We are calling to order the agenda session.

Today is Tuesday, January 13th.

And this is uh the city council agenda session for next week's meeting.

We'll be starting off next week.

I'll be delivering a proclamation to the Fayetteville high school cheerleading team and coaches.

Um and then we will have an award presentation from our city attorney, Kit Williams, and then a progress report.

Um Clerk Paxton, will that be from members of the youth advisory?

Okay, yes, for members of the youth advisory council.

Um I'm now gonna read the consent agenda.

So um, and we have staff here to come up and and talk about any of these items.

So just jump in.

This can be, you know, less formal than a meeting for sure.

First, we'll have the meeting minutes.

And then um next step is um on the consent is an item from Marley.

It's a resolution authorizing the acceptance of a southern city's economic initiative planning grant in the amount of $55,000 to support a project to inventory vacant residential properties and pilot a workforce development program focused on affordable housing, rehabilitation and repair, and to approve the associated budget adjustment.

And Marley is here and prepared for questions.

Miss Moore.

Or just said present in general.

Yes, please.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

I don't know if your mic's on.

I'm sorry.

Is it I think there's a switch on he's coming to help.

Thank you.

So we recently talked about uh this item a few weeks ago before we submitted our grant application.

So this is a second phase grant um with the National League of Cities with a really cool program called the Southern Cities Economic Initiative, um broadly focused on sort of uh trying to synchronize some work between the housing and community services department and the long-range planning team.

Um so the first piece uh will really be the focus of 2026, focusing on creating an inventory of vacant properties with sort of a special focus, I think in South Fayetteville, but potentially opportunities to expand beyond that, um, you know, where it makes sense to align for other projects.

Um, and then the second piece would be the work for 2027, which will be focused on the workforce development program.

Um so it's some additional work that will be done there in terms of identifying strategic partners to make that piece happen.

But uh we're we're excited that we've been selected for another grant from this program.

I think staff that have been involved with it uh sort of in the planning phase really enjoyed a lot of the technical assistance we received.

We'll also have some opportunities to travel to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and receive some additional training throughout the first and second quarter of this year.

So happy to answer any questions about this grant.

Okay, go ahead.

Um I just wanted uh check and see uh we all define South Fayetteville in different ways, and so I was curious because it looks like we're targeting um uh housing to for preservation, it looks like.

And I know um into kind of our downtown area, we've really had a lot of pressures on those how uh housing units as well, and so just curious what our South definition is and if that's movable at all.

Yeah, no, absolutely.

I I think that's a great question.

Um, one of the things I've enjoyed most about being involved with this program is they've been pretty flexible with allowing us to kind of alter scope over the course of the engagement.

So we'll have our first meeting as kind of a cohort on Thursday.

Um so I'll be on that call as will our long-range planners.

So that's something that I think is definitely in front of mind for us of thinking about sort of some initial tweaks we might need to make to the timeline answer, the scoping of that project.

So I think that's definitely something we've been talking about more generally of um, you know, even do we want to keep it just focused on vacant properties?

Do we want to think about um you know properties you might categorize as underutilized?

So I think there's definitely some flexibility to make some changes at the margins there and use the analysis um to the best of our um, you know, being able to make that analysis useful for multiple topics.

And just a follow-up, so would it be fair for us to potentially send you in if there's particular areas that we feel like over time we've kind of seen those pressures that we might might want for consideration, kind of now would be the time to kind of send on your direction then that would be great.

Thank you.

Teresa.

Um, so I I guess I just wanted to clarify is it the is it properties that have houses that are run down or vacant, or is it just properties that don't have anything on there at all that are just absent of any structures?

Yeah, I think you know part of this idea really came from sort of like that resident uh driven pitch that we had in September.

And I think their initial concept was really focusing on vacant properties that are maybe not in the best shape, maybe good candidates for repair rehab programs like the one that we offer through the city.

Um I think there's definitely some flexibility though, like we might kind of open up that that aperture to include other properties too.

So if there's um anything you're particularly interested in, um, but again, can encourage you to send me a note and we can think about what might make sense.

I mean, I can even think of a property um around Wilson Park that might be of interest.

So yeah, if they're if you know complaints that we've had or something.

So uh being able to provide that kind of information, I think will will hopefully help be helpful to you all.

Excellent.

Thank you.

Thanks.

And is the Marley, these are the when you mentioned September.

This is the program kind of follow-up to the process that came out of the um the housing co-create.

Yeah, that we met up at Mount Sequoia and had the competition and the different okay, so I thought all right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next item on consent is a resolution.

It's an item from Tim in the water and sewer department.

It's a resolution to approve amendment three to the professional engineering services contract with Hawkins We are engineers in an amount not to exceed 976,480 for construction management and field observation services associated with the utility relocations along highway 112 and to approve a budget adjustment.

And before we get to Tim, if I could just ask and put Steven on the spot for a minute.

One of the things that he um is constantly reminding me of because reminding me of because it was confusing when I first started, is the difference between a budget adjustment and a budget amendment.

I think that um like we might think of those as interchangeable, but they're not.

And so I'm thinking back to what um minister Jones and Councilmember Turk um suggested is that we make it more clear in the agenda was this budgeted.

And so we're actually working um with Jonathan's office to have a new, I don't want to say a new format to the agenda because it's not that bit like a kind of a cheat sheet that makes those things more clear, and I hope we'll have that um within the next couple of meetings.

But it also might be good since it's the beginning of the year.

Steven, if you could just kind of give us the cliff notes again of amendment versus adjustment.

I know that's helpful for members of the public too.

Sure, Mayor.

Um, so budget adjustments, I mean, those are pretty routine.

That's that's adding money, uh, basically necessarily moving it from one project to another.

Um a budget amendment is really where we're taking from fund balance or we're moving from one fund to another.

So that is more of a significant thing.

And uh in those quarterly reports that I mentioned at my uh when I when I have my monthly financial report, I talk about how we issue quarterly reports and we post those online.

We list all the budget amendments and budget adjustments in those quarterly reports, so we have a summary of all the ones that we have done.

But really, I think the easiest way to think about it is a budget amendment could be considered a more significant transaction.

Budget adjustments are pretty routine transactions.

That's just the terminology that we use when we're adding uh a budget to a project or a fund in order to spend it.

Um, for instance, you know, when we receive uh grant funding, we need to bring it back to council so that we can formally recognize that into the budget so that the department can spend those funds.

So pretty routine transactions.

Thank you.

I meant to ask that at the beginning, and I didn't.

I'm sorry.

So thanks for let me put you on the spot.

Um, go ahead, Teresa and Tim, if you want to come up to talk more about this.

Could I just ask a follow-up question for Stephen?

Um, so the adjustment would be that we've already budgeted that that's already within our budgeting of our 2026 annual budget, and so we're just kind of moving funds around, and the amendment would actually be adding to it or taking away from reserves.

Uh I think that that's a fair that's a fair summary.

I mean, for the most part, budget amendments are significant transactions where you know, we're when we come forward to ask for a request to use reserves, that's generally considered a budget amendment or more significant transaction.

Okay, thank you.

And I I wanted to ask about that because coming from like my background, a budget of even a budget adjustment is a really big deal.

It means you're dipping in to reserves.

And so I think when people see that they don't understand is that for us that could just be one pool of money to another.

So yeah.

Yeah, thank you.

Um, Tim.

I would just so you're talking about finances.

This project is 90.74% reimbursable from our dot.

So we'll give 88 uh 608 dollars back from uh from our initial uh contract with the with an insuring firm.

You haven't answered questions if you got them.

I just wondered if there was an update just on the timeline.

I know a lot of folks are talking about 112s improvements and just it looks like we're getting close to getting underway with with 112.

Could you we kind of have a timeline so folks can start to plan their new routes to where they're going?

Yeah, I do believe that construction is is going to start getting underway real soon, but we're under the uh whatever our dot wants to do under their timeline.

So thanks.

Um the next consent item is A4, a resolution to approve an agreement with Trash Haulers LLC for the hauling and disposal of solid waste for a period of two years with automatic renewals for two additional two-year terms.

And if we don't have questions about that, I'm gonna move to A5, which is um also from Trash and Recycling.

It's a resolution to approve the purchase of recycling carts and related products and services from Schaefer Plastics of North America for the initial amount of one million three hundred and thirty-three thousand two hundred seventy-four dollars and forty-five cents, plus any applicable taxes pursuant to a source well cooperative purchasing contract to approve a project contingency in the amount.

I'm sorry, I lost my place, a project contingency and amount of one hundred and thirty-three thousand three hundred and twenty-seven dollars and forty-five cents to authorize the future purchase of recycling carts and related products and services as needed within the approved budget through April 4th of 2029 and any future renewal periods and to approve a budget adjustment.

Move on, uh Ms.

Moore.

I just my just a time.

I was curious that there was a timeline update.

I know we were given kind of an original one and just didn't know what the timelines looking like, and some of these things are coming into place.

Yeah, so um, this is obviously for the purchase of the um uh 28 27,800 recycling carts as part of the car-based recycling deployment.

Um, our our timeline uh is the uh plan to have the carts uh received by the city uh sometime in early May and begin um deploying those carts to residents um throughout the month of May and have the carp-based recycling program ready for uh collections to begin in early June.

And then do we have an update yet on or what's when do we know about glass?

I'm sorry, I can't remember when we said we'd have a glass, how glass collection was gonna happen.

We don't have a definite answer on glass yet, but we're working um towards towards getting that answered.

Okay.

Thank you.

A6 is Mayor, one more thing.

I just wanted to add real quick.

I'm sorry.

Uh we do have uh we did bring the example cart up to City Hall, and I have it down in the lobby downstairs.

If anyone cares to see what it uh will look like after the meeting, I'm happy to do a quick show and tell uh down in the lobby.

Do you want some help with uh crowd control maybe down there?

If we've got people coming to see the card.

Maybe Keith can help me with crowd control.

Yeah.

All right.

All right.

Thank you.

Um item A6 is a resolution to commit $3,750 and returned American Rescue Plan Act funds to the child care assistance program and to approve a budget adjustment.

This is something that we've done in the past when organizations aren't able to use their ARPA funds and we are able to put them into the child care program.

And um Stephen and or Marley, depending upon your question, can help with that.

Yes, my only question is just um, is this potentially the last cleanup ARPA that we're expecting, or what's your anticipation, Stephen, on that?

Well, all those uh all those nonprofit organizations that we had awarded funding to have until uh pretty much December 31st of 2026 to spend those funds.

That's the ARPA deadline.

So up until that time, we're gonna have a couple of things happening.

We're gonna have interest that we're gonna have to recognize and allocate, and then we might have a few of these nonprofit organizations, such as the NWA Continuum of Care indicating that they can't use all the ARPA funds.

Um they just didn't necessarily have the expenses to to go ahead and use those funds.

So when they give them back, the uh U.S.

Department of Treasury has indicated that we cannot set up new programs any longer because we're past the 2024 deadline, but we can go ahead and allocate those to programs that we currently have running.

And it it is uh, you know, as the mayor said, we've pretty much just used uh child care for that.

We have such demand in child care.

Yeah, well, so we just anticipate at for the most part our direction is it for anything else additional it comes in the city, we'll probably default it to the child care program.

Is that the thinking or I think uh, you know, when I had talked to counsel about this before, I'd indicate maybe the best way forward would be for me to to come forward proposing that we allocate a child care, and then that would allow you all to have a discussion about where you want to.

Thank you, Stephen.

Um item A7 is a resolution to approve a contract with Nikki Penn Counseling and Consulting PLLC to provide a mental awareness program for the Fayetteville Fire Department and the amount of 75,000 dollars per year with automatic renewals to up to four additional years.

And we have Chief Harden here if we have questions about that.

But if we do not, we will move on to A8, which is a resolution to authorize the purchase of radio equipment for Motorola Solutions Inc.

in the amount of two million five hundred and sixty one thousand six hundred forty-eight dollars and seventy-nine cents pursuant to a NASPO cooperative purchasing contract, and we have both the um police and fire chief here if we have questions about that one.

Yes, sir.

Yeah, I I have questions for uh whoever might be the most appropriate person, and and this is probably my memory being bad and me confusing the city and the county, but I thought that I feel like a couple of years ago, maybe maybe three years ago or so, there was a major overhaul of radio equipment, like in the amount of three million and change.

Is that been the county or is this like an updating or is this just uh go ahead?

I'm sorry.

I well, I just remember there was somewhere uh it was either the city or county had like old equipment that just wasn't the right equipment, and they they did a big reboot basically in and I'm just trying to remember if that was a city or the county, or or if this is something different or why don't you give us an overview um just in general of what this is?

I I can do that, and if I don't answer your question, I think I might have your answer, but if I don't answer your question, I have some folks here that can't answer your question.

Okay.

Yes, sir.

Good evening, Mayor and Council members.

Uh Tad Scott, deputy chief of police.

So we're requesting approval of a resolution and a way of competitive bidding for the person for the purchase of mission critical fire and police radio equipment, accessories, warranties, and some software services from Motorola Motorola Solutions Inc.

and the amount of two million five hundred and sixty-one thousand six hundred and forty-eight.

I'm sorry, two million five hundred and sixty-one.

I'm sorry, Ted, can you just pull your mic a little bit closer?

Perfect.

That's great.

I don't talk very loud.

No, you're great.

That's great.

So it's an amount of two million five hundred and sixty-one thousand six hundred and forty-eight dollars and seventy-nine cents.

So the the waivers competitive bidding is authorized under ordinance 4300, and pricing is based on the NASPO cooperation.

I'm sorry, cooperative contract, which provides standardized and competitive pricing for this specialized equipment.

So through NASPO, the the balance, the subtotal was $2,334,000.

Three two million three hundred and thirty-four thousand and seventy-six dollars and thirty-five cents, which reflects the cooperative contracts, discount pricing, and a bulk purchase, which saves the city about a million dollars on this off the list price on this project.

So staff has implemented a multi-year plan to replace the aging radio equipment and funding for this project was approved in the two 2026 through 22030 capital improvement plan.

So with with guidance from the finance director, we split this project across the 2026 and 2027 CIP.

So we'll come back before you for a handful of further other items, some mobiles and some fire portables.

I'll explain how that breaks down here in a moment.

So we engaged in a similar process in 2023 with the local government replacement uh radio project, which is water sewer animal services.

So there's roughly 720 radios in the city.

This this project today is 286 of them, which is specific to fire and police.

So the majority of the current fire and police department radios were purchased in between 2020 and 2011 as part of the CT or radio city radio system implementation.

The majority of the current radios are no longer in use or covered under manufacture maintenance agreements.

Replacement parts are becoming obsolete, um, costly, making repairs difficult, and in some cases impossible.

So specific to this project, 286 radios, 177 of them are police portable radios, the ones you see the officers or the firefighters carrying.

80 of them are fire portable radios, 29 are mobile radios, which is generally a base in an office or in one of their vehicles.

This project includes a seven-year radio warranty and five years of software services.

Excuse me.

The project also includes uh real-time personnel tracking and mapping capabilities to inform responders, command staff and central dispatch of where they're where their personnel are at any given time.

It's capability to not only improve situational awareness and enhance coordination of efforts during critical instance, but it also increases the safety of our first responders.

So I can go into more of the specifics of the radios, but I don't necessarily think that answers your question.

And I don't want to get too far without answering the question.

I got my question answered at in my household county business and city business kind of intermingle and get confused.

It was a county a couple years ago that had to institute a course in sales tax to do a major overhaul of their equipment.

So I was just confused with the between the branches of government.

Thank you.

So for this $2.5 million that you're asking for today, that's going to include the 286 radios and the five-year software service and the seven-year warranties.

Is that accurate?

Correct.

And there's some accessories that go go with uh a clip, a radio, a external microphone.

So when it says accessories, those are those items.

And then you kind of mentioned that you had spread this out.

So will there be another request like next year for 2.5 million dollars or how is what can we anticipate, I guess.

So this is the last time we purchased radios was 2009 to 2011.

So this is about 14 years.

So if you break that down to 10 years, it's about 233,000 a year.

And we try to forecast that out 10, 14 years.

We we roughly have the mindset of a 10-year window in which we will have a replacement schedule.

So we we try to budget that out because it it is a significant amount and there's a lot of planning and coordination involved.

After speaking with Mr.

Dotson, it was it was thought to be the best idea to kind of spread these out over this the the capital improvement between 2026 and 2027.

So the bulk being in 2026, the remaining for the fire and police aspect of it, some mobiles, and then I believe there's some more fire portables.

It will be back in 2027 for the remainder of that.

I wish I'm I'm from what I understand is about a handful.

It's not another 2.5 million dollars.

Okay, so it's a couple of hundred thousand, something like that.

Yes, I think we have 400,000.

400 in the in the CIP for 2027.

Okay, thank you.

I just wanted to get a little bit more clarification.

I appreciate that.

No, and not a problem at all.

Minister James.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, thank you for that presentation.

And um, I know you said totally we had a 720.

We'll be purchasing 286.

So that means it's about 434 in other departments.

You spoke about some of them being obsolete and out of warranty and not able to be service.

So, what are the other departments?

I know it's not your concern, but are they will they be working in um collaboration with your new radios, or those would be completely out of service?

So uh if I don't answer your question again, I have so Kathy Stalker is our dispatch manager, and she she manages the roughly the 720 radios.

So if I don't answer your question, please let me know.

So there's about there'll be about 42 radios, so there's 18 left within a maintenance agreement.

We have about 42 that are functioning.

So what we will do with the remaining 42 that are that are that can be we will repurpose those to support staff services, uh training opportunities where where officers or firefighters are using them in training capacities instead of the brand new radios, special events where we have large events and we have other other agencies helping us.

So we will we'll we'll continue to utilize those until they're at an end of life.

Okay.

And I guess there won't be a need to replace the other 434.

So some of them it would have been replaced in 2023 for like animal services, water transportation.

I don't know what aside from in 2027, a hard number, which I can get that.

I don't know whichever, unless Kathy, do you know what other ones may be coming?

I don't know that number.

Okay.

Okay, thank you.

And that may be a large number of that 400 that you're that you're speaking to.

Thank you.

You are welcome.

Ms.

Martin.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

Um, so some of the questions this was talked about a lot in the community, so I appreciate that we're spending the time now since this is on consent to discuss it.

And one of the questions that we did get was, you know, why we're going with Motorola, and they seem to be a bit pricier.

I think even someone talked about how one of the other brands is less expensive.

Can you help walk us through?

I mean, it does seem like over time, and I got to be a part of the in-depth conversations at the county, um, council member Stafford, and those were very interesting.

I learned a lot on those.

Um, and it really came down to two providers even at that time that the county was looking at it, I believe.

And so I just wondered if you guys could kind of talk to why we go with Motorola, um, so the public just gets a better idea of why this is the package that we're going forward with.

Sure.

Absolutely.

So um we have used Motorola for for a long time.

They are a proven leader in the field of radios.

Uh yes, there are cheaper radios out there.

Uh we do look for uh quality radio.

Uh they are leading in technology.

A lot of the things that this radio is offering, other vendors don't offer right now.

Uh this is new technology uh with the cell uh built into the radio, the Wi-Fi capability of the radio, the over the air programming.

Uh so it does have some features that aren't available with other vendors.

Uh, but when you look at what we've had in the past, uh we had motor, we have Motorola radios now.

They are 15 years old, they are proven to us that they are reliable, dependable, uh, they are very responsive when we need service.

Um, and so we didn't feel like we could go wrong going with them again.

And I I believe the county went with Motorola, and then is it becoming uh more so in our region?

That seems to be the provider that folks are going with.

Are you seeing that?

Uh Motorola is a main provider.

There are other vendors in the area that um that some agencies are are trying.

Uh, but um, you know, like I said, we have used them.

Uh we've actually uh been a Motorola customer since 1985 when we bought our first radio system.

Um and and they have been proven to be reliable and dependable, and uh that's that's one of the main reasons we stay with them.

Okay, thank you.

They are affordable uh for the lit longevity, the length of that we get them.

And I guess that was the other question that was asked about is like how long we touched on it a little bit, but these have lasted 15 years, and the anticipation is the next radios would last 10 or 15 plus years, I guess is the we uh when we went to Motorola in 1985, those radios lasted until 2000.

Oh wow, and so um, yes, these radios have proven to last 15 years now.

I will say there's a lot of technology in them.

There's uh so uh as you guys know, it's sometimes all this technology uh doesn't last as long uh with the the you know new things that are coming in.

Um so but I do anticipate these to last the 10 years uh that that we have planned for.

Thank you, and I really appreciate um because resonance with all those questions.

I think this really probably covered a lot of the things that have come up over the last several days.

So thank you.

Okay, you're welcome.

Thank you.

Um okay, and then if we could go back to item A7.

Um we uh received a message from uh Dr.

Jones, who I think just couldn't get to the mic in time, maybe, um, and had a question for Chief Harden regarding A7, which is the mental wellness program.

So um DeAndre, are you able can you hear us?

Uh yes, I can.

Uh thank you for going back.

Hey, uh uh Chief Arden.

I just had a quick question.

Um, can you um explain, give us a brief summary of what that program is going to look like?

Sure.

So uh, you know, currently we have a couple um employee assistance programs in place that our people can utilize.

Uh those are typically utilized from the standpoint of where a person is you know having a crisis or something going on.

Uh what this is is more so of a uh maintaining health, if you will, kind of like a physical uh what's gonna happen with this program is our people are gonna have to go down.

Well, they're not have to.

We're gonna give them the opportunity to go sit down uh and spend some time with uh this Miss Nikki Penn and uh they can opt out of it if they so choose, but they're gonna have that opportunity to do so.

Um with the intent being that uh hopefully they uh you know offload some of the stuff that's uh dragging them down before they end up in the EAP and and you know needing further assistance.

Um so that's kind of the intent.

And then one point that I will make is that uh in the past couple years, suicide firefighter suicide has actually surpassed the uh line of duty deaths.

So it's it's it's definitely something that we want to get out in front of.

Um so is it going to be how long is the program so this is a one year contract but we have the option to renew for the next four years.

Okay and is it involving is is it for essence one more time.

Uh is this going to be for unlimited sessions or is it a a certain amount of sessions?

Uh yes every every single employee will get the opportunity for a uh for a single session um outside of that uh there there will also be so if we have something you know a big traumatic event or something like that that occurs uh then of course she will make herself available to uh our peer assessment team and and be there for the people uh to to help us work through you know whatever that situation might be okay all right well chief thank you so much I really appreciate uh you explaining this and I also appreciate you making this available to uh the paper fire department thank you so much thank you yeah thank you chief that brings us to unfinished business where believe it or not our only three zones I think next week are actually all on old business so interesting um item B1 is North Penelope Lane um I think this is the one where the applicant requested us to reconsider and then we voted to reconsider and then requested that we table and then maybe table again.

Jonathan I know is happy to provide more background if you all need it.

I think we're fairly familiar with this one.

Yes ma'am um oh uh Teresa then Bob okay thank you so much mayor um I had a request from some citizens that are um concerned about this if there was any new information other than what was presented back in December at this point no I know the applicant is vetting alternative proposals or way of offering assurances to council but we've not seen anything submitted yet or any uh formal amendments or informal amendments to the request could we um and I I'm I'm pretty sure you always request this but i if if there are um changes or vetting that's going on could we be provided that well in advance uh if possible I'll make sure the applicant knows that the council would value that thank you so much Jonathan Bob I just had a similar question to Teresa you know whether or not there were changes so um it sounds like we don't know so Scott refresh my memory uh did we vote to table this completely the last meeting or did we vote to reconsider and the reconsideration passed and then we tabled it.

I I can't remember nothing at the last meeting.

I think it was the Denver 60 two meetings ago that is a great question for the clerk's office.

I know you may not have that on the top of off the top of your head Cara or Jonathan sorry if you know that the clerk has a perhaps a better record of it but most recently it was asked for asked for a consideration but then the applicant did ask the table to this meeting understanding that that was a very uh uh involved meeting and they wanted to to get ahead of of several of the rezonings or behind several of those rezonings is that so we never got to the actual vote for reconsideration no it was voted for reconsideration and then tabled is that correct clerk Paxton okay thank you okay um the next item of unfinished business is the rezoning on Michael Cole drive um it's um in ward four rezoning away from RA to r I 12 residential intermediate 12 units per acre and C Cr.

And this was not tabled but we left it on the first reading at the last meeting and I believe this one also there was a tour previously um Jonathan can do you want do you have any updates or anything new since the last time I do mayor just two brief updates uh there were questions about the conservation easement and I can uh confirm that that has been finalized and our legal department has confirmed that it meets the proper form and at this point we're making sure that we get a signed copy for the council to consider uh I know one of the prominent questions that came up at the last council meeting was uh a concern that it looked like the developer was dedicating the easement to themselves as a part of this request uh and legal did confirm that the proposal is to dedicate the easement from the developer to the city uh so the city would be the holder of that easement um otherwise the the the signed copy is the main thing we're looking for at this point and the second update is uh there was a request for an exhibit to much more clearly show how the split zoning of the property may overlay with the floodplain that's also on the property uh so if you've had an opportunity to have your email pulled up I emailed you in this meeting so it's hopefully front and center for you uh an email with that exhibit attached to it uh that was provided by the applicant and uh in my estimation it does show it more clearly but please respond to that if you if you don't feel like that that conveys the information that you're looking for and we can make sure we get you something uh more better.

So if you've had an opportunity to have your email pulled up, I emailed you in this meeting.

So it's hopefully front and center for you an email with that exhibit attached to it that was provided by the applicant.

And in my estimation, it does show it more clearly, but please respond to that if you if you don't feel like that that conveys the information that you're looking for, and we can make sure we get you something uh more better.

Great.

Bob.

Thank you.

I appreciate the that email and and uh the map with the overlay of the flood zone.

Um I can't remember which staff in favor or against this, I don't staff does recommend in favor of it and the planning commission did as well.

Okay, thank you.

Okay.

All right.

Oh, go ahead, Sarah.

And this I don't know if this can be answered now or not, or hopefully it can, but um, on that, this is a new zoning for us.

And so um for with that conservation, if they're going to um turn that to the city, does that become our maintenance then?

I guess that's what I was trying to think through too, though.

Um, is that like parks or someone has to do the maintenance for that conservation?

It yes, it is ultimately ours to hold.

It's intended to be open space conservation, so there's not intended, it's not intended to be programmed park space necessarily.

Uh we will be the holder of it if we get complaints that people are encroaching upon it or moving trees in it.

We would we we bear some responsibility to take legal action to remediate that.

But mostly we'll just let it remain kind of as is the way that it kind of stands today.

That's correct.

Okay, all right, thank you.

I think we're more the enforcer than we are the maintenance.

And then the third and final item, um no, not the final, the third item of um old business, the next two go together, B3 and uh B4, because they are both on South Futural Drive.

The first at South Futural Drive and South Root Avenue, um rezoning from RSF4 to NSG.

Um that one was left on the first reading on January 6th, as was um its neighbor, um, which is um sorry, the smaller parcel rezoning also from RSF4 to NSG.

Jonathan, do you have I believe this is one where they had request the applicant requested it be left on the no, that's not true.

Please share updates.

The council left this one on the first reading.

Uh, there was a a request.

I one request was for more information uh exhibits about the topography on both properties since they are on the south and southwest slopes of Markham Hill.

Uh so you'll hopefully, if you haven't noticed already, you'll hopefully when you see that email from me at the beginning of the meeting, you'll notice there are two additional attachments.

These are much more formal looking topography exhibits than I've given you in the past because the applicant did provide me with their ALTA surveys, which are formal surveys of properties with with that I've recently uh documented information in them.

So it's not pulled off of our our city's general USGS uh uh geological survey or geological service information.

So when you open that up, it'll look like a very formal document.

I did I added the arrows and I added the the slope percentages, so please don't think that's their surveyor's documentation.

Everything else on there uh is part of a formally uh stamp survey.

Uh also and I apologize for not recalling perfectly.

Uh I cannot remember if the council had expressed an interest to leave us on the first reading so that they could individually visit this or if there was an interest in a tour.

But if there is a formal tour interest, uh let me know and we can uh follow our usual convention and work out a schedule for that at the end of agenda session.

Ms.

Moore.

I had one question that had come up during that night that I don't know if we had gotten resolution.

There was talk in the smaller portion that the access would have to be onto food futral, but he expressed desire to not do that, but we're looking at potentially trying to access what is really the utility road, and I just was real confused on that.

Do we have any information about it?

I do.

Thank you so much for saying that.

The applicant did provide that, so you'll be getting a second email from me.

I apologize for back to back emails.

He did provide easement information.

I think there was interest from the council in seeing the documents for both the conservation easement that is on the market held property associated with development on the top of the hill.

So that has been provided.

I'll forward that to you all.

And also there is a uh water and sewer easement document that I'll forward to you all.

Uh, neither one of those appear to offer access to that, but I I will uh encourage the applicant to be able to speak to whether his legal evaluation of that suggests that he can access through that conservation easement.

And I just wondered can the city can we legally allow for a property to like access like onto what is related like for our utility purposes?

I mean, are we allowed to legally do that to make that be an access point for them?

Not without the adjoining property owners' permission.

If we see developments that cross property lines, we have well any development requests we see we require consent of owner for every property that is touched as a part of that.

So when a property when a request crosses property lines, we not only see a consent of owner form from the applicant that's usually coming before you all, uh, but also that adjoining property owner as well.

Does that answer your question?

Yes, I think just kind of that maneuvering makes me want to tour it just because I'm trying to figure out how that would work exactly the way he explained it, and maybe your follow-up email will help with that, but possibly a tour just to look at that because I'm trying to make it make sense in my head and no, but your explanation was helpless, more just me trying to follow it myself.

Okay.

So just I guess if you all decide you wanted to or reach out to Jonathan's office, particularly soon.

I mean, is that what you're saying?

No, no.

Okay.

Go ahead.

I think we usually do it at the end of the agenda session.

Okay.

Great.

Okay.

Um does that cover our questions for B3 and B4.

Okay.

Um, so that then brings us to new business.

And I might ask um if it's okay with you.

I don't think we necessarily have to change the order that night, but for discussion purposes, would it be easier if we discussed the rules of order after we discussed C2 and C3, just because that might be where the most discussion is.

I'm seeing nods.

Okay.

So I'm gonna skip to C through to C2.

Um, and C2 is an ordinance to establish the Oak Grove Historic District and codify the White Hangar at Drink at Drake Field Historic District in section 33.321 historic districts of the Fayetteville City Code.

And I think that we have happy to take questions if we have questions about this from Jonathan or Britton and her team.

I I just didn't know if we had heard any feedback that had any opposition or anything negative.

I've only heard positive feedback, and the residents are overwhelmingly overjoyed with the how the process played out, but I didn't know if there were any um concerns that had been expressed that we weren't aware of.

Yeah, thank you so much.

Kylie Cole, um, long range and historic preservation planner.

Um, it's rare that we get to say this, but there has been no opposition to this request.

Great.

Thank you.

Bob, do you also have questions for Kylie or Jonathan?

Yes.

And I'm just kind of wondering looking at the map.

It seems like on the south side on east to west that there's almost like some cutoffs.

Like I'm wondering why those were those originally going to be included and those people weren't interested in being included or the cutoffs on North Highland Avenue.

Uh North Highland on the yeah, southeast uh side of North Highland, and then on the southwest side of the red lines over it of uh is that park?

Yes.

Yeah, so that's a great question.

Um, some of these properties were avoided because they're not of historic age, meaning they are newer than 50 years old.

Um so those were avoided um just because they didn't necessarily contribute to the entirety of the district.

Um, and then uh others were avoided um by so this I think it's important to note that this boundary was drawn by the neighbors who um initiated this process.

So these are properties that they found um important to contributing to the historic character of their neighborhood.

So some properties were um avoided because they're new, some properties were avoided because um the neighbors who were working on this knew that the property owners did not want to participate.

And this this will be different than you know, the Washington Willow uh historic district because that's kind of a historic district in name only.

Is that correct?

This is an actual historic district.

Yeah, so Washington Willow, um, Mountain Ward, the other historic districts that we have in town are national register historic districts, so those are honorary only.

They do provide some tax credit benefits to property owners, but they don't actually require any protections for those properties.

So this will essentially create a local law.

You all were create a local law that says um we have to have a process to review demolitions and major alterations to these properties, um, so it can actually provide protection and predictability in the neighborhood.

Okay, thank you very much.

Okay, oh yes, Teresa.

Sorry, I have one quick question.

So because this is a local district, and and thank goodness there are some um some constraints uh within that.

Uh, are the property owners eligible at all for any kind of tax credits, or is that only uh conveyed through state and and federal um acknowledgement?

So this does encompass a portion of the Wilson Park National Historic District.

So the properties that are also in that area, um, the property owners potentially would be eligible for tax benefits.

Um, but at this time the city um does not offer any financial benefits for including yourself in a local historic district.

Um, but that would definitely be something we could discuss in the future.

Thank you so much for working on this.

This is this is really exciting, and I'm glad there hasn't been any opposition to it.

Great.

Thank you.

Thank you, Kylie.

Um our next item the new business is is pretty straightforward.

It is amending the UDC chapters that that you can see listed.

It's um an ordinance to repeal regulations on development in the city's planning area pursuant to Act 314 of 2025 by amending various sections of the unified development code.

So basically, we don't have a county planning area anymore due to state legislation.

We still have all these sections of our code that make reference to it, so we need to go through and remove all of those references to put it simply.

Which then um, before we have our presentation, um, brings us to um C1, which is the City Council rules of order and procedure.

These are yours to vote on as you see fit.

Um you have proposed changes that hopefully you have received and had a chance to look at, and I think we are required to do this.

This is something uh kit, please correct me that we're required to do during the month of January each year.

But I think that's a state according to the interpretation of the Arkansas Attorney General of the state statute, yes, that's correct.

We must readopt our rules every January.

Great.

So um Kit, would you like to expound upon that, or do we want to start with questions?

Or I this one I really feel like is you know, you all's the administration certainly has preferences, and we put those out.

Um we want to run um an efficient meeting um while not also stifling uh public comment or transparency.

We can go over a couple, I can go over a couple or Keith can of the like key changes, if that's helpful.

Why are you all laughing at me?

There what are y'all laughing at?

What no?

It would be helpful if he just identified the key changes.

Thank you.

Okay, yes.

All right, thank you, Minis.

Thank you, Minister Jones.

The SARAs were looking at me and teasing me, I think.

So perhaps.

Yes.

Um so Keith, do you want to start or would you like me to?

Uh either way, I can start and maybe you could add things in.

Okay, that'd be great.

Okay, so the first section, I think if you're looking at the version that has track changes on it on 7 uh A3, it adds a uh timer to the clarifying questions part.

So currently, prior to public comment, there's not a any kind of time limit on that.

So this puts a five 15-minute um total time limit to that.

And I think that just kind of cleans up that.

Um let's see.

I'll point out one.

Um, one of the that residents have a presentation that they I'm not talking about applicants, like I'm not talking about if you're here representing you know, asking for a rezone, but if you are a member of the public that has a presentation, we have asked that you provide that um to the clerk's office the day before the meeting, whether that be you can send it electronically as a PDF, or if that's not accessible to you, you can bring it in if it's a if it's a handout that you want to pass out.

Um it got a little hard, I think for um the I don't want to speak for you, but for the clerk's office, and then also for IT and for Jonathan, and I think sometimes it was Gracie, sometimes people show up at the meeting and they have a flash drive with a presentation on it that they want us to then show.

It may not be in a format that we can access, or they may want us to print something and we're in the middle of a meeting and we're waiting because someone's running to a printer.

So I know that is also one of the changes.

I had a question clarifying question for Keith.

So the um the changes said a total of 15 minutes, but each council member gets five minutes.

So if the total if everybody got five minutes, it wouldn't total 15.

So I just want to clarify what the total 15 minutes is.

Sure.

I think that was a confusion of the the intent, and we may have written it wrong, but the intent of that is that question period.

So, like after Jonathan presents, then applicant presents, we have an unlimited time to do questions.

And then the five minutes comes in for your question your comments after public comment.

Currently, you each of you has two five minute periods, you would still have that.

Okay.

Thank you.

And then just reiterating what the mayor said, it can be very difficult when the clerk or IT is handed something at the last minute.

It's nice that if we can get that 24 hours ahead of time.

I just wanted to take a moment and add to that.

You know, our office has worked very closely with Brad Fulmer, who is now the IT director over the years to implement a process and an email where individuals can send their public comment along with their attachments directly to you, and it's forwarded to you in that moment instead of waiting for someone to review that email and then forward it all out to council.

So you actually in utilizing the process of the email portion is you're actually getting that comment and that feedback in real time as opposed to having to wait.

I and I hear that feedback of it being hard on the fly to accommodate folks.

I know that our working families and individuals in our city are juggling a lot of demands on their time and themselves, and you know, you have these scrappy um parts of our community, right, that are trying to get facts and information together, and they don't have expertise on areas, and so you know, maybe just figure PowerPoint out, you know, up to the minute.

So I guess I'm just looking to see what what is the greatest flexibility we can have to meet the needs of our residents.

Also understanding our staff too need to be accommodated.

I feel like it seems on first blush that the night before is reasonable, but I will tell you that I have to do my council business all the way up into our meetings oftentimes because I'm juggling mom demands, nonprofit demands, and council demands.

And so I really am trying to be mindful of that with residents, especially because we've had such complicated um conversations in the city.

And so I don't know if there's some middle ground that we could try to arrive at.

I think the night before is maybe a little too soon, thinking that folks again are still gathering information.

But if we could do it sometime the day of, I could see setting a time if we could do that.

And then my other question would be I think some of us are tech challenged, let's just say it.

And so that's my question too.

Is like I can't always necessarily find that particular location or know the thing to show someone.

So if there is a communication plan to kind of share that with folks or signage or you know, something too to just communicate it, because I think it's you know, people are not being malicious, they just literally do not know, and they come stumbling into the meeting, you know, with a jumpstick, and it's in good faith.

They just know they can come and they can talk to us.

So just trying to think through how that accommodates everyone's needs.

So, council member Moore, I really appreciate the fact that you bringing that up because that's something that our office has talked a lot about um over the years.

And if you'll take a look um at the second page of the agenda on page two, that's when we always include the agenda item comment email at the top, so that way individuals have that.

We can add more of an explanation up there if you'd like us to, but we've arrived at you know, kind of this point of time when with setting that time limit for several different reasons.

You know, sometimes some council members like to receive paper, some council members do not.

You know, it it just depends, and we want to make sure that we're being as transparent as possible while also providing the information to you and the medium that you've requested it in.

So, you know, that really plays a huge role.

Another role that um that we've or another obstacle that we found is when we're utilizing um our database or where we keep all the public comments that we have.

Whenever we have an individual that sends us, say they they email but they're using their phone, so they're sending one photo at a time each time.

Well, we're trying that's fine, and we appreciate that, but unfortunately, in order to be able to get that archived, it takes additional time for our office, so that that's additional staff time for someone to process that, which honestly we're we love to do that, but at the same time, we have other workloads and responsibilities as well.

So, you know, then that comes up to a matter of how many individuals do you have assigned to your office and spreading that workload across all of those individuals.

Well, that's the thing, and you know that's one reason that I can be honest about, and all of you I believe are council members, um, except for I believe council member um minister jones.

You know, I brought a position forward to city council, you know, for review, and I totally respect the decision that you made to not approve that at the same time.

As the de facto department head, I have to make decisions for our office regarding staff time, and that is one of them.

So I appreciate all the comments that everyone has, but there has to be a cutoff somewhere, and there has to be a compromise that we come to and say, okay, we're going to get everything to you up to this point.

If something is submitted after this point, we ask the individual that's submitting it to send it through the agenda item comment email, because that is all set up to automatically come to the council members without an individual having to touch it and send it forward to you.

You get it in real time, and also at the same time that takes care of the need of somebody walking in.

Now I do understand your comments when it comes to somebody just figuring out how to do that.

And I think there are exceptions to every rule, but at the same time, if I'm listening for votes and taking votes and doing all this process, that's why I rely so heavily on city staff to take care of that.

I mean, just take a look at um Mr.

Kirth, who not only has to put his presentation together to give it to council, but he's also putting together and going through the screens of the applicant's presentation as well.

And I know that's a huge process, and I'm sorry for speaking, but I appreciate you, Mr.

Kirth.

I think you do a wonderful job.

With thank you.

I guess my question too is I understand for there was a reason at that time, just in this maybe we'll find out in the next Tuesdays meeting.

You don't have to tell me on the spot, but I just wonder if there's any flexibility to put it even on the day of the meeting, potentially, and understanding not walking in maybe with it, but if there would be a noon cutoff or something like that, potentially.

That's all I I was wondering.

No, and I greatly appreciate that, and you know, and I want to be as transparent as possible with my explanation.

You know, each time that we add information to the agenda, there's a PDF packet that goes along with that.

Well, that doesn't just get edited on the fly, it has to have someone to go in there and run that packet, correct?

And that's with any agenda program that that I know of that's out there on the market at this point.

So if we were to add something to come to you, or you know, forward that on to you, I mean, we could do it as long as it comes into our office, but at what point is is the cutoff because we have the other workflows and have to get ready for council as well.

And I know you have a lot of changes in the rules of order and procedure that that y'all are all probably wanting to talk about.

But again, I encourage individuals to use the agenda item comment email.

Um I know we have still have questions.

I I would like to know what you there are still a couple of changes that um I would like for Keith to bring up.

I don't want to cut off questions, but I want to make sure that we've listed all of them before we talk about them.

And there was an updated um version sent from Blake Pennington today, and I'm concerned, I'm not for sure.

Um, Clerk Paxton, can you confirm if that was what was on the website?

It is, it is what is on the website as of right now.

Okay.

Um, senior deputy Courtney Spon was able to get that updated this morning.

Okay.

Great.

So Keith, a significant change then is in, and this is number tricky, seven D.

Um, no, I'm sorry, that's not it either.

About consent agenda items, which would be under procedures and parliamentary rules, which is section D point one, the agenda.

And so, can you go over those and then the rest of our key changes?

Correct.

It just kind of it reiterates the 15 minutes for clarifying questions and the two minutes after public comment, and then it goes down to state uh if during an agenda session, if a council member would like to have an item move from consent to new business, it requires three council members to support the moving from consent to new business.

That is uh different from a the proposed rules have in a regular meeting.

So if you're at a public meeting, this meet the this meeting, a single council member can recommend moving it from consent to new business.

Then if I can kind of summarize the rest of the changes, we remove smoking prohibitive and that was one of them, and removed uh cell phone and pager usage.

A lot of people use their cell phones uh for presentations and for taking notes, and then kind of going on the next thing is we removed um a lot of the or the majority of all the stuff related to things that are not council, since this document is primarily rules and orders and procedures of the Fayetteville City Council.

We remove the section for internal boards, committees, commissions, and appointments, thinking that that is best in a separate document.

And I want to speak to that really quick and then go to discussions.

The thinking on that piece, the rules of order and procedure addresses the way committees are structured, but it differs from the way that the legislation around each committee, like there's a contradiction.

Do you follow the rules that are in the order and procedure, or do you follow the rules that are applied to that committee?

And so I think we thought the cleanest thing to do was be to remove that from the rules of order, keep the rules of order just about how you run the meetings, and then make a different section for the kind of how the committees are going to be structured.

That makes sense.

So that's all I have, Mayor.

I guess I guess the very last thing is that we remove the uh kind of process of orientation.

That is something that I think we all agree that when a new council member comes on board, we can improve how we do that orientation, and that's something we want to kind of handle in a separate kind of SOP and not within the rules and procedures.

Okay, that's all I have, Mayor.

Um council member bunch, I think I saw you first.

Thank you.

Um, I am all in favor of any, you know, whatever we can do to make our meeting structure work more efficiently and be more, you know, effective for council members and wells the public and anyone that might be watching at home, and you know, if we can make these meetings shorter, that'd be great.

Um, and I think establishing cutoff times, you know, there's a lot of things I really agree with on this.

Uh judicious use of staff time is really important to me because I mean if you notice, I don't I'm not the person that speaks all the time on council.

I'm not the person that always con well, I do contact Jonathan quite a bit, honestly.

But I'm not the person that's always you know going out and saying I need this, this, and this.

So when I say I think it's important that we we tighten things down, you know, I I do uh really mean that, and I feel like I try to do that in my own practice with staff.

Uh but it's my understanding, and uh, this is a point of clarification I'd like to make with the city attorney is that these are our rules of order, and we have a right to shape them correctly.

Well, of course, that's in that's how they're entitled to rules and order proceeders of the fable city council, so they are your rules, and uh and it's up to you to decide what are the best rules you need as long as they're compliant with state law.

Okay, and as long as we have to have something in place before the end of the month, correct?

These some rules ought to be adopted in January, they could be amended in the future, but something needs to be adopted the next next meeting in order to stay in compliance with the attorney general's opinion.

Okay, so I have a question.

This is a point of clarification for all the council members.

Who on this council was involved in crafting these okay?

Okay, just want to clarify.

Thank you.

We simply proposed from as has been done in as from what I have been told as what has been done in years past, we propose here's what we would like.

We don't get to pick, you get to pick.

So you write it how you want it and change it and adopt all of it, adopt some of it, adopt none of it, write your own and bring it forward as long as we adopt something, you get to do it.

So, Bob.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, I I do have some concerns uh with this, and and there was one thing I was hoping that there would be on there that I haven't seen, and it could just be that I'm overwhelmed uh with the document as a whole.

But uh let me get so I want to get a couple things we could scratch off real quickly.

So city council orientation could still happen, but it will be outside of the realm of the rules of order.

Is that I guess that's a question for Kit uh certainly.

I think that you could do a city council orientation just because it didn't say it in the rules, right?

Yeah, city council orientation was happening before it was uh placed into the rules.

I think uh council member thought it wasn't getting us enough emphasis by the administration, so that's why they wanted to put it in the rules, but it had been going on before that.

Okay, I thought was that you didn't do it, so you're breaking the rules if you leave it in there, yeah.

So just to be clear, I never have what I felt was a proper orientation when I was elected.

I was kind of like as far as how things work, how voting work, you know, everything that's listed in this document under orientation, I didn't receive the majority of that.

And so, and I think it is important because I think that you're kind of hamstrung figuring it out for yourself, it takes like a year to kind of figure out these things piece by piece.

The city council needs to have an orientation process when a new member is elected.

And I I would love to take part in that just so I can make sure that you know, because I never received one, it just didn't happen.

Um so I want to make sure that somewhere if it's not in these rules that it does exist somewhere that city council members get an orientation when they're elected, because you're just dropping somebody in a C expecting them to know how things work, and that's just impossible.

Um smoking.

I hope we still have no smoking in here, but I guess that's okay, it's not enough rules.

Um I clear on moving items from consent that I I'm not sure if I fully understood that.

Are we saying that that a single member cannot move an item from consent now, or they have to do it at agenda?

So if at agenda session, it would require three city council members to approve it being moved from consent to uh new business.

Yeah, we take so a single council member cannot move something from consent.

At agenda session.

What about at the regular meeting?

You could at a regular meeting.

Okay, so as the current at the current rules are proposed.

Oh, okay, okay.

Um, just to make sure, you know, I think it's important that uh if a council member objects to something and wants to support the consent agenda, but is strongly opposed to an item that they they are able to do that.

The uh the 15 minute time on questions is just I don't think we rarely go over that, but it concerns me a little bit that if three people have long questions and then the fourth person doesn't get to ask theirs is a concern to me.

Just um point of clarification, you do almost consistently always go over that.

Not arguing or saying it's better than another, but just for information.

Well, I mean, but I I usually do feel that the questions asked, you know, if long as they're uh kosher to the conversation, uh Germain to the conversation that they are important.

So I I do have concerns that if three people get to ask questions and then five of us don't um because of a time limit, um, would be very concerning to me.

And and at this point I would ask that we remove that, even though you know, and we should all try to do things as quickly and in and timely as possible, but sometimes the answers take a long time.

And so I just feel that we're we could be limiting uh important questions getting answered, and if we don't get important questions answered, questions answered, then we're not fully informed and can't make good decisions.

Dr.

Jones has his hand raised.

Uh yes, uh thank you, Keith.

Uh I just have a comment or I guess a quick comment slash question.

Sometimes do we the opportunity presents itself, I think on several occasions for us to reach out to staff and be proactive prior to the meetings and ask questions via email.

I think that if we were to consider that, I think sometimes that that would serve us as well when it's possible.

I I agree with Mayor Ron.

I've noticed that many times we do go over the allotted times.

So I think that if we could consider that is well, that would be very helpful.

Thank you, Dr.

Jones.

I wasn't if I finished with my comments yet or question.

Oh, I'm so sorry.

I think it yes, I lost track of who was who's light came on when, but yes, uh Councilman Stafford, please go ahead.

Thank you.

My last uh uh concern is something that I I thought I requested.

I think um we've spoken about it over the past year, it is the uh uh right uh for a council member uh to abstain from a vote or vote present.

And is that in here?

Um my understanding, my read on it, you can't while you while you look while you look for it is that you can it's unchanged from how it was before, which was it you can abstain if you um don't participate in the discussion and you you know announce it, but it doesn't give a you don't it doesn't matter what the reason is.

Well, recusal you don't take part in the discussion, but in abstaining or voting present is is different than that.

Right.

Uh usually um the rule about not uh about not saying anything is in Roberts Rules of Order, that's our authority for that because we also adopt that.

I I didn't look here and say if we're still using uh the municipal rules and the Roberts Rules of Order to fall back on.

I hope we are because we can't say everything in our rules of order and procedure.

But uh the rule about just voting present or something, uh I don't think that's actually in here.

I think it's encouraging people to vote, but you I don't I'd have to look at the rules to really see if you have to do that.

And but you should explain yourself why you're not voting on something like that.

Yeah, and voting present is voting, and it does count as a no vote, but there is sometimes moral reasons, uh ethical reasons, uh uh all sorts of reasons.

Uh uh, that a vote of present is or abstaining is a legitimate vote, and I want to make sure we have the right to do that, and it's not limited to you know a certain amount of factors.

I mean, recusals if you have a conflict of interest, but abstaining or voting present, there are legitimate reasons that I may not be against something, but I'm not I may feel, and this is a case that happened.

I feel that it was not our business to be voting on it.

Therefore, I'm not gonna vote against it because I'm not against it, but I have the right to not vote on it because it wasn't our business, it wasn't business it should be in front of us in the first place, or that was my belief.

And so, like a case like that, I would hope that any member here would be able to vote present, and and and we know in full well that a present vote is a no vote.

We know that that's not a question, but but it's it's I would suggest then that a rule like that actually be in place in your rules.

So we we should if you want to do that, I think you should probably promote a row rule that would allow you to do that.

Okay.

So um I might bring a rule, I'll research it, make sure I get it right, and I will bring a rule forward uh to amend uh to allow us to do that.

Thank you.

Um I think you were next.

I'm sorry.

Well, I kept turning my light on and off.

So um it's a little mixed here because I think a lot I Bob just had some excellent comments, and I was trying to kind of hold my comments to next week.

But the one thing I would like to um note is that I think citizens have had a hard time when they want to give presentations to know where to send the information to.

So if we made that clear by having an email address in here or having it um in our whole document uh that we provide before a city council meeting, I I think that would be extremely helpful so that citizens would know where to consistently send the presentation to, and that would it be identified as it's required to be a PDF.

So um I'll hold my other comments to to Tuesday.

Um Mr.

Wiediger.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um I am personally all in favor of us attempting to make our meetings as efficiently productive as possible.

So I understand uh the issues and concerns about limiting questions.

Well, I think the flip side of that is I'm trying to anticipate how we solicit and recruit future Fayetteville residents to run for city council but have full-time jobs.

I've got the the luxury and the privilege of being uh retired.

I'm spoiled, but it just seems to me that as a community we potentially lose good candidates who just feel like I cannot have those kinds of late nights and then show up at work.

And so I I really commend Dr.

Jones for his comments about emailing questions or calling staff ahead of time because it's both more efficient for them to know the question and to be able to prepare the answer.

And I realize we're always going to have something that comes up and we've got a question on, but that kind of last minute, oh, I'm surprised by the agenda item.

We ought to be able to address those in 15 minutes, I feel like.

If someone has, gee, I've got eight questions.

If I'm when I was a staff person, I wanted my city council members to get those to us ahead of time so we could give them here's the bullet answers for those.

And it seems to me if we gave it a try and we just found out that this isn't working, and we are allowed to give the public additional time, it might be the courtesy of simply adding that we can grant one another additional time.

Gee, those are good questions, you're right.

You only asked two questions, but the answer was very involved from staff, then that gives us a target to try to meet, and yet when the exception comes, if it's the exception, we can grant additional time to ourselves.

If that would seem agreeable to people, I'd kind of like to give it a try, to be honest with you, because I I do think we owe it to the citizens to encourage future applicants to apply and run for city council.

Thank you.

Oh, I I love the idea of um three people to pull something from consent at agenda.

We're not denying anyone's ability to do it at the meeting.

Uh I like that one as well too.

I wish I had thought of it.

Thank you.

Uh Mr.

Bernard.

And then Ms.

Moore.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

Um, one of the items I like was uh uh what we did last week about not reading the the consent agenda considering it's we go over the agenda session, it's right there in black and white.

Um there's really no reason to read it again uh unless somebody wants to pull an item off.

So I really like that.

But I I agree with uh what Mike's saying is um, and I've said this before, and I've I've got chastised about it by some members of the public, but you cannot make good decisions at 11 30, 12 o'clock at night.

And as big as our agendas are becoming, uh it's hard, hard to keep your focus and make good decisions.

So anything we can do in the way of emailing staff, uh whatever we decide, I like Mike's ideal of trying to implement it and do it as a trial and and see how it works, and if we need to change, we change.

But we we have to do a better job as council members, myself included, of emailing staff, uh getting answers to our questions on the front end before we ever come into session, so that we can expedite and move through these agendas quicker because it it it is very difficult.

I don't care who you are, I don't care what kind of work machine you are, you cannot make good decisions if you've been sitting in a meeting for five, six hours.

So uh that's just what I'd say on that.

Um thank you.

And the part I want to make sure I understood your that you're referring to about the what we did last week with the consent.

That was language that um that that Kit wrote basically saying that it doesn't prohibit the mayor from it doesn't prohibit me from reading the consent items, but it doesn't force me to read the consent items if if you all vote to suspend the rules.

So um Miss Moore is next.

Sorry, and then yeah.

Um no, I I appreciate that we're having the conversation about you know trying to be more efficient and trying to be respectful of time.

Um, I always root myself back into what is our goal and goal, and it's you know, serving the residents, um, the city of Fateville the best way possible.

And so, you know, they do rely on we have different bodies of government, and part of our what when we have our city council meetings, that is literally the only time we're truly officially doing the business of our um citizens.

Uh we're part-time legislators.

Um, we do not we're not full-time city staff to be in those meetings and ask those questions.

And I think yes, we can have the diligence to ask, but I don't know if staff really want um getting, you know, eight of us asking for an hour every single week from them as well to ask questions.

I also too would say that I do value us putting that on the public record so that the public gets some of that conversation because residents do ask those questions, and so they like to see that get vetted into the public.

So I think it's a balancing act that we're trying to do.

Um, and I also, as council member Whitaker pointed out about the length of the meetings and attracting people.

Um, I think um also the flip side of attracting people is if you are working full-time and you're a parent, etc., you know, staff work business hours, right?

And so if I'm supposed to try to do all this business during the day while I work a nine to five and I take care of my kids, and you want me to add this workload of trying to ask my questions again with city staff, that's really challenging for a lot of our residents as well.

So again, it's a balancing act, and so there's a flip side to that coin, I think.

Um, you know, my concern um with the um the 15 minutes on questions is just I think we're gonna get into how do you really equitably put that out there?

How do you time management manage it?

I think wound up losing lots of time just trying to make sure there's an equitable process of of which um you know uh council members are gonna ask the questions and and you know, as one person can I take up 15 minutes on this complicated topic.

Um I think that we made a lot of changes um for last year with our roles of order and procedure, and I honestly have been very impressed with our results, and um I think that we have a lot of complicated business in the city of Fable, and so sometimes we're gonna have longer meetings, but I think on average, if you looked at them, we were much shorter and we were much more efficient this last year.

And so, you know, that's kind of my question I go back to is like what we're solving for.

Um and so on the the 15 minutes I'm concerned about um how we have equitably you know work on that.

I also think about the complicated situations and having to pause business to expans uh change our um procedure when ultimately those are those are um abilities we have as elected officials already is a concern for me.

Um additionally on the um consent agenda, um uh my concern and hesitation with doing the three folks to pull it from agenda session is I think that it actually um is not beneficial to staff if you pull it at the meeting.

I think that tends to make them have to you know quickly jump up and come give a presentation they weren't counting on, so that's my as intation in that.

So I'm open to hearing um feedback on that, but I always think it's nicer when we do pull it at agenda session so that it allows and it respects staff time to just be prepared ahead of time and not be surprised the night of.

And so I always hate it when I pull something the night of.

I try to try to do it ahead of time.

So I just I I'm open to to hear from you guys on that as well.

Um I just have one.

Oh, I'm sorry, okay.

Sorry, I'm just no, no, no, it's okay.

I thought you were singling you were done.

That's my fault.

I apologize.

Please keep going.

Um I just I just wanted to make sure.

Sorry.

Um I also wanted to echo what came up before, and I don't know who's responsible.

It needs to be, and I know I'm sure the mayor's team has a lot, but I was one of the council members too that didn't get orientation that would have benefited even though I was an um experienced kind of resident who really kind of beaten and knew a lot about departments.

Um I just am curious it if it doesn't go in here, you know, and whose role is it potentially?

Because I do think you're at a huge disadvantage and it's very overwhelming to come into this role and we should include it somewhere.

And then I did talk with the city attorney about some of the changes and um the ones where I understand talking about doing the committees um outside um of our rules.

One of the things is if they're not codified, then removing them from this, I understand, then makes them potentially um not be a committee potentially.

There might be something there, I believe, is what we were saying.

So I don't know if the youth council is fully codified or if we have any of our committees that are not fully codified.

Well, the ordinance review committee is not not codified, and and the nominated committee is not really codified yet, although I think there's gonna be a proposal for that.

I don't know if the ordinance review committee really needs codification.

It's uh but regardless, uh they can be codified, they won't go away just because they're not in the rules of order and procedure.

Okay.

All right, so maybe we don't need that.

So I was just asking thank you.

Thank you.

Um I wanted um to just respectfully push back on one thing, and I don't even think um Ms.

Moore that it that you intended it the way it sounded, but the comment about staff working business hours.

Um Mr.

Kurth is here tonight as is Chief Reynolds, as is Britain.

Um they have set in this chambers till midnight and beyond.

They are, you know, I have never not seen Jonathan at work before 8 a.m.

the next day after a council meeting.

Um I know from personal experience that Chief Reynolds answers his phone for me, and I think for everybody up here 24-7.

And so I just want to make sure that they hear me say that I know that your jobs don't just stop eight to five.

Thank you, Mayor.

Yeah, you're correct.

Thank you.

Um Dr.

Jones' hand is up, and I don't know how long it's been up, so I'm gonna go to him next because I don't always have visibility on him.

Uh yes, uh uh thank you, Mayor.

I just wanted to echo your sentiments and I wanted to uh ask about staff.

We talk a lot about um uh staff schedule and and and and staff involvement, but uh as far as our city clerk, and I know that they're there on week on Tuesday nights, and then a lot of them, as you just mentioned, have to get up the very next morning and come in.

And I I really appreciate my colleagues mentioning uh or referencing those of us who work full time.

Uh I have to now take off on Wednesdays because our council meetings are so long, I believe, and I don't want to assume for our citizens, but I do I would say this.

I think that people appreciate us working harder and uh I'm sorry, working smarter and not learning to work smarter and um and more efficient, and sometimes guys having longer meetings may not be conducive of that.

But going back to my original um uh statement, I'm just curious to know those staff members who were there on Tuesday night at those long meetings.

Um what are their thoughts as it relates to being there and then having to get up at eight, then having to turn around at eight o'clock the next morning and come to work.

Um I I don't know who Dr.

Jones, I think that's a great question.

Um I can't I certainly cannot speak and don't pretend to speak for all staff.

I will tell you they do it um gratefully and without complaint um is the best answer to that.

However, I'm sure I speak for staff when I say that it would certainly be appreciated if meetings were shorter.

Absolutely, and I think that that is something that with with the with the new with the proposed changes.

I felt like that we have to be fair and think of staff, and uh because I mean they are they have been there all day and a shorter meeting.

I think that uh that they would certainly appreciate that.

So that is something that hopefully we will keep in mind.

Thank you, Dr.

Jones.

Um I thought it was Ms.

Bunch, but I think you're is also maybe Mr.

Burnet.

Yeah, I was just gonna make a statement in the fact that uh I appreciated uh council uh member Joan or Moore's comments about last year at this time, uh we changed the rules and we were concerned about how they were gonna affect the public and how it was gonna affect operations, and we look back on those, and it's been a positive uh outcome.

So that's why I say this is worth a shot to say, hey, let's adjust things, see if it works, and we've got the availability of uh of changing.

We may look back on it uh again next year and say, hey, those are great changes, but if we don't give it a shot, we're never gonna know.

So that's just what I would say to that point.

Mr.

Stafford, thank you, Mayor.

Um, and it's just a clarification on uh I was actually watching a forum court meeting last week, which I tend to do in my spare time, and uh it it when it comes to the consent agenda at their meeting.

The uh I think one of the members brought forward, he said, you know, I move we suspend the rules and vote on the consent agenda as read at our agenda session.

Is that what we'd have to do, Kit, or is it just or is it just kind of automatic here?

Will we make a motion to suspend the rules and just vote on it?

Well, the mayor and would it just be automatic in the rules that are proposed at this point, it was changed from shall read to may read.

So I guess the rules as proposed now would give the mayor the option whether she wants to read the consent agenda or not.

Okay, and if she started to read it, can somebody say I move we suspend the rule?

I mean, I I guess I just don't know how it works.

Will we will the mayor just pretty much decide not to read it?

And we got that language from the city attorney's office, so Keith, can you address that?

Yeah, just like we did uh Councilmember Berners say stated last time, he stated you have to suspend the rules, but since we're modifying the rules, not to have that language in there, you will no longer have to state suspend the rules.

Okay, all you'd have to do is like you stated last time is I approve make a motion to make it as presented.

Yeah, okay.

Thank you.

And if I can add one more quick thing, just about orientation.

I think if you had every staff member that that in here, they would say we all agree that we can improve on our orientation.

I think that helps us with you, you know, when we work with you, kind of have a baseline.

I know during the budget process and CIP, Steve spent a lot of time working with you know council members, especially new council members trying to get them on.

So I would be I would definitely be committed to I would like to see it out of this and having more of a robust document, like a checklist.

I know the city clerk's office has something that they've already they've created a number of years ago.

I know when I was in IT, we had kind of a checklist that we went over IT issues, uh, but that's something that I think we can definitely commit to is having a checklist document, and then also kind of lean on the municipal leaks.

I know they also provide additional training opportunities that may help with onboarding new council members.

That's a good point.

Just a quick question about this conversation about um suspending or not reading the consent agenda.

So I think that's gonna that might create a little bit of confusion because if somebody wants to pull something off of off of consent at the city council meeting, then that what would that procedure be?

So I'm just pointing that out.

I guess they would have to bring up the mayor before she before you moved on to new business or old business.

That's just yeah, no, that's a good point.

May I ask a question before we wrap up and move to our presentation?

I have a question for you all, and that is that I have different I get I would like to know, and you don't have to all weigh in now, but I would ask that you would kind of be thinking about what you want the agenda sessions to be.

And what I mean by that is so some cities do a meet uh agenda sessions, a lot of cities actually just like 30 minutes before the council meeting.

I know we could not do that, I'm not proposing that.

Um I I have a real lack of clarity on whether or not in my mind, I went into it thinking the agenda session was where you ask all the questions, and I think that maybe half our council feels that way.

It seems like we also have council members that feel like I'm not gonna ask any questions at agenda, I'm gonna save them all to the meeting.

I'm not saying one is better than the other, but I want to run an efficient meeting, and so I would love you to be thinking about like how why do we do the agenda and what is the goal?

That's it.

My comment.

So I can give you some feedback right now if you if you wish.

I would like it.

I feel like um these suggestions sessions are great because I can ask most of the questions here.

Yeah.

Now if I'm if I go back and and there's something that's really complicated and I need to read it again, or maybe I wasn't prepared at agenda session, but I try to be prepared so that I can ask the majority of questions here.

Um so that's that's my view.

I I really appreciate um how we can get that out and hopefully provide clarity so that our meetings can't be more efficient during the city council process the following week.

Got it.

Okay.

Um I'm gonna move on.

If that's okay.

Okay, we've gone through all the items of business.

Um, and I suppose Kit, if somebody wanted to propose um different rules, they would send those to your office and send them to the mayor's like let us know if you've got you know something to do.

I'll be happy to try to draft anything that you might want to add to this.

Okay, okay.

Um, we do have a um presentation.

I know we are later than we usually are.

We do have a presentation from Marley as a monthly update for chief housing for our chief housing officer.

I will tell you, I know it is a a brief presentation, but we can allow her to give that, and then we will be done unless you all have things.

Oh, okay.

Um the the tour, do you want to go ahead and address that now?

Uh I'm I think I'm hearing, and I I've been up there before, um, but I think it would be helpful uh to um schedule a tour to both of those two pieces of property that are over there off of futural, and either day works for me, I can be flexible.

I I'm pre-coordinated with the applicant on this, and their preference is Friday, and I'm sure it's probably on most of y'all's radars.

Monday is a national, state, and local holiday.

So if if Friday works for everybody, I can work to plan it for that afternoon.

Great.

I'll be out of town, but I'll try to drive by there and take a look.

Okay.

So um, council member more, are you interested?

Because I don't want them to do a tour just for me.

I I can do Friday.

Okay.

Marley, please go ahead.

All right, thank you.

Uh so last month I gave an overview of the housing and community services department, try to give a sense of our structure and also our current um programming.

Tonight, I want to spend a little bit of time talking about kind of one of the major engines of our work, the community development block grant, or you might have heard that called CDBG.

That does not quite uh roll off the tongue.

So uh thank you in advance for bearing with me if I if I bungle that uh occasionally throughout this presentation.

Um I'll also take some time to preview opportunities for us to align our funding and our housing strategy more broadly.

So just wanted to start with the sort of brass tax of CDBG.

Uh this represents about over half of the department's revenues.

Um so CDBG funded work must advance at least one of HUD's three national objectives.

So that's either benefiting low and moderate income individuals, aiding in the prevention or elimination of slums and blight as defined by HUD.

I know that both of those words can kind of carry some negative experiences or connotations, so just wanted to flag that that's kind of HUD specific language.

And then lastly, meeting a need having a particular urgency.

That's typically something like responding to a natural disaster.

So we don't see that national objective used a lot of the time in our plans, but that is a potential option.

I think it's also worth emphasizing that at least 70% of our expenditures for CDBG must benefit households making at or below 80% of area median income.

So I really like to think about this program relative to some of our other federal options as one that is particularly focused on economic and social mobility of our lower income neighbors.

Eligible activities, I've sort of outlined the main categories that we tend to see.

You also see this kind of presented in the budget for CDBG most of the time.

But one thing that I did want to call out, I went ahead and put sort of the broad categories that we see for housing activities in particular.

So we have things like owner occupied housing rehab.

So if you'll remember last month we talked about our program that we've had for a number of years, it's a pretty common program.

There's also home ownership assistance, which can take on a few different forms.

And there's also different types of support for rental housing developments in particular.

One thing I wanted to flag here, just to sort of plant the seed in your head is that new construction and long-term assistance payments, so things like rental assistance.

Those expenditures are typically not allowed under CDBG.

There are particular instances where that can be permitted for a short period of time, but typically this tool is not used for either of those activities.

And I point this out mostly because when we think about our HUD block grant program as our sorry, our home block grant program as well, those are two eligible activities.

So when we're thinking about one tool, I think sometimes it's also helpful to think about a different federal tool because different tools can fund different activities.

So I one thing that I wanted to do here was also give you a sense of what CDBG has looked like, I think over time, but also just for our pure cities in the Northwest Arkansas region.

So while our housing needs have certainly evolved over the past two decades, I think you might be surprised to find that our levels of CDBG funding have actually not changed that much of our time.

There's obviously that kind of peak on this left-hand side around the pandemic with additional funding coming in.

But other than that, I think you see a pretty consistent line over time.

So one thing that you'll also notice is that allocations are formula driven.

So there's sort of two different sets of formulas that HUD uses to calculate our allocations each year.

We get sort of whichever one we score the highest on in terms of resulting in a higher funding allocation, that's typically the one that they go with.

So it's factors in different things like population, growth in population, poverty levels, and then also sort of the presence of either older or overcrowded housing stock within your community.

Looking at our peer cities, kind of breakdown of funding, I pulled the 2024 annual action plans for each of the four major cities in Northwest Arkansas.

It's just sort of a framework of reference.

I think you'll see housing activities, specifically housing rehab, and then also public services as a category, typically similar to what we have with our nonprofit grant program.

Those tend to be some of the most common programs that you see funded with CDBG, not only in our region but also nationally.

However, I wanted to note that FAGL has also periodically used our allocation to invest in public facilities, different types of public improvements, so things like sidewalks and then also strategic land acquisition over time.

So that is an option that's on the table and kind of going through different records over the past you know 20 years or so and looking at what we've used in the past, that is something that we do periodically decide to do.

So for example, in 1995, you'll kind of see this with this red part of the column on the farthest land left-hand side.

Um, that fund, those funding uh funding was set aside to support the development of what would ultimately become the Abon Richardson community center.

So again, I think this is a good example of you know, whenever we we work cross-divisionally when we plan in advance, that's something that we can use this funding source to make sort of strategic investments in community assets.

So we've seen things like that with the senior center as well.

So moving on to the street strategic planning component of C DBG.

I'm quite excited about this piece.

I think one important thing to note here is that in order to receive this federal block grant on an annual basis, we are required to submit two different types of strategic planning docs to HUD.

The first is the consolidated plan.

So this is a three or five-year strategic plan that outlines our longer term goals for both housing and community development.

So I really like to think of this as sort of our vision for both of those topics.

And they're also complemented by each year we submit an annual action plan that discusses our implementation activities, so sort of our pathway for moving towards those goals on an annual basis.

So there is a rough timeline for submitting these documents.

I will caveat it by saying that the clock does not start until we get a federal appropriations bill, which can obviously vary over time.

I think at an ideal timeline, we typically see an appropriations bill or we'd want to see an appropriations bill in October, which would allow us to know what our funding estimate would be in January.

Realistically, though, those timelines have really varied year to year.

I suspect that will be the case for 2026 as well.

So just wanted to kind of signpost that potential delay.

With that said, I think there are also two other things that I'd like y'all to keep in mind about kind of the timeline for CDBG funding in particular.

The first being that our city budget timeline, our fiscal year is different from that of the federal government, right?

So while our 2026 runs from January to December when we're looking at our budget, that's how we're thinking about it.

The federal 2026 fiscal year started last October and will stop in September of this year.

So I think that's not necessarily the most intuitive thing.

I think it leads to some confusion sometimes when we're thinking about funds coming in and going out.

But that's just sort of one thing to keep in mind.

Practice, practically speaking, that really means that staff are offering administering funds from the previous grant year while also planning of how we're going to use funds for the current grant year.

So that's kind of another component.

I think we see this come up in a lot in conversations about our nonprofit grant program.

So again, that's just something to keep in mind.

So what I'm quite excited about is that the city is due for a new consolidated plan this year.

So this will cover 2026 to 2030.

I'll be bringing a draft of the consolidated plan for public comment, and then after that, for council's review later in the spring, depending on whenever we get that initial estimate from HUD of what our allocation will be.

Kind of two components that I wanted to sort of flag in advance for you all to think about is the housing and homeless needs assessment and the housing market analysis.

So those are really like the two key components of the CON plan, not only for determining how we fill that document out, but I think it'll also be two of the items that you all will likely be most interested in since housing is obviously quite front of mind for all of us in this room.

So really my overarching goal and kind of the first opportunity that I've identified for this process is really thinking about how we can synchronize our required planning documents for HUD with some of the internal analysis that we're doing, both with the housing assessment and with sort of this broader five-year housing roadmap that we're putting together as an addendum to the 2026 annual housing assessment.

So just wanted to give you sort of an advanced notice.

That's something that we're we feel quite strongly about.

I think it'll help both of those processes sort of integrate and run more smoothly together.

And then we've identified two other opportunities to kind of bolster our process for this type of planning work moving forward.

First and foremost, I think supplementing HUD provides some sort of housing and community data that's integrated into the system where we submit these forms.

We do have the option where we can supplement it with local analysis.

So I pulled an example from our last con plan, which covered 2021 to 2025.

The font is quite small, but that highlighted portion shows not only sort of the baseline being from the 2000 census, but also the most recent data being from the 2020 or 2013 to 2017 ACS estimates.

So obviously, if we're thinking about you know the year 2025, that data is quite outdated, and we also have newer data that we've been using in the annual housing assessment.

So again, I think we can use multiple sources of data to sort of paint the full picture over time, utilizing that those tools that HUD makes available available for us, but also kind of including our own flavor to really bolster that piece.

Lastly, I'm also interested in exploring options for more coordinated, place-based, or I like to think about it as kind of neighborhood level investment plans.

So CDBG allows for us to identify or designate a target area.

So I've got the map of kind of an older map of the last target area that we identified.

We haven't updated this since 1992, which might come as a surprise to some of us in the room.

I think it's definitely due for something that we can revisit over the course of the spring.

So that's something that I'm excited about.

I think taken together, thinking about all of these opportunities, you know, refreshing our con plan.

I think the timing of it is quite nice.

We can sort of link that with our new housing roadmap.

That'll really provide us an opportunity to coordinate investments from CDBG, from home, from the CIP, all of these different sources thinking about that together and how we can work towards our housing goals.

So a preview of what's next, what's coming.

I'll be back in March to talk through the release of the 2026 annual housing assessment.

We'll also have that housing roadmap attached to that.

So there'll be some new information.

We've got a few.

I wanted to just preview a couple of different categories of data that we're incorporating new for this year.

So trying to provide some more information about sort of the current status of our housing stock, so some more supply kind of based information.

We'll also have some expanded uh data around homelessness to try to paint sort of a more um you know robust picture of that particular housing need.

And then we're also working on some additional analysis around our production pipeline.

So I'm hoping that will be some sort of useful net new uh data to that process.

So I think the story of the housing assessment in mind bind is that each year we've kind of added on another layer of analysis.

Um, and then lastly, I know I've mentioned this earlier in the presentation, but we'll be bringing sort of the refresh consolidated plan to council for review later on in the spring.

Prior to that, we'll also be working on kind of revamping our citizen participation plan.

I think that's something you know a lot of places could you know sort of do in a standard way.

It looks sort of like having a public hearing and a lot of folks don't typically show up to.

So I think we're trying to think about how we can bring that sort of citizen participation plan into spaces where people are already there.

So with that, happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Marley.

I appreciate it.

Thank you for your work on that.

In 1992, since the last time that was updated, is shocking and not in a great way, so I'm really glad we're taking a look at that.

For sure.

Thank you.

Um Keith, do we have any announcements?

We do.

Uh so next uh Tuesday, January 20th at 1 p.m.

here in the Fayetteville City Council Chambers.

Dr.

uh DeAndre Jones will be hosting an event here, just kind of a meet and greet representing the National Day of Racial Healing.

So if you have any questions on that, please reach out directly uh to Dr.

Jones for more information.

That's all I have.

Great, thank you all so much.

We're adjourned.