Fayetteville City Council Work Session - January 6, 2025
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Fayetteville City Council Work Session - January 6, 2025
The Fayetteville City Council held a work session on January 6, 2025, beginning at 2:00 PM in the Council Chamber. The meeting included the invocation, pledge of allegiance, city manager's report, approval of the agenda, and discussions on multiple items including state and federal legislative agendas, building code inspector certifications, the Makerspace project, sentinel event review, a sidewalk obstruction ordinance, red-light cameras, council travel, term limits, election reform, and bike lane clarity. Several motions were passed, and some items were directed to committees for further review.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the agenda: unanimous.
Discussion Items
- State Action Plan 2025: Presentation by staff on legislative priorities including infrastructure, housing, public safety, and economic development. Council raised concerns about homelessness collaboration and the naming of a regional training center. The final agenda will be presented at the next meeting.
- Federal Action Plan 2025: Presentation on federal priorities and recent grant successes. Focus on Choice Neighborhoods implementation grant, workforce, housing, and military support. Staff will package the agenda for council approval.
- Changes to Building Code Inspector Certifications: Explanation of new state certification levels effective 2030. Discussion on recruitment, training, and impact on inspections. Motion to accept the report passed.
- Makerspace Project Update: Proposal to use the remaining $450,000 to activate the building at Rowan Street and Bragg Boulevard. Council agreed to move forward with the project, emphasizing partnerships and eventual operation by a nonprofit. Motion to accept the report passed.
- Introduction to Sentinel Event Review: Framework presented for reviewing major incidents (e.g., officer-involved deaths) to improve systems. Council debated scope and timing. Motion to direct staff to develop the concept and begin engaging partners passed.
- Proposed Ordinance to Prohibit Impeding Sidewalks: Ordinance to ban blocking sidewalks by objects or persons. Council discussed enforcement and education. Motion to adopt at the next meeting, including outreach to DOT, passed 9-1.
- Red-Light Camera Program: Councilmember Thompson proposed reinstating the program at 15 intersections. Debate on efficacy and revenue use. Motion to reinstate passed.
- Council Travel: Councilmember Haire proposed using travel budgets for plaques and coins. After discussion, motion to refer to the policy committee to consider increasing the clerk's budget for such items passed.
- Term Limits: Councilmember Benavente requested staff research term limits. Motion to direct the policy committee to study term limits failed 7-3.
- Election Reform: Benavente proposed multiple reforms (at-large seats, four-year terms, even-year elections, ranked-choice voting, publicly funded campaigns). The item was not advanced; no motion passed.
- Bike Lane Clarification: Councilmember Benavente requested clarity on definitions of bike lanes vs. multi-purpose lanes. Motion to direct the city attorney to clarify the ordinance, ensuring bike lanes are not eliminated, passed.
Key Outcomes
- Passed: Approval of agenda.
- Passed: Accept report on building code inspector certifications.
- Passed: Accept report and move forward with Makerspace project.
- Passed: Direct staff to develop sentinel event review concept and engage partners.
- Passed: Adopt sidewalk obstruction ordinance at next meeting (with DOT outreach) (9-1).
- Passed: Reinstate red-light camera program.
- Passed: Refer council travel budget issue to policy committee.
- Failed: Motion to study term limits (7-3).
- No action: Election reform proposals not advanced.
- Passed: Direct city attorney to clarify bike lane ordinance.
- Other: Closed session approved for economic development and attorney-client privilege discussion. The state and federal action plans will be finalized at the next regular meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Can we make our own voice? It's not a way we have played a game. Switch to the west. I love you run. You're nothing but a run away. Yeah, I love you to stay. I'm up you run. Make a change now. Play it safe. We really sell pain too much today. Make a change, not play it safe. Can you say this to me? Face to face. I want you. I want you to stay, stay, stay, stay. Stay, stay, stay, stay here. Um like to call our Monday, January 6th, uh work session to order. We welcome those who are joining us remotely, if there are any, and those who are here, welcome back. Um at this time, as with any meeting, we start with an opening prayer. And uh I look at Council Member Thompson, because since your colleague is shaking his head already. So you thank you, Miss All right. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Of course, I'll never mind praying, uh, especially this first item on the new year. So let us go to the throne of grace. Heavenly Father, we thank you, dear Lord. We thank you for bringing us out and bringing us over and bringing us through 2024. Dear Lord, we expect your presence to be with us in 2025, Heavenly Father, for we know that we can do all things through Christ, Heavenly Father. So let us lean on you in making us better today than we was yesterday and better tomorrow than we are today, Heavenly Father. Bless everyone under the sound of my voice to give them the desires of their heart, Heavenly Father, long as it's according to your will, your word, and your way. Bless these proceedings, bless our city, our state, our country, and this world that we will be prosperous in everything that we do and every decision that we make. And we ask all these things in your son, Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. All right, fucking stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Invisible with liberty and justice. All right. Thank you, Councilmember Thompson. Council, as we move to 4.0s, the city manager's report, Mr. Hewitt. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mayor, members of Council, as Councilman Thompson said so beautifully. Happy 2025 for to all of you and looking forward to a very prosperous year with you as well. Along those lines, I do have some information I'd like to share about a notice of funding availability for local nonprofits and qualified partner organizations. Um has the funding criteria, and you can actually find that more information about that on the City of Fairville's website. Funding availability includes an emergency home repairs program, community development services focusing on low to moderate income individuals and households, homeless response support and prevention, affordable housing development, opioid abatement programs, and housing opportunities for persons with aids and other services. Again, that information about a notice of funding availability is available on the city's website. What's the name of that again, sir? It is um uh it is just some program funding that we have available, and I I'd ask uh Alex if he could come up and give a little bit more information about that very briefly because it is I think it was on the select. But I don't remember here knows all things it's uh the note notice of funding availability, Hopper, ESG, and CDBG, along with home.
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