The Gastonia City Council held its regular meeting on October 15, 2024, at 6:00 PM. The meeting included proclamations, presentations, committee reports, and nine regular agenda items covering annexation, zoning, economic development incentives, and administrative approvals. All votes were unanimous unless noted.
On behalf of myself and the city council, I'd like to welcome you to the October 15th, 2024 meeting. And we'll begin with the invitation by Mayor Pro Tim, Dr. Dave Curlin. Thank you for bringing my safety to these union today. You've already had a busy day, Lord, and yet our work is still not done. Be with us, give us the energy to do your work within this fine community to help us to make good decisions, to listen to all those who have their concerns, and help us to bring and move our city forward in a way that is pleasing to you. Lord, we thank you for the many blessings you've bestowed upon us. We thank you for watching over so many over the past few weeks. Those that have helped with our Hurricane Halloween emergencies, the winemen, the emergency workers, the Red Cross folks, the churches, all those that have banded together to help to support this operation of support and relief. Lord, continue to watch over all these folks because their work is yet to be finished. It will take many months, maybe years for our communities to restore their vibrancy and bring them back to what they once were. At this time, we want you to be with us. Thank you for the staff as they support our efforts. All this we ask in your holy name. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. So moved. Second. We have a second by Councilwoman Barber. All those in favor. It's unanimous. Next up, everybody should have a copy of the agenda in front of them. Are there any corrections, additions, or deletions at this time? We have to make can someone make a motion to accept it. Seven second. It's unanimous. Approval of the amendment amendment from October the 1st, 2024. Can we have a motion to approve those? So moved. Second. I have a second by Councilwoman Steph. All those in favor? It's unanimous. Next up, we have a proclamation recognizing October the 24th, 2024 as World Polio Day. Our recipients are going to be Mr. Luke Upchurch. He's the president of the Rotary Club of Gastonia. Miss Sharon Heinrich. Heinrich. Heinrich. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. It is my honor to present this proclamation on this evening. These are my fellow Rotarians, and I'm a proud member of the club that they are representing on tonight. So welcome to our meeting tonight. This proclamation reads, World Polio Day is observed annually on October 24th to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salt, who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis, a highly infectious disease that primarily affects children under the age of five and can cause paralysis and sometimes death, and can lead to lifelong effects of the form of postpolio syndrome. And whereas on this World Polio Day, we honor the dedication and efforts of health care workers, volunteers, and organizations who strive to eliminate this disease, improve global health, and protect the children of the world, and we recognize that Gastonia was at the heart of providing care and rehabilitation at the North Carolina Orthopedic Hospital for Children who were affected by polio, especially during polio epidemics in the 1940s and the 50s. And whereas polio cases have been reduced by over 99.9% since 1988, more than 1.5 million lives have been saved, and more than 19 million people are able to walk who may otherwise have been paralyzed. Thanks to extensive vaccination and monitoring efforts, led by Rotary International, the World Health Organization, U.S.