Gastonia City Council Regular Meeting - May 21, 2024

The Gastonia City Council met on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chamber at City Hall. The council adopted the agenda, approved the May 7, 2024 meeting minutes, recognized community organizations and causes, received presentations on homelessness and opioid settlement initiatives, heard public comments, accepted committee reports, and unanimously approved the consent agenda. Councilwoman Jennifer Stepp was excused. The meeting opened with an invocation, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a moment of silence for officers involved in a weekend shooting.

Awards, Ceremonies, and Proclamations

• Bountiful Blessings Food Pantry - Certificate of Recognition: Mayor Pro Tem Dave Kirlin presented the certificate to Reverend Rodney Freeman and volunteers in honor of the Governor's Medallion Award for Volunteer Service. Reverend Freeman reported the pantry now averages 2,900 people served per week, fed 540,000 families over the past 15 months, and gave away 2.4 million pounds of food from July 2023 through May 2024.
• National Tennis Month: A proclamation recognized May 2024 as National Tennis Month and was presented to Maria Gomez-Jordana, coaches, and students of the United Tennis Organization. Gomez-Jordana said local tennis lessons are 'cheaper than a cup of coffee' and announced more inclusive lessons, including with Special Olympics, beginning in September.
• ALS Awareness Month: Councilwoman Donyel Barber presented a proclamation to Shannon Waters recognizing May 2024 as ALS Awareness Month and supporting the goal of making ALS a 'livable disease' by 2030.
• Juneteenth: Councilman Charles Odom presented a proclamation to Tasha White declaring June 19, 2024, as Juneteenth in Gastonia. White highlighted the sixth annual Gastonia EbonyFest Juneteenth Festival on June 15 and thanked community partners.

Presentations

Gaston-Lincoln-Cleveland Continuum of Care Strategic Plan

Danette Dye, Crystal Walls, and Carson Dean presented the Continuum of Care's first community report. Key data and discussion points included:

• The tri-county Continuum of Care has 35 member agencies.
• Of about $1.3 million in available HUD and state funding, the COC secured over $1.1 million, or more than 80%.
• Data quality is currently 86% against a locally set 80% benchmark.
• COC programs served 458 households, representing over 600 people; the average homelessness episode was 75 days; 27% exited to permanent housing or family reunification, and only 7% returned to homelessness within about a year.
• The 2023 unduplicated homelessness count was 1,506 regionally and 1,342 in Gaston County.
• Councilman Gallagher asked about homeless veterans; staff reported 13 veterans identified in the most recent monthly count and noted the strategic plan includes 'Built for Zero' to reduce veteran homelessness.
• Councilwoman Barber asked how residents can help; staff directed them to the 'Need Help?' resource guide at GLCImpact.com and to HealthNet Gaston's street outreach.
• Mayor Pro Tem Kirlin asked about the funding formula; staff explained HUD's pro-rata share and competitive application process.

Gaston County Opioid Settlement Initiatives

Assistant City Manager Quentin T. McPhatter, Dr. Gregory Grier, and Melanie Lowrance presented an update on opioid settlement spending. Key data and discussion points included:

• Gastonia is slated to receive just over $3 million over 18 years; the City Council voted in April 2022 to allocate all City funds to Gaston County for collaborative use.
• Gaston County receives 3.3% of North Carolina's opioid settlement funds despite having 2.1% of the state's population; Gastonia's allocation is 0.26%. North Carolina will receive $1.5 billion overall, with 85% going to local governments.
• Settlement funds arrive in three waves: $21.6 million, $17.3 million, and $4.3 million from bankruptcy settlements.
• About $4 million has been received to date; another $3.6 million is expected in summer 2024, bringing total receipts to $8.1 million; about $3 million has been allocated.
• About 200 Gaston County children are in foster care because their parents have received substance use treatment and need to complete treatment before reunification.
• Drug seizure data from 2021 to 2023 showed fentanyl seizures up more than 1,000%, heroin down 89%, and pressed pills up 259%.
• Reported youth overdoses increased 86% from April 30, 2023, to April 30, 2024; 16-year-olds were the most impacted. There were six opioid overdoses involving 2-year-olds in 2024 as of April 30, compared with one per year in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
• County officials reported overdose deaths have decreased significantly, while naloxone distribution and use have increased.
• A community prioritization survey drew about 600 responses; almost 30% said someone they cared about had a substance use disorder and almost 12% had experienced one personally.
• The county funds seven programs under 'Option A' (evidence-based strategies), including a 24/7 community paramedicine response, certified peer support specialists in child welfare, medication-assisted treatment through two providers selected by competitive RFP, and naloxone distribution. The county has approved $268,000 for collaborative strategic planning to unlock 'Option B' strategies by early 2025.
• County staff noted a publicly available opioid dashboard on the Gaston County website is updated weekly and shows program outcomes and expenditures.
• Councilman Gallagher pressed for a drug task force and school prevention programs; staff said those uses are not yet allowed under the state memorandum of agreement and require completion of the Option B planning process. Council members Gallagher, Barber, and Kirlin expressed frustration about the pace and urged stronger advocacy and urgency, especially for school-based prevention.
• Councilwoman Barber noted transportation is a major reported barrier and hoped the city's new microtransit system would help people get to treatment.

Public Comments & Testimony

Each speaker was limited to four minutes.

• Hank Avance: Asked for outdoor restrooms and court resurfacing at Bradley Center and Ferguson Park, citing heavy tennis use and tournaments; he offered to donate two portable toilets to Bradley Center.
• Robert Hubert (Gaston Tennis Association): Described ongoing issues with tennis court lights on timers, lack of a maintenance and resurfacing schedule, and no restrooms when Bradley Center is closed.
• Mary Nichols Smith: Asked how the council would go about replacing 'Robert Cadillac' (as transcribed; a later speaker identified the vacated seat as Councilman Kellogg's). She was told the council does not respond during public expression and that information is available on the city website.
• Mike Tamborella: Criticized the proposed budget, saying spending would increase by about $50 million, or 16%, and argued that a 1% spending cut would reduce the tax rate by 3.5 cents. He also defended his prior 'ghost funding' comments and said he is not against funding police.
• Brandon (NCPBA Catawba River chapter representative): Asked for a 10% pay increase for Gastonia police officers on top of the proposed 4% citywide increase, citing staffing declines, high call volume, overtime, officer safety, and retention concerns.
• Dimitri Kutsupius: A Ward 1 resident who said he applied for the open City Council seat vacated by Councilman Kellogg; he asked the council to trust the process.
• Kimberly Hallis: Said her property sits partly outside the municipal limits and she was told she could not apply; she asked the council not to make an exception for another applicant unless she received the same opportunity.

Committee Reports

Central City Revitalization & Housing / Community Engagement Committee (Councilman Odom)

The committee recommended approval 2-0 on each in-kind request and the housing board ordinance; the full council approved them unanimously.

• Make 'Em Smile Event: In-kind services approved for a free special-needs family event on August 24, 2024, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Rotary Pavilion, brought to North Carolina for the first time by Nathaniel's Hope and First Assembly.
• Signfest 2024: In-kind services approved for Nita Silent Hands' September 21, 2024, deaf walk and festival, including a deaf DJ and resource vendors.
• Family Days Carnival: In-kind services approved for a repeat carnival event; representatives were not present.
• Myrtle School Fest: In-kind services approved for the seventh annual West Side festival on August 10, 2024, from 5 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., with backpacks, school supplies, a candlelight vigil, and a block party.
• Gastonia Affordable Housing Advisory Board: An ordinance was approved creating a seven-member city-citizen advisory board to help implement the November 2023 UNCG affordable housing study, with representation from each ward, housing and construction-related skill sets, and an attendance requirement of at least six percent of meetings over 12 months, as stated in the transcript.

Personnel Committee (Mayor Pro Tem Kirlin)

The committee met on May 6 and reviewed employee survey results delivered by the MY Group consultant. The report was accepted for information only; the full presentation is included in the meeting documentation.

Transportation Committee (Councilman Gallagher)

• Garrison Boulevard Corridor Study: The council adopted the 'Garrison Learns' multimodal safety study. The preferred alternative keeps four travel lanes, converts the center turn lane to a planted median, adds five-foot bike lanes, improves sidewalks and ADA ramps, lowers the speed limit from 45 to 35 mph, adds a signal at Laurel Lane, improves underpass and crosswalks, and adds a pedestrian bridge from the library to the museum. The city submitted a RAISE grant application for about $22 million. Adopted unanimously.
• Franklin Boulevard (US 29/74) Signalized Intersection: The council authorized the city manager and city attorney to negotiate a professional services contract with Kimley-Horn for design of a new signalized entrance to Eastridge Mall, with a not-to-exceed fee of $89,000. Approved unanimously.
• Informational items: Council received updates on the Neil Hawkins corridor widening (three lanes with sidewalks), a pavement rejuvenator program, microtransit launching July 1, 2024 (14 vehicles, three wheelchair-accessible; seven public meetings scheduled), and airport improvements including self-serve fuel revenue growth from $6,000 in 2022 to $18,000 in less than a year.

Consent Calendar

The consent agenda was approved unanimously. It included:

• Kimley-Horn & Associates design contracts for the S. New Hope Road sidewalk ($341,106.47) and Hudson Boulevard sidewalk ($348,398.93).
• Terracon Consultants construction materials testing for the Southeast Regional Pump Station ($100,355).
• Governor's Crime Commission grant from the N.C. Department of Public Safety ($27,500) with budget amendment 2420048.
• Retirement of Police K-9 Chase as surplus and transfer of possession to his handler, Officer Matthew Willis.
• Approval of Heritage Water Systems and Clearwater, Inc. as sole source vendors for wastewater treatment plant equipment.
• Cove Utility contract for Duharts Pump Station bar screens ($667,100).
• Utility easement release and exchange under N.C.G.S. 160A-271 for LDG FUSE, LLC and LDG FUSE II, LLC.
• Designation of an authorized representative for the state-funded Lead Water Service Line Find and Replace project.

Mayor Franks also recognized Officer Matthew Willis and Sergeant David Rowland, noting that K-9 Chase tracked a suspect on his final day before retirement.

Other Reports

• City Attorney's Report: L. Ashley Smith distributed a memo to council and noted the Community Foundation is discontinuing its 'Run for the Money' event, which will save in-kind city services while continuing grants to nonprofits.
• City Manager's Report: Quentin T. McPhatter thanked employees for their response to the May 8 F1 tornado, announced a comprehensive storm-damage update for the next meeting, and reminded council of the joint City Council-Plan Commission meeting on June 11 at the Municipal Operations Center.
• City Council's Report: Councilwoman Barber congratulated graduates, including her son from Morehouse College, and wished resident Blanche Cook a happy 107th birthday on May 24. Council members thanked first responders and electric crews and highlighted the new Alchemy co-working space downtown. Mayor Franks thanked mutual-aid agencies and reported that the wounded officer was recovering.

Key Outcomes

• Agenda adopted and May 7, 2024, minutes approved unanimously.
• The certificate and three proclamations were accepted unanimously.
• In-kind service requests for Make 'Em Smile, Signfest 2024, Family Days Carnival, and Myrtle School Fest were approved unanimously.
• The ordinance creating the Gastonia Affordable Housing Advisory Board was approved unanimously.
• The Garrison Boulevard Corridor Study was adopted unanimously, and the Franklin Boulevard signal design contract authorization was approved unanimously.
• The eight-item consent agenda was approved unanimously.
• The Personnel Committee report was received as information; transportation updates were received as information.