Durham City Council Work Session - July 21, 2023
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Durham City Council Work Session - July 21, 2023
The Durham City Council held a work session on July 21, 2023 (note: transcript indicates July 20, 2023; discrepancy exists). The meeting included approval of priority items, a closed session request, public comments on various issues, and discussion of an amendment to police psychological services contract. All council members were present except Councilmember Johnson (excused).
Consent Calendar
- City Manager's priority items (Agenda 18, 19, 20) approved unanimously: zoning map change for Fairhaven Walk (correction to density), zoning map change for 602 North Hoover Road (from IL to ILD), and consolidated annexation for 631 and 633 Clayton Road (consistency statement attached).
- City Attorney's priority items: motion to hold closed session at end of meeting for attorney-client consultation on two cases (Brook Maynard vs. City of Durham, Darrell Dowdy vs. City of Durham) passed unanimously.
- City Clerk's priority item: Agenda item 2 (Durham Historic Preservation Commission mayoral appointment) referred back to clerk's office to allow Ms. Faye Calhoun to fill an unexpired term.
- Settlement of the agenda (items 1 and 3-15 on consent, items 16-21 as public hearings) passed unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Gwen Silver (302 Sapphire Drive) commented on the petition process for no-parking in Stonehill Estates, proposing changes to require homeowner input, coordination with community strategists, EMS/police-driven process, and more than 50% homeowner approval. She described the current process as divisive and thanked Transportation Director Sean Egan.
- Jacqueline Wagstaff (virtual) raised concerns about ward residency requirements for council members, requesting legal documentation on residency status and the process to address if a member no longer resides in their ward. She expressed belief that a current council member may not live in their ward.
- Jesse Huddleston (co-chair of Pride Durham, part of LGBTQ Center) requested city coordination for Pride Durham events, seeking a central point of contact in the city manager's office to streamline support for the September 23, 2023 event and future years.
- Sherman Henson spoke about senior affordable housing problems, proposing solutions such as a 24-hour hotline for maintenance issues (e.g., stuck elevators, no water) and ensuring committees include local Durham residents.
- James Chavis Jr. criticized the city's handling of lead contamination in parks, alleging that staff instructed Duke not to release information without city approval. He displayed a news report and called for action.
- Johnetta Austin (resident of JFK Towers) described deplorable conditions at the senior/disabled housing: lack of air conditioning, mold, frequent water shutoffs, blocked trash chutes, and elevators out of service. She noted Millennium Housing (Ohio) received $19 million from Durham Housing Authority in 2019 but conditions persist.
- Mr. Robinson (virtual) asked about the status of the investigation of city council (ongoing) and expressed concern about firefighter pay ($14/hour) compared to McDonald's ($17/hour).
Discussion Items
- City Manager's Priority Items: Deputy City Manager Bertha Johnson presented three items with corrections. The council approved them unanimously.
- City Attorney's Priority Items: City Attorney requested closed session for two cases. Motion passed.
- City Clerk's Priority Items: Clerk referred back item 2. Motion passed.
- Pulled Item 9 – Amendment to Contract for Police Psychological Services: Mayor Pro Tem Middleton pulled the item for discussion. Assistant Chief David Anthony explained that the contract with FMRT Group LLC provides psychological services for officers, including mandatory evaluations for units with high stress (e.g., homicide, victim services). The increase in contract amount is due to addition of staff to these units after reorganization. Councilmember Williams clarified that the increase is solely due to more personnel, not a new critical incident.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous approval of all priority items from city manager, city attorney, and city clerk.
- Motion to hold closed session at the end of the meeting passed unanimously.
- Agenda settled.
- The Open Space and Trails Commission appointment was not resolved; council voted 4-0 to re-advertise the position (Councilmember Johnson absent).
- Affordable Housing Implementation Committee appointments: Glenda Ange, Courtney James, and Prince R. Rivers.
- The council will enter closed session after regular business.
Meeting Transcript
We are now streaming. One minute till broadcast, thirty seconds till tight sequence. Happy Thursday. Durham, North Carolina. I'd like to call the Durham City Council work session to order for this the uh 20th day of July, the year of twenty twenty three at one PM. We are here in chambers and like to welcome those who have joined us live uh here today in person today, and we'd also like to uh welcome those who are joining us remotely as well. We are now uh officially back from our summer break with our first work session, and so we're gonna go ahead and get started and ask our clerk to call the role. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Madam Mayor. I am present. Mayor Pro Tem Middleton. I'm here. Councilmember Camallero here. Councilmember Freeman here. Councilmember Holsey Hyman. Here. Councilmember Johnson has um been granted an excused absence for today. And then Councilmember Williams. I am present. Thank you. All right, so we're gonna move into our announcements from council, and I'll start with my left hand and see if we have any announcements on this end. Oh just uh prayers for the family. I know that um it's been a hard loss this summer with the young lady and the little girl who was killed. And I I did want to thank all of our folks in the community for rallying around that family. That's a really difficult uh moment to have an experience. Um I I also wanted to say that I am continuing to kind of wait on staff around some responses on the lead in the parks. I do want folks to know that it is a priority and I thank everyone for the advocacy around it. That's all. Thank you. Councilwoman. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Uh good afternoon to staff, good to see you all after our break. I hope lots of you went away and got some time away. Um and to my colleagues as well that everyone got to rest up. I know that we have lots of issues um to work on this fall. Um and then the other thing I just wanted to say is thank you to the students who came to visit us this morning for those, um the mayor, council member Freeman, uh Williams, and Dr. Holse Holman and I were able to meet them this morning, and it's always uh excellent to see some of our youth, and they asked excellent questions, and it was a good way uh to start our work again with uh just some great kids and thanks to the staff who helped us uh get that ready. Thank you. Madam Mayor, good afternoon, ma'am. Good to see you and good to see all of my colleagues. Welcome back from what I hope was a restful and rejuvenating break. Uh just wanted to shout everybody out and say it's a privilege to be back in chamber. Also want to send a shout out to our administration for a very, very strong hire uh of Christina Reardon officially as our budget director, so kudos and congratulations to her. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Turning to my right. I'm sorry, to my left. Oh yeah. Again, good afternoon to our our residents of Durham. It's good to be back to work for you to my colleagues.
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