Durham City Council Work Session - January 19, 2024
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Durham City Council Work Session - January 19, 2024
The Durham City Council held a work session on January 19, 2024, with Councilmember Freeman presiding due to the excused absence of Mayor Williams and the delayed arrival of Mayor Pro Tem Middleton. The meeting began with a roll call (Councilmembers Caballero, Cook, Freeman, and Riss present) and announcements. Councilmember Caballero thanked community and staff for response to ongoing power outages, and Councilmember Cook thanked staff for onboarding. Deputy City Manager Bo Ferguson provided an update on the power outage response, detailing warming centers at libraries (open until 6-8 PM), an overnight shelter at the old North Durham High School (117 Tom Wilkinson Road) opening at 8 PM, and hot meal distribution via Durham Congregations in Action and Communities in Partnership. He noted Duke Energy's estimated restoration time of 6 PM was unreliable and urged residents to prepare for overnight.
Consent Calendar
- Items 1 (Environmental Affairs Board appointment – initially tied, later resolved), 2 (Human Relations Commission appointment – Asaya Robertson), and 3 (Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee appointment – Rosemary James) were approved by consent.
- Items 7 through 14 (including CIP amendments, banking services contracts, grant ordinances, and transit operations) were approved by consent.
- Item 4 (Racial Equity Commission appointment) was referred back to the city clerk's office.
- Item 5 (Resolution in support of Black teens in crisis) was pulled and moved to the February 5, 2024, general business agenda.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Rachel Salzburg (Durham resident) urged council to adopt a ceasefire resolution for Israel-Palestine, calling it “the only moral stance” and demanding a permanent ceasefire and no aid to Israel.
- George Robison (CEO of Organization of Dads Inc.) questioned why McDougald Terrace apartments were not being renovated by Durham Housing Authority instead of building new housing. He also criticized previous council actions and threatened to seek indictments.
- Elizabeth Rand (804 Berkeley Street) argued that calls for a ceasefire should not be distracted by references to Hamas, stating “exterminating an entire population is not a strategy” and accusing the IDF of genocide. She urged council to put Durham on the right side of history.
- Leslie St. Dre (Mothers for Ceasefire, Durham Beyond Policing) demanded council introduce a resolution for a permanent ceasefire, end to US aid to Israel, and lifting of the siege on Gaza. She referenced South Africa's genocide case and criticized the mayor's closed-door process.
- Nastasia Pereira (first-time speaker) called for adoption of the UE150 draft resolution, noting Durham contributes $4.3 million annually in taxes to Israel's military. She urged investment in housing, living wages, and community resources instead of war.
- Councilmember Freeman acknowledged the speakers and noted that a group convened by the mayor met on MLK Day to draft a resolution or statement for council consideration. The city attorney clarified that a resolution requires four votes to introduce and four to pass, while a statement is less formal.
Discussion Items
- Power Outage Response: Deputy City Manager Ferguson provided details on warming centers (library branches open until 6-8 PM), overnight shelter capacity (150 individuals), free transit, and meal distribution. Councilmembers thanked staff and community partners.
- Participatory Budgeting (PB) Cycle 3 Update: Budget Engagement Manager Carmen Ortiz and Senior Analyst Fallon Thompson presented. PB Cycle 3 collected over 600 ideas, engaged 12,000 votes (including 2,886 from Durham Public Schools), and used paper ballots to reach underserved communities. Five winning projects were announced: security measures at DHA homes ($110K), lighting at parks ($887K), sustainable improvements to parks ($110K), pedestrian safety on East Trinity Avenue ($990K), and teen equipment at rec centers ($85K). 77% of projects serve target equity areas. Councilmember Caballero noted PB was championed by former Councilmember Johnson. Councilmember Riss asked about evaluation lessons; staff cited extended timeline and community engagement improvements. Councilmember Cook asked about school participation variation; staff noted school receptivity differed.
- Affordable Housing Omnibus: Mayor's interns Bryce McKeel and Joe Wilson presented a compilation of 11 presentations from 2022-2023 on housing affordability, private development, subsidized/public housing, evictions, and homelessness. Key points: North Carolina is a Dillon rule state, so Durham cannot mandate affordable housing inclusion; the city uses incentives. The affordable housing loan fund is exhausted. Eviction diversion programs are cost-effective. Recommendations include reconvening housing roundtables, increasing landlord participation in Section 8, funding legal aid, and streamlining ADU development. Councilmembers acknowledged complexity and need for state-level action. Councilmember Caballero announced she will lead a broader housing group.
- Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Update: Deputy City Manager Bertha Wimbush, Business Services Administrator Mary Grace Stoneking, and Grants Analyst Julia Brennan presented. Since 2021, the city has applied for ~$96 million in competitive grants, awarded $56 million (74% success rate). Key awards: $4.8M for EV charging stations, $5.3M for urban forestry, $5.7M for electric buses, $10.8M for Durham Station. Barriers include matching funds, staffing, and coordination. The city partners with Central Pines Regional Council. Councilmember Riss asked about prioritization and Justice40; staff noted use of neighborhood data and focus on low-income communities. Councilmember Riss also suggested a broader climate action plan. Councilmember Caballero asked about communication of regional plan; staff said it's in development. Councilmember Caballero suggested involving the Environmental Affairs Board in monthly meetings.
Key Outcomes
- Votes on Suspended Rules and Items: Council unanimously voted to suspend rules and approve Item 6 (FAA Airport Improvement Grant) and Item 15 (Professional engineering services for Northeast Creek Sewer Basin Hydraulic Model).
- Appointment: Tom Campbell was appointed to the Durham City County Environmental Affairs Board after Mayor Williams cast the seventh vote breaking a tie.
- Agenda Settlement: The agenda was approved with consent items as listed and item 5 moved to GBA.
- Next Steps: The PB winning projects will proceed to implementation with community co-design. The affordable housing omnibus and BIL/IRA tracking will inform ongoing council work. Councilmember Caballero will lead a broader housing stakeholder group. The ceasefire resolution or statement will be brought back after the mayor's group meets.
Meeting Transcript
Two minutes till broadcast, one minute till streaming. One minute till broadcast. We are now streaming. If you all are are ready, I will uh you who does the video thing go by itself or is that yes? If you all are ready, we'll get started. It's one o'clock. And I'm gonna call this meeting of the city council for work session to order. And we'll start with a roll call. Madam Clerk. Thank you, presiding chair. Um Mayor Williams is on an excused absence, and Mayor Pro Tem Middleton is delayed today. Councilmember Nate Baker is also got an excused absence, and so I'll start with the regular role. Councilmember Caballero? Here. Councilmember Cook. Here. Councilmember presiding Chair Freeman. Present. Councilmember Wrist. Here. Thank you. Thank you. And just moving along. Announcements by Council. If anyone would like to start, I'm looking to my left. Yes, Councilmember Caballero. Thank you. I just wanted to thank um everyone out in the community, including city staff, uh, city bus drivers are emergency response. I know several churches who've opened up their doors and and done a community-wide effort. Uh there are several um lots of residents actually who still do not have power. And so the city and the county have opened warming shelters, and there's been a lot of coordinated effort, and so I just wanted to thank all staff, city, county, community-wide. Uh um this is when uh Durham is at its best in my opinion, uh, when we all work together, and I just wanted to thank everyone. I also quickly wanted to thank out thank um I was able to go to and I'm gonna shout these kids out because they um I'm gonna pull up their I went to RN Harris last week and uh read to some kindergarten students, and my understanding was that they were going to be watching today, so I just want to shout them out. Ums Frederick's kindergarten class at RN Harris, thank you so much for having me last week. Hopefully y'all are watching. You're excellent uh students, and you have an excellent teacher. Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Caballero. Councilmember Cook. Um, good afternoon. I just wanted to reiterate my great thanks both to uh my colleagues sitting up here, but also the entire staff for this onboarding process has been a bit of a whirlwind, and everyone's been taking um so much care and time with me, and I really appreciate it. So I just wanted to say thanks again. Take your time. Councilmember Riss, did you have anything to add? If not, then we'll move on to prior. I'm sorry, I think um just a few a couple of additional announcements. Just to note I am presiding today because council member um I'm sorry, Mayor Williams is not of not in town for U.S. conference of mayors, and Mayor Pro Tem is out of town for a visit with the president. So I will um request to move a couple of things around a little bit just in case I don't want us to lose quorum or anything, but I do have to depart at about 345 today. So I just want to give everyone a heads up.
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