OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Charlotte City Council Business Meeting - November 25, 2024

City Council — Monday, November 25, 2024
BodyCharlotte, North Carolina
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, November 25, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:00

Agenda review.

0:01

Um I believe is what do we call this now?

0:04

We call this the agenda overview, and we are going to start with our city council.

0:11

We had some questions and Ms.

0:13

Marie, would you are there questions that have been submitted that we have to review in advance?

0:23

Yes, ma'am.

0:24

Thank you.

0:24

And y'all should all have a copy at your table.

0:27

And I had a few questions that are actually on consent items, Mr.

0:31

Bukhari and Ms.

0:33

Mira.

0:35

I don't know if you've had the chance to look over them yet, or if you would like additional information.

0:41

Ms.

0:42

Ashmira, you requested some questions from Marie, and so I think they've been distributed.

0:47

So but she wanted to know if you had any additional questions.

0:52

No.

0:53

My questions were on the business items.

0:56

Okay.

0:57

So uh I don't have anything on consent agenda items, and I appreciate Marie for helping me understand there was one consent item that you provided a response to.

1:09

So I'm good.

1:09

Thank you.

1:10

Thank you.

1:10

All right.

1:11

Any other questions on the consent items?

1:14

I would probably just pull for comment, not for a separate vote.

1:18

17.

1:19

All right.

1:20

So item 17 is police recruit advertising services.

1:25

And Mr.

1:25

Bukhari would like to make a brief comment.

1:28

A brief comment about that.

1:30

Is there any other item that anyone wants to pull from consent?

1:37

Harry None, um, we'll go to the cons we'll go through 18 through 29.

1:43

I think we can just vote on them all at once and I'll comment just briefly.

1:47

And sorry, that would be 17 through 30 to 32 wheels.

1:51

Sorry, I saw the consent agenda down here.

1:53

Okay, so Mr.

1:54

Bukhari, your comments.

1:56

We'll do a motion probably first.

1:57

I'll move to approve.

1:59

Second.

2:00

We have a motion and a second to approve.

2:02

Now, Mr.

2:03

Bukari, were you including item 17?

2:05

Yes, I'm just gonna make a comment.

2:06

We used to do comments.

2:07

Yes, we can do a comment.

2:09

All right, Mr.

2:10

Bakari, your comments.

2:12

Yeah, I just this is one of the first times we've seen some data uh like this.

2:17

Uh and again, I I'm not gonna belabor the point or even at this point try to figure out and hold back the vote of the consent item.

2:25

I want it to move forward at this point, but we don't get to see a lot of the data that I believe at the the the core of many of our organizations get towards things like recruitment, retention, um, overall morale.

2:39

And I would just say that there are some concerning things here to look at.

2:44

And if you look at your numbers like recruit class 197, you know, large number coming in, 85, but only 48 ended up graduating, 26 resigned during the process.

2:56

Um 14 were recycled, a record-breaking number.

3:00

That this could mean a lot of things, and I haven't drawn any conclusions, but I do think this is the kind of exercise we need to start drilling into because I I do personally believe um this is indicative of what could be a serious problem down the road.

3:15

And the culture, the morale issues, the recruitment and retention are all critical to that.

3:20

So I think it dovetails nicely after this comment into what the manager is already going to be doing in a series of our meetings drilling into, particularly in CMPD, different topics where we as a council can ask questions of data we want brought back of things we want to understand.

3:38

So I I'm not gonna jump to any conclusions now, but I think it dovetails nicely into that.

3:43

It was a concern I had.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety████████████████████████████28%
Procedural███████████11%
Public Engagement███████████11%
Racial Equity█████████9%
Affordable Housing████████8%
Community Engagement████████8%
Intergovernmental Relations██████6%
Homelessness████4%
Public Transit███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Charlotte City Council Business Meeting - November 25, 2024

The Charlotte City Council held a business meeting on November 25, 2024, covering consent agenda approvals, action reviews, public hearings, a manager's report on public safety, and two significant business items. The meeting also featured a public forum with 15 speakers addressing issues including racial harassment, displacement, and airport worker wages.

Consent Calendar

  • Item 17 (Police Recruitment Advertising Services): Approved after Councilmember Bokhari commented on concerning recruitment/retention data (e.g., Recruit Class 197: 85 entered, 48 graduated, 26 resigned, 14 recycled). Manager Jones committed to a series of public safety deep-dives starting November 2024.
  • Items 18–32: Approved en bloc without objection.

Public Forum (Public Comments & Testimony)

  • Manjeed Damani: Described a water main break on August 28 that caused $22,331.24 in damage to his pool and property. City reportedly deemed it a "natural disaster" and declined coverage.
  • Tawana Brooks: Urged increased police presence, lighting, and attention to loitering and crime at Bearden Park, noting a shooting on November 2 and slow 911 response.
  • Jay Walker & supporters (Vera Faulkner, Rev. Kate Murphy, Martha Vanessa, Nikki Thomas, John Irwin, Xavier DeJan): Detailed five years of racial harassment by neighbor Rick Uri, including 66 police calls, threats, and ongoing intimidation. Called for city intervention and accountability.
  • Jen Diesa: Requested funding for the new animal shelter and creation of an independent department to manage Animal Care & Control, separate from CMPD oversight.
  • Shanice Williams: Described unsafe, unsanitary conditions at Lamplighter Inn and Tanglewood/Timberridge apartments, asking for permanent housing solutions before Christmas.
  • Micah Bolong: Blamed city council for systemic injustice, citing insufficient affordable housing investment and stadium funding, and criticized the coordinated entry system.
  • Carson Cone: Called on Charlotte to sign a resolution supporting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), citing 94 signatory nations.
  • Alicia Harvey: Described inhumane conditions at Lamplighter Inn (no water, lights, etc.) and called for immediate safe, affordable housing.
  • Logan Newsome-Mason: Representing airport workers, stated they went on strike for living wages ($14.50/hr) and respect; asked council to support workers.

Discussion Items

  • City Manager’s Report – Public Safety Update (Item 13): Chief Johnny Jennings presented crime trend data from 1990 to 2024, showing a per-capita decline in violent and property crimes despite population growth. Councilmembers discussed perception vs. reality, nuisance abatement, juvenile recidivism, 911 response times, and the need for a holistic community safety model. A series of follow-up meetings scheduled through February 2025.
  • Action Review – Proposed 2025 Federal & State Legislative Agendas (Item 4): Dana Fenton presented priorities including transportation funding, airport security staffing, federal forever chemical liability protection, state interbasin transfer modification, and stronger arcade gaming regulations. Council requested language aligning immigration policy with the 2019 Charlotte Compass. Further committee discussion set for December.
  • Action Review – 2025 Council Calendar (Item 5): Clerk Stephanie Kelly noted the calendar will add two August business meetings (Aug 4 & 11) for a total of 18 business meetings. Councilmember Watlington requested scheduling of evaluations and clarifying meeting modes (virtual/in-person). Vote scheduled for December 9.
  • Public Hearings: All four public hearings passed unanimously:
    • Alleyway closure at 1609-1615 Matheson Ave (District 1)
    • Cecil Street closure (District 1)
    • Sentry Post Road closure (District 3)
    • Bluemont on Steele Creek voluntary annexation (District 3)
    • Marion R. & Lavonne Marsh House historic landmark designation (District 6)

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda (Items 17-32): Approved with Councilmember Bokhari’s comment on police recruitment data.
  • 2025 Legislative Agendas: Heard; committee to consider modifications (especially immigration language) and bring back for a vote on December 9.
  • 2025 Council Calendar: No vote taken; final approval scheduled December 9.
  • CMGC Restaurant Lease (Item 14): Approved 6-2 (Councilmembers Johnson and Brown opposed) after Phil Reiger explained the transition from Showmars to Kostas Kitchen (same owner) with market-rate rent. Councilmember Johnson raised concerns about equity and CBI exemption.
  • Shelton Knoll Apartments NOAH Preservation (Item 15): Approved $1.1 million HTF allocation and 20-year rental subsidy commitment (up to property tax amount). Staff confirmed no displacement of current residents; units will transition at turnover to 30%, 60%, and 80% AMI.
  • ARPA Fund Uses (Item 16): Approved $25,401,110.01 in government services revenue replacement, plus budget ordinance transfer, to ensure full obligation of $141.6M allocation by Dec 31, 2024 deadline.
  • Public Forum Follow-Up: Council requested that staff provide a written report on each speaker’s topic (water main, racial harassment, Lamplighter Inn, etc.) to be distributed promptly. Mayor Lyles asked the Housing and Safe Communities Committee to take up displacement issues.

Meeting Transcript

Agenda review. Um I believe is what do we call this now? We call this the agenda overview, and we are going to start with our city council. We had some questions and Ms. Marie, would you are there questions that have been submitted that we have to review in advance? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. And y'all should all have a copy at your table. And I had a few questions that are actually on consent items, Mr. Bukhari and Ms. Mira. I don't know if you've had the chance to look over them yet, or if you would like additional information. Ms. Ashmira, you requested some questions from Marie, and so I think they've been distributed. So but she wanted to know if you had any additional questions. No. My questions were on the business items. Okay. So uh I don't have anything on consent agenda items, and I appreciate Marie for helping me understand there was one consent item that you provided a response to. So I'm good. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Any other questions on the consent items? I would probably just pull for comment, not for a separate vote. 17. All right. So item 17 is police recruit advertising services. And Mr. Bukhari would like to make a brief comment. A brief comment about that. Is there any other item that anyone wants to pull from consent? Harry None, um, we'll go to the cons we'll go through 18 through 29. I think we can just vote on them all at once and I'll comment just briefly. And sorry, that would be 17 through 30 to 32 wheels. Sorry, I saw the consent agenda down here. Okay, so Mr. Bukhari, your comments. We'll do a motion probably first. I'll move to approve. Second. We have a motion and a second to approve. Now, Mr. Bukari, were you including item 17? Yes, I'm just gonna make a comment. We used to do comments. Yes, we can do a comment. All right, Mr. Bakari, your comments. Yeah, I just this is one of the first times we've seen some data uh like this.

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