Durham City Council Work Session Summary – August 22, 2024
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Durham City Council Work Session Summary – August 22, 2024
The Durham City Council held a work session on August 22, 2024, at 1:00 PM in City Hall. Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton presided in the mayor's absence. The meeting covered administrative consent items, pulled agenda items for discussion, a second-quarter crime report from the Durham Police Department, and a training presentation on quasi-judicial procedures. No public comment was received.
Consent Calendar
- Appointments to boards: Jesse Ebond to Durham Workers' Rights Commission (Low Wage Industry); Jenna Kay Hopkins to Housing Appeals Board (At-Large Alternate); Ty Hune to Durham Planning Commission (after tie-breaking vote); Orlando R. Thomas to Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee (At-Large).
- Appointment of Christopher Vitiello as Durham Poet Laureate.
- Accepted FAA Airport Improvement Program grant ($1,016,279).
- Approved ARPA subrecipient agreement with Durham Housing Authority ($280,917.73) to cover COVID-era rent arrears for 172 households.
- Approved grant agreement with Legal Aid of North Carolina ($650,000) for Eviction Diversion Program (Councilmember Caballero recused from this item; it was pulled from consent for a separate vote).
- Interlocal agreement with Housing Authority for security equipment procurement.
- Various contracts and grants: Cornerstone OnDemand SaaS ($76,782.65), M-Cubed & Co. consulting ($16,000 amendment), Great Trails State Grant application ($500,000 for American Tobacco Trail slope repair), Sherwood Park playground replacement ($542,810.10), LeadsOnline software ($117,989), PlotBox software ($79,500), Digital Equity ARPA grant ($493,080), Microsoft enterprise licensing (up to $2,865,017.50), drinking water lead service line loan ($1,000,000), and utility easement maintenance ($3,509,856).
- All consent items were approved by unanimous vote, with Item 8 (Legal Aid) held for separate action.
Discussion Items
- ARPA Agreement with Durham Housing Authority (Item 7): Councilmembers Cook and Caballero raised concerns about the limited payment ($280,917.73) covering only COVID-related arrears (March 2020–April 2022) and the risk of eviction for remaining balances. DHA COO Santi Brown explained there are 695 households behind on rent ($1.8M total), but DHA has not pursued evictions and offers repayment plans with flexibility. Council requested additional language ensuring tenants who enter agreements receive at least a 60-day hold on eviction and that DHA notify residents about the grant and repayment options. The item was referred to the regular meeting with the requested supplementary materials.
- Legal Aid of North Carolina Grant (Item 8): Councilmember Caballero clarified that the standard annual funding is $650,000; the current $1M includes carryover. She recused herself. Item pulled for separate vote at the regular meeting.
- Security Equipment for Housing Authority (Item 9): Councilmember Cook inquired about surveillance cameras at two communities funded by participatory budgeting. DHA and General Services staff explained the cameras are high-visibility deterrents (2'x3' units with black domes) that record 24/7 but are not monitored live. They will be placed in high-crime areas identified by residents. Councilmember Cook expressed support for citizen-driven projects.
- Great Trails State Grant for American Tobacco Trail (Item 12): Parks and Recreation grant writer Emilie McIntosh stated the $500,000 grant would address a slope failure on a 7.2-mile segment, the highest priority trail repair. If the grant is not awarded, CIP funds already allocated will cover the repair. Councilmember Cook supported the grant application.
Presentations
- 2024 Second Quarter Crime Report (Item 14): Deputy Chief Sherry Montgomery presented crime data through June 30, 2024:
- Overall violent crime increased 3.9% year-over-year; homicides up 4.3% (22 criminal homicides); rapes up 8.8% (87 offenses); robberies down 3.4%; aggravated assaults up 6.1% (605 offenses).
- Shooting incidents decreased 25.1% but persons shot increased 43.8% (128 gunshot wounds, highest mid-year in six years).
- Property crime increased 5.5%; larcenies at a 10-year high (3,829 offenses); motor vehicle thefts down slightly but still double pre-2022 levels.
- Stolen guns: 268 stolen through Q2, 71% from vehicles.
- Staffing: sworn officers at 74% (395 officers), non-sworn at 85%. Response time for priority 1 calls averaged 6 min 47 sec (target 5:48).
- Recruiting: 90 applicants in Q2 (highest in 10 years); pay raises have improved retention (reversal of intent to leave for ~20 officers).
- Councilmembers expressed concern about gun violence, youth involvement, and the need for community-based interventions. Mayor Pro Tem noted a new mayor's fund with United Way to support violence prevention.
- Quasi-Judicial Procedure Training (Item 21): City Attorney Aarin Miles and Planning Director Bo Rhodes explained the evidence-based hearing process for major special use permits. Council will act as both judge and jury, weighing material, competent, and substantial evidence. Ex parte communication is prohibited. The training prepares council for a September 16, 2024, quasi-judicial hearing. Councilmember Freeman raised concerns about community opponents having enough time to prepare; staff noted continuances have been granted in the past.
Key Outcomes
- Appointments approved: Jesse Ebond (Workers' Rights), Jenna Kay Hopkins (Housing Appeals), Ty Hune (Planning Commission) after tie-breaking, Orlando R. Thomas (Participatory Budgeting).
- ARPA-DHA agreement was referred to the regular meeting with a request for additional tenant protection language and a letter template.
- Legal Aid grant was pulled from consent; Councilmember Caballero recused; vote deferred to regular meeting.
- All other consent items were approved unanimously.
- The quasi-judicial presentation was informational; no vote was taken.
- The agenda for the August 26 regular meeting was set to include consent items 1–20 and item 25 (FAA grant), and public hearings 22–24 (annexations).
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to my honorable colleagues to those in chamber with us this afternoon to all of our residents, our neighbors, our friends watching on whatever platform. I'm not repeating his honor. The mayor is with fellow North Carolinians still in Chicago participating in the Democratic National Convention. We wish him well in accordance with statute and our charter. As Mayor Pro Tem, I'll be assuming the gavels today for our work session, and I'd like to call this work session to order again. Thank you to my honorable colleagues and staff. Good to see you all. Madam Clerk, would you please call the role? Certainly. Mayor Williams has received an excused absence for today. Rotem Middleton. Here. Councilmember Baker. Here. Councilmember Caballero. Here. Councilmember Cook. Here. Councilmember Freeman from the Councilmember Russ. Here. Thank you. Thank you so much. At this time, I'm going to yield to my honorable colleagues for any announcements that they may have. And we'll go around the uh worship. Councilmember Cook, good afternoon. Councilmember Baker. Good afternoon. No announcements in particular, but I've been having good conversations with staff, colleagues, and members of community about street safety, as we know. The two biggest killers in our city are gun violence, which we'll receive a report on later later this meeting, and traffic violence. We know that there's a variety of reasons for this. And I think that there are some ways that we can tackle it. Two budgets ago, the city council funded the Vision Zero coordinator who's been doing uh fabulous work with with the City of Durham. Um and I think that there's some low-hanging fruit as well as some uh higher reaching objectives that that we can um embark on here here um at City Council. Um part of that uh I want to explore a resolution that um further solidifies um our guidelines for uh NACTO National Association of uh City and Transportation officials. I'm not gonna bring that forward or try and place that on the agenda um for the next work session, but I want to bring that up and continue to have this conversation with with each of you and keep moving the ball forward on on street design. Thanks. Thank you, Councilmember. Councilmember Caballero, good afternoon. Good afternoon, good to see everyone today. Um I'm eagerly awaiting the presence of Siren. Okay, so at some point, so that's really important. I'm just gonna stop talking in those. Very sweet dog. Um kind of kind of made her made my day. Um I wanna say thank you to um the students and children who participated in Camp Destiny who came to visit us this morning in City Hall. There were about 10, 8 to 11-year-olds who uh attend Burton Elementary School normally. Uh they were excellent, so respectful, and they had uh they had a lot of fun all getting to take turns to be mayor for a little bit. Um so that was uh just wanted to shout them out because they they were really great guests today. Um and then finally, council colleagues, I may have to leave between 3 or 3.30 to go pick up a vehicle at the beginning. Thank you.
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