and also in terms of like staff and such because they'll be paying for the water themselves. Is there any difference in cost to folks who are connected outside of the city lines for the use of the water and the sewer?
Yeah, folks outside the city limits are subject to double rates for water and sewer. Okay. And yes, so and the way this this code amendment is written, um it's for properties that are within 500 ft of an existing line. So those are lines that the city's already maintaining.
Um and so the private connection to those lines would be the property owner's responsibility. Okay, thank you. That was super helpful. Um those actually my questions, right? And also number seven.
Hey, Mr. Dawson. Really very very quick question. Um, so mostly I'm super excited about this.
It sounds like the city hasn't put any money into this project at all. This is sort of a a little bit of a bridge gap funding for the developer and it's a pretty minimal amount for the number of um of units that we're going to get. 68 affordable units. Um I guess I was wondering if you could and we've done this before, but if you could reexlain um what a forgivable loan looks like coming out of the dedicated housing fund and whether or not there's any um uh well, I'm sorry I'm blanking on the the word, but um with whether you're able to recoup if there's like some issue with that loan that's given.
You just talk about the loan a little bit. Uh Regginal J. Johnson uh community development. The uh forgivable loan is a a standard um loan that we use uh because oftent times grants do affect the uh performers and so we don't use that as a tool. The effectiveness of a
forgivable loan is that it is uh written and drafted as a loan but uh over a period of time say it's a 10-year loan on one/tenth of the loan is forgiven. uh in case the uh and then by the time you know uh 10 years the whole loan is is forgiven. If there is a problem with the project that it defaults uh then we do recover the part that's not forgiven. Okay, that was my question.
That is exactly what I wanted to know and that is all. Great. Well, thank you. Um I uh I believe that's all of our items.
Yep. Uh just briefly I wanted you all to know that uh the Raleigh Durham Startup Week is happening right now. The first two days was in Durham yesterday and the day before. Today they're in Raleigh and tomorrow. Uh and I would like to say uh celebrate uh which we're going to do a press advisor uh media um announcement on this. Five local entrepreneurs received significant
venture capital investment from private philanthropy. And yesterday we hosted I think it's like 2500 people that are engaging in this. Um, but it just feels good to be able to look out there and see Durham entrepreneurs uh who've built up from nothing, you know, get some some trust invested in them and uh you know, the investments that they're getting can take them to multi-million dollar companies. One of my big goals was to grow uh major companies out of Durham and uh this is the way to go.
So, just want to shout that out. be on the lookout for the press advisory on that. And uh yeah, it was that's all. Mr.
Manager, you're ready to settle the agenda. I have items on consent items 1 through 17 and JBA public hearing items 18 through 23. Move to settle. Second.
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor? I. I. All oppose. All right.
Thank you all. We are journ at 150.