Durham City Council Work Session: Downtown MSD, Crime, Summer Camps, Vision Zero, and Financial Reports - May 24, 2024
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Durham City Council Work Session: Downtown MSD, Crime, Summer Camps, Vision Zero, and Financial Reports - May 24, 2024
The Durham City Council held a work session on May 24, 2024, from approximately 2:45 PM to well into the evening. The meeting featured presentations and discussions on the Downtown Durham Municipal Service District annual report, first quarter 2024 crime statistics, summer camp and aquatics programming, the Vision Zero initiative, and the third quarter 2024 financial report. Several agenda items were pulled for further discussion, and a closed session was authorized. Councilmember Freeman departed at 3:00 PM for a family event. The session included substantial public comment on downtown business challenges, funding for youth programs, and water safety.
Consent Calendar
- Routine appointments to boards and commissions were approved: Durham Board of Adjustment, Workers' Rights Commission, Planning Commission, Mayor's Council for Women, Citizens Advisory Committee, and Durham Sports Commission.
- Numerous budget amendments, grant agreements, contracts, and resolutions were approved as part of the consent agenda (items 1–32, with items 7, 10, 11, 12, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, and others pulled for separate discussion).
- The Vision Zero resolution (item 27) was included on the consent agenda and approved.
- Public hearings for the fiscal year 2024–25 budget and CIP (item 37) and fire department fee increases (item 38) were set for June 3 and future meetings.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jacqueline Wagstaff: Criticized Mayor Williams for posting then-deleting social media videos regarding a weekend event, claiming removal violated public records requirements. Also opposed the proposed bond referendum, arguing it would burden taxpayers and that general maintenance should be funded through the annual budget.
- Mr. Langley (Charles Hamilton Houston Foundation): Urgently requested $25,000 to support career exploration and development programs for boys and young men of color, noting high rates of juvenile delinquency and gun violence.
- Larisa Seibel (former councilmember, online): Spoke in support of funding Legal Aid attorneys to prevent evictions, stating that 66% of eviction cases are resolved when Legal Aid is involved and that 85% of court-based interventions preserve tenancies.
- Downtown business owners/representatives (Bruce Kenyon, Laura Butler–read by Tiffany Bay Shore, Renee Bachelor–read by Heather Wilson, Kelly Carter): Described negative impacts of high parking rates ($2.25/hour decks, $2.50/hour on-street), unpredictable construction disruptions, and lack of city grant programs (e.g., facade improvement grants). Employees face $140–$400/month parking costs. Kelly Carter noted that a $2,250 city facade grant in 2007 helped her business, Toast, but no grants were available when she opened a second restaurant in 2014.
- Lee Boardley (Swim for Charlie program): Asked for help securing pool space at Campus Hills (IR Holmes Recreation Center) for water safety instruction, citing that DPR lacks sufficient lifeguards. Noted that drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death for children ages 5–14, and that 64% of Black children and 45% of Latino children have little to no swimming ability.
Discussion Items
- Downtown Durham MSD Annual Report (Item 34): Nicole Thompson, DDI President/CEO, presented a letter outlining three urgent challenges: construction impacts (road closures, utility shutoffs, debris), parking affordability and availability, and lack of small business support (historic grant programs ended). Council members expressed strong support and commitment to partner on solutions, with some suggesting changes to development regulations and parking policies.
- First Quarter 2024 Crime Report (Item 26): Deputy Chief Melissa Bishop reported that violent crime increased 3.7% (driven by robberies up 18%), but homicides decreased 53.9%. Property crime rose 15.6% (motor vehicle thefts up 53.2%, larcenies from vehicles up 26%). Clearance rates were higher than FBI averages for some categories but lower for motor vehicle theft. Staffing remains at 74% (397 filled of 535 authorized). Response times for priority one calls averaged 6 minutes 37 seconds, slightly above the 5 minute 48 second target. Council members discussed recruitment challenges, U visa approvals, and the need for survivor care resources.
- Affordable Housing Contracts (Items 10 & 11): Reginald Johnson (Community Development) explained that DVI (Durham Housing Authority’s development arm) will use grant funds for pre-development work on Forever Home Durham/Hope VI Preservation (item 10) and Fayette Place/Forest Hills Heights (item 11). Councilmember Cook praised the goal of integrating affordable housing into broader communities. Councilmember Freeman requested follow-up on community center accessibility at DHA sites.
- Made in Durham Grant (Item 20): Councilmember Baker noted the contract lacks demographic data on program participants and stressed the importance of tracking race, age, and gender. The item was approved after discussion.
- NC Works Career Center Contract (Item 21): Councilmember Baker questioned the lack of performance metrics in the contract amendment. Staff agreed to provide a detailed report on outcomes and how the contract supports broader workforce development goals.
- General Obligation Bond Referendum (Item 12): Councilmember Cook highlighted that the bond would free up CIP capacity and the city’s triple-A credit rating allows for low interest rates (~3.6% vs. state average 5.45%). The item advances to a public hearing on June 16. Councilmember Freeman requested a side-by-side CIP comparison for the next work session.
- Summer Camp, Teen, and Aquatics Programming (Item 35): DPR staff presented a new camp structure with half-day, specialty (STEM), and traditional camps. 1,261 slots are offered, with 126 families on sliding fee scale (paying $10–$13/week vs. full $132/week). Waitlists exist due to staffing shortages. Teen camps include job readiness and counseling-in-training. Aquatics: outdoor pools open seven days a week for the first time since 2017; 62 lifeguards certified; swim lesson capacity at 80 participants. Council discussed the possibility of free camps and a citywide out-of-school time study.
- Third Quarter 2024 Financial Report (Item 33): Finance Director Tim Flora reported that the general fund is on budget with no surplus anticipated; a $30.5 million use of reserves is planned as budgeted. Sales tax revenues are slightly under budget ($749,000). Enterprise funds (water/sewer, transit, solid waste, stormwater) are performing well. The parking fund continues to struggle due to remote work, requiring a loan from other enterprise funds.
- Vision Zero Update (Item 36): Vision Zero Coordinator Lauren Grove presented a safe systems approach to eliminate traffic deaths. In 2023, 28 people died in traffic crashes. The proposed resolution sets targets: 50% reduction in fatalities and serious injuries by 2035, and zero deaths by 2045. The resolution will make Durham eligible for federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grants. Council members expressed strong support and discussed the need for street design changes, UDO alignment, and improved project delivery.
Key Outcomes
- Consent agenda approved (items 1–32, except those pulled).
- Closed session authorized for attorney-client consultation on a liability claim.
- Vision Zero resolution (item 27) approved as part of consent, committing to target dates of 2035 and 2045.
- Bond referendum (item 12) advanced to public hearing on June 16, 2024.
- Contract amendments and grant agreements approved for affordable housing, Made in Durham, and NC Works (with request for additional performance data).
- Downtown MSD report received with council commitment to address parking, construction, and small business support; staff to provide timeline by summer 2024.
- Summer camp and aquatics presentations received; council discussed potential for free camps and a broader out-of-school time study.
- Financial report received with no significant deviations from budget.
- Council requests: Staff to provide parking and construction update by September 2024; performance metrics for workforce contracts; demographic data for grant recipients; and a comprehensive out-of-school time study.
Meeting Transcript
Testing testing one to one two. All right. We are back in business. And uh Councilmember Cabello, did you finish your comments? Yeah. Okay, thank you. Councilmember Freeman. Thank you. I did want to just let everyone know that I will be departing at three PM today for my son's graduation. And then on a on a more somber note, I did want to note that I noticed or have heard about the national domestic violence hotline being overwhelmed, the chat, the text and the phone lines. And I did want to encourage folks to also note that Durham crisis response is available. And I did want to say that the helpline number is nine one nine four zero three six five six two. And that was all. Thank you. Could you repeat the phone number, please? Nine one nine four zero three six five six two. Council member Ruth. Did enjoy the NC Transportation Conference last couple of days in Greensboro. Um, in addition to a number of sessions about roads and stuff like that. Um, there were some great sessions about trains, about vision zero. And so I think that's kind of a good preview or a good sort of preview to the conversation we're gonna have later today about vision zero, both the resolution that's revised as well as the update on vision zero. I just I do want to note that we had twenty-eight fatalities crashes on our roads last year. Um, the town of Hobook in New Jersey has had seven consecutive years of zero deaths on their roads. So there's a there's a possibility here of much doing much better in Durham, and there's a vision for that with our vision zero work. So I look forward to our conversation about that and strengthening what we do to support all of our folks on the roads, drivers, bikers, and and uh walkers. I will say also I took the train back with Council Member Caballero from Greensboro, and as soon as I got back, went over to um a movie that was being shown by sponsored by B Pack, the bike and pedestrian advisory committee, a movie called Biking While Black, fascinating documentary from LA that talks about both the hopes and challenges for folks who are people of color who are biking on our streets. Fascinating movie. I do want to give a shout out to Justin Laidlaw, who's in the audience. Just who is one of the featured speakers of that. So thank you, Justin. So that's it, Mr. Mayor. All right, thank you. Um looking forward to getting to the business today. I'm excited that there have been so many people to show up uh today. Uh look forward to hearing you all. I am going to um I was made note of the amount of people who um their managers or employers gave them uh a break and work to come attend city hall during the day. So I am going to move one of the items up uh to be one of our first presentations. That will be item 34. Um we can that'll be our first presentation. Um yeah, look forward to getting to the work. Let's let's do it. All right, priority items. We do have Mr. Uh Mr. Manager here, uh DCM Bo Ferguson today. Thank you, Honorable Mayor, members of council, good to be here today. Uh the city manager's uh office does have a few priority items. Uh first agenda item number 26 on today's agenda, the 2024 first quarter crime report, uh, that will be accompanied by a presentation that will be made at today's work session. Also wanted to make note that additional information was requested during Monday night's May 20, 2024 city council meeting by several council members for uh a few agenda items and supplemental responses have been added to your packet under the priority items by the city manager, city attorney, and city clerk.
openpublica.com