OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Fayetteville City Council Regular Meeting – February 12, 2024

City Council — Monday, February 12, 2024
BodyFayetteville, North Carolina
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, February 12, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

Good evening, everyone.

0:03

We'd like to call our February 12th City Council meeting order.

0:07

Welcome those who are joining us in the audience and those who are checking checking in with us remotely.

0:12

At this time, we'll ask that Pastor Mathis from Mission Fields Ministry if he would come to the podium.

0:17

Ask that everyone would please stand for the prayer immediately following the invocation.

0:21

If we could repeat the Pledge of Allegiance in unison.

0:24

Pastor, how are you, sir?

0:26

Well, I've arrived.

0:27

I got caught up in the traffic a little bit out there on North Ramsey, but I'm so grateful.

0:33

I hate disappointing people.

0:38

Oh Lord, Father, once again, we acknowledge your sovereign your sovereignty and your loving kindness to all of us here on this earth.

0:50

We thank you tonight for your presence.

0:53

And oh Lord, as we come once again, we're also grateful for your loving kindness, your mercy, and your long suffering with humanity, especially in these days.

1:06

And Lord, also we understand that you are God, and we just don't approach you anyway, any kind of way, especially when we realize our great need for you to be involved in the affairs that we carry out.

1:22

And so, Lord, we ask now wherever there's anything that you would frown on in our gathering this evening.

1:30

We ask that you would forgive us, oh Lord, and have mercy upon us and hear our cry.

1:37

The agenda has already been set.

1:40

We continue to thank you for our Mayor Coven and his family and how you continue to protect him and guide him, not only him, but the remainder of his staff, everyone that contributes here to try and make Fedville one of the best cities in the state of North Carolina you can live in, God.

1:59

We thank you for them and how you continue to protect them.

2:03

And Lord, talk about protection.

2:06

We dare not forget, Lord, our first responders.

2:11

And God, we ask that you would continue to keep your warring angels at their back so when their backs are turned, there are no surprises, no harm being done to them.

2:23

Oh God, we thank you in these very difficult and dangerous times that we live in now.

2:30

We thank you for your omnipresence and how you're always there for us.

2:35

We thank you especially for their willingness to put their life their lives in harm's way.

2:41

Oh God, as having families also that they would they intend to go home to.

2:48

We thank you.

2:49

God, you have truly blessed the city of Fairville.

2:53

Well, I'm biased toward it.

2:54

It's a wonderful place to live as far as I'm concerned.

2:58

And God, I ask you now that you would continue even in this year of 2024.

3:03

Open up the doors, oh Lord, the doors that you see that we stand in need of.

3:10

Thank you for the boundaries and how you protect this city from some of the worst crimes and spirits that could cause us to be in national news a whole lot of times.

3:23

We are grateful, God, even though we don't say it all the time.

3:27

We are grateful.

3:28

And now, Lord, we ask God that you would continue to grant the board, the council, wisdom, oh Lord, to dispatch the things on their agenda the way that you would have them to be dispatched.

3:43

And we ask that we would behave and show respect for our leadership.

3:47

And we declare and decree all these things in Jesus' name.

3:51

Amen.

3:51

Amen.

3:53

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States.

3:58

And to the Republic for which it stands under God and divisible.

4:05

Liberty and justice for us.

4:09

Well, Pastor Matthews, it's good to see you again.

4:11

And uh we're very familiar with you, but it may be some in the audience or or tuning in by by remote uh means that may not know you want to tell us a little bit about yourself and your ministry.

4:21

Well, uh, I'm always very honored to be on the winning side and to be a part uh an activist of change in these days.

4:34

And the ministry I represent, Mission Field Ministries.

4:38

We right at 25 years now.

4:41

Uh we're located at 3429 Block and Decker Road, right adjacent to the UPS building.

4:47

We've been out there for about 10 years now.

4:50

We're mission-oriented ministry.

4:53

And uh Mayor Colvin and your staff.

4:56

Um, I'm especially grateful in the last meeting that you held, uh coffee with the mayor.

5:01

I was glad to hear about the initiative and the things that you're trying to do regarding the black youth or youth in general.

5:12

Because I'm really excited about that.

5:15

I was quickening in my spirit on last year to begin to be a part of that move.

5:21

And so we're grateful, mission-oriented, the homeless uh uh uh picking up food from Walmart every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and we set up at 10 o'clock.

5:33

We have a lot of people out there coming out.

5:35

We put the food out on the tables, and people just come.

5:39

You don't need ID or anything, and we distribute that every third Saturday.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████25%
Homelessness█████████████13%
Community Engagement███████████11%
Public Safety██████████10%
Public Engagement██████████10%
Traffic Management███████7%
Parks and Recreation██████6%
Public Health█████5%
Environmental Protection█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Fayetteville City Council Regular Meeting – February 12, 2024

The Fayetteville City Council held its regular meeting on February 12, 2024, at 6:30 PM. The meeting included an invocation, recognitions, approval of the consent agenda, public forum, and an administrative report. Key topics included community safety, homeless services, voting rights, and infrastructure needs.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the minutes from January 17, 22, 29, 30, and 31, 2024 meetings.
  • Approved items 24-38377 through 24-38197, including a special use permit for transitional housing at Hawley Lane, a capital project ordinance amendment for an aircraft rescue vehicle, an affordable housing loan commitment for Liberty Springs Apartments, the Transit 2024-2028 Equal Employment Opportunity Program, a lease amendment for the R.C. Williams Building, a sole source recommendation for a pump control valve, and a bid recommendation for a design-build project for a 54-inch outfall line. All passed unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Opche Buringer (resident) urged unity and called for the removal of slogans from the Market House, referencing the 2020 protests and quoting Rodney King and Ronald Reagan.
  • Brian Henry (disabled veteran, 6454 East Hampton Road) reported damage to his sewer line from an unknown utility and requested better inter-departmental communication. The city manager offered to assist in identifying the responsible party.
  • Taleko Hurst (134-? address) apologized to the police chief for overzealous criticism, reminded citizens of upcoming state elections, and promoted a court-watching program. He also urged attention to the Leandro school funding case before the NC Supreme Court.
  • Jerry Rhino (516 Deer Path Drive) requested a monument for an unmarked mass grave at North Side Cemetery containing 15 of 21 African American migrant workers killed in a 1957 truck crash—then the deadliest traffic accident in the nation.
  • Georgiana Pinckney (3529 Ferman Drive, founder of Greater Life of Fayetteville) described her after-school tutoring, suspension program, and summer academy (I Am Unique), noting that city grants are reimbursable and she needs unrestricted funds to expand staff.
  • Joseph Wheeler (245 Alexandra Street, Homeless Assembly) criticized the J Resource Center, stating it failed because Cumberland Health Net did not write grants and excluded homeless voices. He advocated for subject-matter experts with lived experience.
  • Mac Dishman (same address) compared the local resource center to Raleigh’s Oak City Cares, which offers mail services, disability application help, and clinician services. He requested similar services for Fayetteville’s homeless.
  • Lisa Lofthouse (236 Viking Road, president of Organizing Against Racism) urged full funding of the Office of Community Safety (OCS) at $3 million (less than 1% of the $300M+ budget), citing successful models in Greensboro and Durham. She also mentioned a Jackie Robinson play on March 6.
  • Lisa Rodriguez (1701 Cherokee Drive, Common Cause NC and Fayetteville Freedom for All) highlighted voting barriers for unhoused people under new voter ID laws, praised the farmers market partnership, and recommended community listening sessions for OCS implementation. She offered to partner with the city.
  • Dr. Lakshmi Gordon (4609 Weaver Hall Drive) advocated for tennis court repairs, noting she fell in October due to cracks. She acknowledged a new 11-court facility but said it is insufficient to meet demand.
  • Sean McMillan (6224 Golden Rain Drive, final speaker after a 7-3 vote to extend the forum) urged full funding of OCS, mental health crisis response, and independent police oversight. He referenced recent police-involved deaths (Joshua Oxendine, Adrian Roberts, Jason Walker, Jada Johnson, Justin Livsay, Jelana Dunlap, Demarcus Brody, Lawrence Artist) and called for a resolution condemning genocide in Gaza (death toll then ~30,000).

Discussion Items

  • Cool Spring Downtown District, Inc. Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Report (Administrative Report) – Councilmember Thompson moved to move the report to a future work session. The motion was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Jensen and passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda – Approved unanimously (including Councilmember Hare voting remotely).
  • Public Forum Extension – A motion by Councilmember Benavente, seconded by Councilmember Banks-McLaughlin, to allow the final speaker to exceed the 30-minute limit passed 7-3.
  • Cool Spring Report – Moved to a future work session by unanimous vote.
  • Meeting adjourned without further action.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone. We'd like to call our February 12th City Council meeting order. Welcome those who are joining us in the audience and those who are checking checking in with us remotely. At this time, we'll ask that Pastor Mathis from Mission Fields Ministry if he would come to the podium. Ask that everyone would please stand for the prayer immediately following the invocation. If we could repeat the Pledge of Allegiance in unison. Pastor, how are you, sir? Well, I've arrived. I got caught up in the traffic a little bit out there on North Ramsey, but I'm so grateful. I hate disappointing people. Oh Lord, Father, once again, we acknowledge your sovereign your sovereignty and your loving kindness to all of us here on this earth. We thank you tonight for your presence. And oh Lord, as we come once again, we're also grateful for your loving kindness, your mercy, and your long suffering with humanity, especially in these days. And Lord, also we understand that you are God, and we just don't approach you anyway, any kind of way, especially when we realize our great need for you to be involved in the affairs that we carry out. And so, Lord, we ask now wherever there's anything that you would frown on in our gathering this evening. We ask that you would forgive us, oh Lord, and have mercy upon us and hear our cry. The agenda has already been set. We continue to thank you for our Mayor Coven and his family and how you continue to protect him and guide him, not only him, but the remainder of his staff, everyone that contributes here to try and make Fedville one of the best cities in the state of North Carolina you can live in, God. We thank you for them and how you continue to protect them. And Lord, talk about protection. We dare not forget, Lord, our first responders. And God, we ask that you would continue to keep your warring angels at their back so when their backs are turned, there are no surprises, no harm being done to them. Oh God, we thank you in these very difficult and dangerous times that we live in now. We thank you for your omnipresence and how you're always there for us. We thank you especially for their willingness to put their life their lives in harm's way. Oh God, as having families also that they would they intend to go home to. We thank you. God, you have truly blessed the city of Fairville. Well, I'm biased toward it. It's a wonderful place to live as far as I'm concerned. And God, I ask you now that you would continue even in this year of 2024. Open up the doors, oh Lord, the doors that you see that we stand in need of. Thank you for the boundaries and how you protect this city from some of the worst crimes and spirits that could cause us to be in national news a whole lot of times. We are grateful, God, even though we don't say it all the time. We are grateful. And now, Lord, we ask God that you would continue to grant the board, the council, wisdom, oh Lord, to dispatch the things on their agenda the way that you would have them to be dispatched. And we ask that we would behave and show respect for our leadership. And we declare and decree all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States. And to the Republic for which it stands under God and divisible. Liberty and justice for us. Well, Pastor Matthews, it's good to see you again. And uh we're very familiar with you, but it may be some in the audience or or tuning in by by remote uh means that may not know you want to tell us a little bit about yourself and your ministry. Well, uh, I'm always very honored to be on the winning side and to be a part uh an activist of change in these days. And the ministry I represent, Mission Field Ministries. We right at 25 years now. Uh we're located at 3429 Block and Decker Road, right adjacent to the UPS building. We've been out there for about 10 years now.

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