Welcome to the October eighth, twenty twenty-five meeting of the Greensboro City Council.

We are in the Katie Dorset Council Chamber.

Let the record reflect that all council members are in attendance.

We will begin this meeting with a moment of silence.

Thank you.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

And to the Republic for which it stands.

One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Tori, welcome.

We know that you'll enjoy it here.

It might be a little confusing.

We have two Tories.

Zoom participants.

Zoom participants shall not speak until they are called upon.

By state statutes statute, members must vote on all items unless there is a direct financial interest, or if they serve on a board of a nonprofit receiving funding from the city.

All votes will be moved and seconded, and the presiding officer will announce the vote total.

We do have a consent agenda for items G1 through G13, which are a grouping of agenda items that are voted on with one single vote to expedite what is believed to be a routine and non-controversial item.

Any council member may withdraw an item from the consent agenda due to a conflict of interest or for the purpose of voting no.

Items removed from the consent agenda for discussion will be placed on the next business meeting agenda.

This meeting does include closed captioning.

Depending on the length of tonight's meeting, we will take a short recess around 7 30.

Now is the time for our ceremonial and presentation items.

Item E1 is a resolution of the City of Greensboro affirming environmental protection and expressing concerns regarding the Transco pipeline expansion.

Mrs.

Boozerweiter will read it.

We do have two speakers who will speak before we vote.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Whereas the proposed Transcoast Southeast Supply Enhancement Project will impact communities in and around Greensboro, and whereas this pipeline expansion project raises a range of concerns for residents, including but not limited to public safety risks, potential impacts on water resources, environmental degradation, increased utility costs, and broader economic risks.

And whereas the City of Greensboro recognizes the importance of protecting public health, natural resources, and the community's quality of life.

And whereas in December 2022, the City of Greensboro adopted a strategic energy plan with the overall goal of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2040.

And whereas in 2020, the City of Greensboro received a silver LEED designation from the United States Green Building Council, USGBC, in recognition of its sustainability efforts.

LEED, leadership in energy and environmental design, is the world's most widely used green building rating system and promotes strategies to reduce environmental harm, enhance human health, and support economic development.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Greensboro City Council urges the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC, to fully and transparently consider the health, safety, environmental, and quality of life concerns raised by Guilford County residents and other affected stakeholders, require a comprehensive environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act that evaluates all potential risks and alternatives to the proposed pipeline expansion, and ensure that impacted communities are consulted and that their input is meaningfully reflected in any final determinations regarding the project's approval, route, and regulatory conditions, and require the Williams companies to provide immediate notification of emergency events to affected residents and local emergency management agencies.

Be it further resolved that the city clerk shall forward a copy of this resolution to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the North Carolina Utilities Commission, Guilfrey County, and the members of Greensboro's federal legislative delegation adopted this the eighth day of October 2025.

I would like to make that motion, Madam A.

And we do have two speakers, Margaret Rowlett and Aidan Lawitz.

Good evening, Mayor Vaughan and Mayor Pro Tembuza Wader and Council members.

My name is Margaret Rallett, and I would like to start thank you.

I'd like to start by thanking you so much for your service to the city.

Y'all are a great city council.

You listen to your constituents, you take the time to meet with your constituents, and we really appreciate that.

Hope you'll pass it unanimously.

I know this has been a busy time of the year for you, and um you have many pressing concerns.

So I really appreciate your taking the time to create this resolution, work through the issues around it, and put this forward.

Um, you know, we we appreciate your listening and taking our concerns seriously.

You you have an impressive history of support for sustainability, conservation, clean energy, um, and we're glad to see that continuing.

Um Mayor Vaughn, Dr.

Wells, and Council uh Member Hoffman, we know you didn't put your hats in the ring to continue serving um by running again.

Um, but we're we're so happy that um this is the way that you're concluding your support for sustainability with all your efforts here.

Um, and it's been very valuable to have your support through the years on this, and to have Mayor Vaughn, your all the experience you've brought over the years around the things you've learned as mayor, and that you were able um to help us work through on this.

And this resolution has really important points in it, with you reaffirming your commitment to your renewable energy goal and strategic energy and having the concern uh concerns of Guilford County and Greensboro residents considered, including things around the risk of this pipeline that is very negative when it comes to thinking about clean energy for our area.

It's um not consistent with our goals.

So we would very much appreciate you passing this resolution unanimously.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, City Council.

Uh, my name is Aidan Loretz.

I've chatted with a lot of you here and also individually.

Um, and I just want to say a really big thank you, Mayor Vaughn.

Thank you to the whole council.

But I echo what Margaret shared, uh, Councilmember Hoffman, Dr.

Wells, and Mayor Vaughn, you've secured your climate legacy.

This is going to be a part of how you all are remembered by the people in Greensboro.

So thank you so much.

Um, thank you also, you know, Council members Von Hoffman Holstent Therm and Pinder, uh, and of course, our mayor Pro Tem, our current Mayor Pro Tem, for conversations that uh we had leading up to this resolution coming.

We'll be directing public members of our coalition to send notes of appreciation to all of you because there are hundreds of people in Greensboro and thousands across Guilford County that are grateful for you all adding your voice.

The environmental justice scene in Greensboro looks forward to working with the council members who will be on the incoming council to take more stands for our environment and public health, and to share a little bit of my personal story with you all.

In the past 18 months, I graduated with the highest academic honors from UNCG with a degree in sociology and a minor in communication studies, and I've chosen to continue to reside in Greensboro.

I love the city and the people here and the people across Gilford County, and I'm honored to have been awarded the Governor's Volunteer Service Award for Environmental Stewardship in Guilford County just the other week.

This victory here is a testament to the power of the people.

I'm honored to be an emerging leader in a city with community that has such a fierce sense of social and environmental justice.

This resolution joins others of a similar nature in prioritizing communities and people over pipelines and profit.

And I do have some stickers for y'all, which I will share with uh Councilmember Hightower, and hopefully she can pass them down all the way to Councilmember.

Actually, if you would give them to the clerk though.

Yes, absolutely.

I'll give the clerk.

But thank you all so much.

We appreciate you.

Thank you.

So that was moved by Mayor Pro Tem and seconded by Mrs.

Thurm.

Council, please vote.

And that does pass unanimously, nine to zero.

Thank you.

And Madam Mayor, I do want to thank you for your positivity through the word crafting and all of the things we've done over the last week, and and I appreciate everyone's assistance on that.

So thank you so much.

Thank you.

We now move on to item E2, which is a resolution honoring the late pastor Nancy Wilson.

And we do have speakers signed up to speak on this.

Mrs.

Hightower.

Can you hear me?

Can you?

His work.

His work.

Okay.

Share it.

Well, you starting or am I starting?

Where are we?

I'll start.

Okay.

Resolution honoring the life and legacy of Pastor Nancy Wilson.

Whereas on July 14, 2022, Greensboro lost a devoted member of our community with the passing of Pastor Nancy Wilson.

Whereas Pastor Wilson was born on August 14th, 1948 in Greensboro, North Carolina, and from an early age displayed a profound love of music, faith, and fellowship.

Whereas she graduated from James B.

Dudley Senior High School in 1966, and soon there after began to pursue her calling into ministry.

Whereas Pastor Wilson cultivated her gifts as a preacher, psalmist, pianist, and choir director, she became widely known for her exceptional musical ability and devotion to guiding others in worship and ministry.

Whereas she served faithfully as minister of music in congregations across North Carolina, including Trinity AME Zion, St.

Matthew's United Methodist, Grace Lutheran, First Baptist Church of High Point, Wells Memorial, and Evangel Fellowship Church of God in Christ.

She lifted with worship to new heights and strengthened the spiritual life of the community.

Whereas she graced the stage of gospel expo with heartfelt performances, deliver gospel melodies that uplifted spirits, inspired faith, and touched the hearts and souls of all her.

Whereas she dedicated time to educate and provide mentorship, co-directed the Bennett College Gospel Choir, served as Minister of Music for the Greater North Carolina jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ, and founded the Nancy Wilson Concert Choir.

Through these efforts, she inspired and prepared countless students and young ministers to pursue excellence in music and ministry.

Whereas in 1993, Pastor Wilson founded New Beginnings Community Outreach Church in Greensboro, a ministry dedicated to prayer, holiness, and service.

Under her leadership, the church not only nurtured spiritual growth, but met the tangible needs through outreach, creating a sanctuary of hope and empowerment for the wider community.

Whereas Pastor Wilson expanded her reach as a national recording artist and radio personality.

Her acclaimed projects, Nancy Caree, and Design for Worship both reflected her heart as a worship leader and established her as a voice of faith whose influence led far beyond the sanctuary.

She was one of Greensboro's most influential women recipients of the Women of Distinction Award, Greensboro Chapter of NAACP.

Whereas her work extended into hospitals and community programs.

She offered encouragement, healing, and faith to people in every walk of life.

She stood as both a spiritual leader and a cultural ambassador of gospel tradition.

Whereas Pastor Nancy Wilson's life demonstrated the transformative power of worship, education, and service, and her legacy continues to uplift Greensboro and inspire generations of leaders, musicians, and worshippers across North Carolina and beyond.

And now therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Greensboro that Pastor Nancy Wilson is recognized and honored for her extraordinary achievements as a minister, musician, educator, and community servant, that in recognition of her significant contributions to the city of Greensboro, appropriate signage shall be installed to honor her legacy.

That a copy of this resolution shall be presented as a lasting token of gratitude to her family for the service Pastor Nancy Wilson.

Wilson, I'm sorry, rendered to Greensboro and to the gospel community at large.

Move the resolution.

Okay, so that has been moved and seconded.

Council, please vote.

And we do have Angela Carey, Isaac Carey, and Bishop Brian Pierce.

Right, but we do have, I think her husband is here in person, so we would hear from him, and I'd like to present him the resolution.

And then the three make it.

And huh?

As he's coming, I just want to say when I first moved to Greensboro, she was a person I saw on the TV singing with Bishop Middlebrook.

So years ago, African American singer on the Fox channel, years ago.

But it was very inspiring.

So that's my first recollection of her and continue to hear from her as well throughout the years.

I just want to say thank you so much.

But I want to say thank you so much for this.

God bless you.

Thank you.

I just want to say that the three speakers on Zoom, uh, two of them are her children.

Obviously, we know Bishop Brian Pierce.

But her son Isaac Carey, for those of you who follow gospel music, is a national gospel recording artist that is saying with people from John P.

Key to Kirk Franklin as well.

So I think he started out with Brian Pierce's gospel group years ago.

So we have a lot of talent that comes out of this city, and so it's great to have him here as we recognize his mother who set a standard of excellence.

So thank you.

So are the other, do we have somebody on Zoom?

We do?

Okay.

Miss Currie, if you would like to make a few comments.

Yes.

Good evening, Mayor Bond and uh the Greensboro City Council members.

On behalf of my family, I want to thank you for this incredible honor of commemorating my mother, Pastor Nancy Carey Wilson.

While her music reached far and touched many lives in many places, there was no place she loved more than Greensboro, the city she called home for 73 years.

She was a giant in the spirit who was designed for worship.

Whatever is done in the church affects the entire community.

And if done correctly, as I believe my mom did, it blesses and creates a positive impact in the lives of many.

She served faithfully, and her ministry of song, prayer, and encouragement lifted countless neighbors, friends, and families right there in the city of Greensboro.

If uh I'm sorry, thank you so much for recognizing her life and her legacy in this special way.

We are humbled.

God bless you and the city of Greensboro.

Thank you.

Do we have another speaker on Zoom?

Mr.

Curry.

How are you doing?

Um hello to all to the city council.

Uh thank you so much for this honor.

Uh we're so humble, we're so grateful.

Um I can't say any more than what's been said by my sister Angela and my stepfather, and um, we're so grateful.

It's it's a humbling experience to know that someone has given uh their life not just to God, but to um a great city that she loved more than anything.

And then the city then returns that love later on, even when her life is over, that her kids and her husband can uh experience and just cherish forever.

Um it's a huge, huge, huge honor.

So we thank all of you and uh Digas be doubled.

Thank you.

Is um Bishop Pierce in the room around Zoom.

Yes, I'm here.

I'm trying to let us just pull your picture up.

There we go.

There you go, yeah.

All right.

Well, greetings uh to each and every one of you to Mayor Farr and to Mayor Pro Tim and to, of course, our district one leader, uh Sharon Hightower and all of the city council members.

Um, thank you for this great honor again to be able to uh just honor the life and legacy of the late great pastor Nancy Wilson, what a joy it is her impact, the impact of her life and her legacy.

It's not only felt locally but nationally, uh personally, nearly 30 years ago.

Uh I wasn't a pastor, I wasn't a leader in the community, but just a resident.

And uh she had such an impact upon me and my wife and my family, one of the first pastors uh that we came of to know in the city, and then of course, ministerially, uh, we were able to see her minister to so many the least the left out and the lonely right there in the community, and so such a great joy it is to see uh this day and to see uh this moment uh come about where the city is able to honor such a great, great, great gift.

So again, thank you guys, and of course, just as the family has stated, we all uh are appreciative uh for this great honor.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And now we will move on to item E3, which is a resolution declaring the month of October 2025 as domestic violence awareness month.

Mayor Pro Tem.

Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor.

Whereas during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we reaffirm our dedication to creating a culture of safety and hope in our community where no one suffers the hurt and hardship caused by domestic violence, and recommit to doing everything in our power to uphold the basic human right to live free from violence and abuse and recognize our shared responsibility in ending this pervasive problem.

Whereas domestic violence impacts women, men, and children of every age, background, and belief, and is rooted in a pattern of power and control, whereas physical marks and scars are often the most obvious sign of harm.

However, the extent of the pain goes much deeper and can impact one's mental, physical, and financial health.

Whereas the Guilford County Family Justice Center, FJC, is a beacon of light coordinating essential services, including advocacy, law enforcement, and social, medical, and legal services, whereas vulnerable children and older adults are impacted at higher levels, and it is essential that we participate and support innovative collaborations like the FJC's Pathways and Camp Hope Program for Children and the FJC's Elder Justice Abuse Committee, coordinated with community response, whereas in a community partnership, the FJC has successfully brought together 17 agencies in one place to provide victims with easier access to comprehensive resources.

This diverse and unique partnership provides hope and healing to victims of abuse and works diligently to hold offenders accountable.

Whereas since the opening of the FJC on June 15th, 2015, over 100,000 residents have been served.

And on average, an individual works with five different organizations when visiting the FJC for the first time.

Whereas by working together, getting involved, and through promoting awareness, we can restore hope, stop the violence, and make our community safer for everyone.

And now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Greensboro that it does hereby declare the month of October 2025 as domestic violence awareness month and urges residents to increase their awareness and education of this destructive force, which deeply affects many families in our state and local community each year, and to become part of the efforts to stop violence in families.

Adopted this the eighth day of October 2025.

I would like to move that resolution, Madam Mayor.

Moved by Mayor Pro Tem, seconded by Mrs.

CERM.

Council, please vote.

And I'm sure you have speakers here.

Yes, I do, and I would like uh Sonia Desai, the interim director, and anyone else who would like to stand behind her would be absolutely wonderful.

Thank you.

I think that passes 9 to 0.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Mayor Vaughn, Mayor Pro Tem Abusa Waiter, and City Council.

If you know Family Justice Center, you know that we travel in PACs.

We never come alone.

We're always together, but that is the power of a family justice center.

Thank you so much for recognizing Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the good work of the Guilford County Family Justice Center.

I'll be brief this this evening.

With me tonight, I bring law enforcement, attorneys, social workers, survivors, and family justice center staff.

Together, we bring a collective message to our community that everyone has the human right to be free of violence and abuse.

At the FJC, it is our job to stand in the gap and be the voice for those who are voiceless.

Oftentimes it is the abuser who silences the victims, but never should it be society or the system that silences the victim.

This is why we have a family justice center, so that we can provide a voice.

We are the hope givers, whether it is a cop, a social worker, an advocate, or an attorney, working within this center, our most important job is to give hope.

We are really proud of the past ten years, the 100,000 survivors that we have served.

Our commitment to the City of Greensboro and Guilford County is to continue to hold offenders accountable for these heinous crimes and to ensure that survivors are safe.

We are committed to giving hope to our community.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Sonia, I know that your office is suffered some fire damage.

So where can people find you now?

We are now located in the Greensboro location of the courthouse location.

We're on the bottom level LG.

It is a little difficult to find us, but you can call us.

And if the courthouse may not be the a great location for a survivor to come into, they are more than welcome to obtain services from our high point location, which is located on the back side of the courthouse, but you don't have to go through the courthouse to get to it.

Thank you.

Any idea when you're going to be back in your digs?

The verdict's not out on that yet.

But soon enough.

Very good.

Well, we hope it's soon.

You guys do great work.

Thank you all so much.

Thank you all so much so much.

Madam Mary, I just wanted to mention this is one of the you know the hardest grouping group of people I've ever met, and they make sure that any person coming in who needs assistance gets that assistance.

And you know, I've had the pleasure, you know, you put me on the executive committee many years ago before it was even a reality, and in you know, just getting to know everyone and all of the different departments has really really felt special to me.

So thank you all so much.

Yes, for working.

And thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So now it's time for public comment.

Um speakers on the floor from the floor on non-agenda items.

This is an opportunity here from anybody wishing to speak.

Generally, this is a time of listening for counsel.

Um, the subject will be noted, and if it requires after action attention, we will be sure to get that information from our clerk.

Um as I call your name, if you would come to the window side of the room, our first three speakers are Dave Coker, Shirley Samuel, and Lily Otis.

And you have three minutes.

Thank you.

Madam Mayor, members of council.

My name is Dave Coker.

I live and work in District 2.

And while you know me as president of the professional firefighters of Greensboro, uh, this evening I feel really confident in saying that the vast majority of city employees, whatever department they're in, uh, and their families will agree with my comments.

The 7% increase in health care premiums, higher deductibles, and the new spousal penalty will have a serious negative financial impact on all employees, but especially those employees at the lower end of the pay scale.

For many, these changes will feel less like a routine adjustment and more like a pay cut.

Let me give you an example.

Those general employees in not firefighters, those general employees in SO6 and SO7 who have the employee plus family plan who are also subject to the spousal penalty, appears will have a net take-home loss in 2026 related to these increases.

That's the reality facing families who work in this organization.

We understand the city faces complex budget pressures and that health care costs are rising everywhere, but fairness and timing matter.

Employees were only notified about these significant changes on Monday, and now we're expected to make complex financial and health care decisions over a short two-week period.

Many spouses who work elsewhere have already gone through open enrollment periods.

Families have already made health care decisions for the next year.

Those decisions made in good faith were based on city's existing rates.

Now, after those deadlines have passed, families are being told that the same coverage will cost hundreds to thousands of dollars more, and that's before you get sick, and they'll be penalized simply for staying on the city plan.

That's not a policy issue.

That's a question of fairness of planning and poor communication.

We respectfully ask council to maintain the 2025 health care rates at their current levels and remove the spousal penalty.

Doing so will provide stability, allow families to plan responsibly, and show that Greensboro values the people who make this city work.

Greensboro employees meet every challenge asked of them every day 24-7, 365, whether that's in a fire station, a patrol car, uh clearing roads after a storm, taking a 9-1-1 call, sitting behind a desk, or reading to kids in a library.

Greensboro workers show up every day.

Our hope is that the city can meet the moment with the same sense of commitment, fairness, and responsibility that Greensboro employees exhibit every time we come to work.

Again, we ask you to direct the manager to maintain the 2025 health care rates at their current levels and to remove the spousal penalty.

Thank you.

I know we have some information on this, and you know, I want to make sure that it's it's not a burden on our employees as much.

And I understand costs have gone up.

I understand all that, but just can it be looked at to see absolutely.

Yes, ma'am.

Super anything.

Yeah, and also um, have you actually met with the various departments?

Because I called an actual worker that works in the field, and he didn't know anything about this.

So personally, I saw the email that came over, but I'm not the one being infected.

So they are our workers that are out there delivering services, trash, etc.

And um, they are usually the lowest ones on the pay scale, and they don't need to be impacted by this.

So you need to have individual meeting with these departments before this goes out and before it's done.

So you just need to hold up before this moves forward.

Yes, ma'am.

I think there's a formal communication that we can have.

Each department has an HR rep for these scenarios, but I I hear loud and clear what the council direction is.

If I could also add it, when did our employees get first?

Well, first of all, it's it's all city employees.

Correct.

Yes, it's all city employees.

And when did they first get notice of these changes or updates?

I believe first notice was included in the employee newsletter that went out last week, and then information is going out through the HRFs, setting up meetings over the next two week period to have some of those meetings just as Councillor High Tower was referencing.

We've got about 18 separate meetings scheduled.

Of course, tomorrow is open enrollment at the Coliseum, which is where a lot of employees will have that first conversation.

Thank you.

Going to the comment made by the speaker.

And I'm trying to remember in private enterprise open enrollment is usually about this same time a little bit earlier for for most other organizations.

I'm thinking of the spousal surcharge, that is making that decision whether or not I stay with the city or my spouse goes to his or her own employer.

Are most organizations doing their open enrollment right now?

Yes.

And so it would be in conjunction with so it's really that that one week notice of the changes, and of course the changes being increases, and then trying to coordinate that with cost and coverage.

Okay.

All right, thank you.

So that I could see where some of the differences were.

Um I received that information today, and and there are some sizable differences in coverage.

Um, not just one covers this medicine and one doesn't.

So there are other several sizable um differences.

I'd also be interested in taking a look at as we're gathering information what is the financial implication of this potential hundred dollar espousal surcharge, and how much are we really impacting the city's budget by that versus the family budget?

Um, and I think that's information we need as well.

When we started looking at the last couple of years, and how the health insurance fund has performed, um, the last two years we've we've spent well more than we've we've taken in.

And as y'all know, as I hope some of our employees know, we are self-funded.

So we're we're our own company, we're our own insurance company.

So we pay the bills based on what our employees, our retirees, and the general public pays it.

Uh last year, the year we we completed in June 30, uh, we spent seven million dollars more than we took in.

Um we we took in about 50 million, we spent about 57 million.

Uh that's not a sustainable health plan.

Uh you can do that for one year, but you can't do that on an ongoing basis.

So as the as the numbers were coming in for last year, and I was meeting with people in culture and finance and budget, I gave them sort of three directives.

I said, You've got to come back with something that we can take to the employees in the fall.

You got to do you it's got to do three things.

Traditionally, our goal has been that all health insurance is covered 75% by the taxpayer, 25% by the employee or retiree.

Now, when it doesn't work out for every individual employee for that because of different kinds of coverages, but that's our overall goal.

And I told them I said whatever you bring back has got to keep that in mind.

We can't have that number change dramatically.

We can't suddenly go to being 50% taxpayer, 50% employee retiree.

It's got to stay in that sort of 75, 25.

Second thing is it's it's got to be impactful.

I mean, if we're gonna if we're gonna upturn this many lives, it's gotta be worth it.

It's got to start to fix that seven million dollar gap.

It's got to start moving us in the right direction.

I there's no point in in creating a whole lot of turmoil that generates a couple hundred thousand dollars.

It's got to be worth our time and effort to make these changes.

So, and then um as they considered that, I said finally it's gotta be competitive.

You know, we we can't simply put in a health plan and suddenly everybody leaves because they want to go work somewhere else because the health plan is somewhere is is better somewhere else, and then actually I apologize.

Fourth, I said this has got to be across the board.

Uh we're gonna have to go up on rates, which everyone has to pay, whether you go to the doctor or not, you have to pay your rates.

But we know we've got some particular increases that are unique and kind of overwhelming right now, and we've got to start putting some of that cost back on those employees.

And so a good example of that would be, and I know you know the names because they're on the you can't watch 30 minutes of TV without the ads, OZIMPIC and Wagovy, uh, the weight reduction drugs, they are incredibly um popular right now.

We have over 900 employees or spouses on those drugs right now.

Um we currently charge a copay of $50 a month for that drug.

Um our own health benefits administrators and consultants were like, you've you know, what are you doing?

You know, you're spending millions of dollars out of your health care plan for that, and you're charging people $50 a month copay.

Um, you know, that we've got clients they have clients that charge $200, $250 a month.

Well, we weren't going to that, but we did say that's a particular use.

We want people to use that drug.

I mean, that that ultimately leads to hopefully less health care costs in the future.

We'd want people to stop using it, but it's not fair for the broad uh base of employees to be covering that cost.

So we're going up $25.

You know, we're going up to you know $75.

Um so that was an example of where we tried to balance that burden.

We tried to make it as fair as possible, so that it wasn't just all 3300 of us, you know, going up on rates.

We could have done that, it would have been much more than seven percent.

Um the spousal surcharge, that has come up multiple years in the past, and and we've turned it down every time.

But we know now that spouses are where a large portion of our costs are actually occurring, and all we're basically we're saying you can't be on the plan if you have a spouse.

It's just if your spouse has another option and you choose to stay with us, then you have to start covering a little bit more of those costs than you're currently covering.

So those were those are the those are the goals.

We we we this was not an effort um to be punitive you know, or uh, or arbitrary.

That was the directive that I gave staff, and I feel like what they brought back met my directives.

No way is going to be popular, no way is it's gonna make people happy, but we can't have a seven million dollar operating deficit.

And all the things we've talked about tonight, all the all the items that you've heard, um, and Mr.

Coker got them all correct and accurate, and I appreciate that.

That's gonna generate about two million of that seven million.

So we've that rest is gonna have to come, and I've had individual conversations with a couple of you.

That's gonna come in next year's budget conversation.

We're gonna have to find the balance of that to keep our plan healthy and active and covering the things that it covers.

Just one follow-up question.

At what's the stop loss?

Does the city ensure a stop loss per individual and per year?

Yes.

Uh anything over $350,000, our stop loss policy kicks in.

So yes.

Is there a maximum stop loss for the plan for the year?

I don't know.

I don't think so.

Um, I do know that catastrophic cases, uh, which in previous years we had maybe three or four of those.

We now have nine, ten, eleven a year.

So we have multiple instances where we're going well past that, um, but we're maxing out at you know, 350 over and over and over again, Mr.

Davis.

Uh how many um employees fall into that spousal situation now with our total about a quarter.

About a quarter of our employees carry a spouse.

About about one-fourth of 25% care carrying a spouse.

Yes.

So it's not it's not a small number.

So I have you looked at a tiered approach as opposed to this.

So you're gonna hit everybody with all these increases.

Well, again, it it the base rate does in fact hit everybody.

Some of the copay increases are more tied to what kinds of services that you're particularly using.

So again, that's what we didn't try to make everybody pick the entire uh cost of.

Um, if if you're not making if you're not using these services, then the seven percent that's your increase.

looked at a tiered approach as opposed to just so you're gonna hit everybody with all these increases well again it it the the base rate does in fact hit everybody some of the copay increases are more tied to what kinds of services that you're particularly using so again that's what we didn't try to make everybody pick the entire uh cost up um if if you're not making if you're not using these services then the seven percent that's your increase um if you are a employee only covered employee which over half of our employee base is covers only themselves that's about two seventy five a paycheck uh pay period that that yours is going up so that's where you know that's where the bulk of that is occurring but those you know people going to the emergency room uh we're going up on that copay and I'll acknowledge that is not so much a revenue generator is we hope it's a behavioral change agent we've got too many employees using the the emergency room as a primary care physician and we want them to start developing a relationship with a doctor and not the and not the ER.

So what would be an incentive for that to occur we're going to charge you more when you go to the ER.

That's not necessarily an incentive we think it is we honestly believe it is it's a little concerning though that you are rising prices on people on short notice.

I mean the worker I talked to today's near he's building a house so if his premiums go up that changes his income that affects his mortgage even those kinds of things are drastic measures so I think notice would have really more notice would have been helpful my final question to you is since you say we're self-employed we're self-employed self-paid insured through united health care no united health care is our plan administrator they manage the paperwork of course but we we pay the bills so regardless of who our plan administrator would be because I know a couple years ago we got a whole lot of significant pushback from some of our fellow council members but you went to another uh plan administrator who said they were going to save us one right to one point five million well we we proposed that uh council right we did council ultimately stayed with our current plan yeah I remember um Dr.

Wells Mr Holston and Ms.

Pinder did you look um at what the most would be for an individual the what would be the increase the highest increase for any individual did you look at that yes yeah we what is it it's um like seventeen hundred dollars total if you if you are family covered and you and you stay with you know you decide you keep the spousal surcharge um and you choose and you're in what we call choice plus which is our higher rated plan you yeah that's thirty seventeen more than what they're paying now yes ma'am yes ma'am that's significant Mr um Mr Olston Ms.

Pinder Mr.

Mithini and me right uh Mr.

Davis question for you I think earlier you said that that the the total deficit per year was about seven million dollars that per year is that the last couple years yes and with these changes uh there would be a two million dollar benefit so to speak or a contract so it's still we're five million short and piggybacking off of councilwoman thurm's question regarding the cost is is there a is there an analysis of how much each of these pieces these for the um deductible in increase the spousals are charged yes we can share that with you okay and and I would like to see that to see what the um what the process was sure and also again I guess I I guess the answer the question this is per fiscal year so is it the current fiscal year the 26 or is this in the 27th as you said the the future councils will have to make this decision so the the plan year runs on a calendar year basis which is why employees make decisions in the fall winter for starting January but our budgets are based on fiscal year including the health plan year so yeah this this starts the process this starts us towards trying to fix that seven million dollar hole but we'll be back to you in the spring with next year's budget asking you to help us with that five million part of that seven million dollar issue yeah as you were developing this did you did you consider not including all the changes just a portion of them and was it something that kept you from from breaking this up again we we we cannot afford too many more years of the kind of performance that we've had the last two years and we're not seeing anything that's telling us that those increases are leveling off so that was that was primarily um what what you know pushed us to put all of these items out there for 20 for 2026.

And one more thing, is it fair to say that the espousal's surcharge is probably the most contributor?

Uh not necessarily because the end the assumption is is that to the two million.

No, I actually I'll have to go back and look, but no, I don't think so, because again, the assumption is some of that will be cost recovery as people choose to use their spouse chooses to go on someone else's plan, their their employer plan.

Okay, thank you.

Um Ms.

Pinder.

So I get a I get on I understand insurance and how you know I understand insurance in this time of year, so again, back to the well three questions.

So one is so this is the rolling, this is annual enrollment, which usually happens in October everywhere.

Um however, when you're working on this plan, I know it didn't just happen in September or August.

And so when did these conversations start happening before we get to the point where it's open enrollment if we know we were going to make this significant change?

We started having conversations in late summer, early fall, as we as we completed last fiscal year, um, as the last bills were coming in for um for claims that would that were accrued back to last year, you know, where the bill got paid in August, but it really belonged in last fiscal year.

That's when we really began to see that we had yet another tough year and and and they're just the numbers weren't we had no reason to think the numbers were gonna get any better.

And so you were able to forecast based off of what your current state was, you were able to do the forecasting to determine this change.

And I guess to me, and I I understand that the cost of things are increasing, and so you have to be able to do that, especially with being self-insured.

So again, like you said, we have to be able to assume those costs for that.

Um, but I believe, like you said, communication is key, and so the earlier that we can let people know about this versus now you're asking people to make a decision about something that's gonna have to happen within 30 days can be challenging.

Um, but what based off of that forecasting that you did, what percentage, and you you might have to get back to me, but what percentage or what number of those can you kind of guesstimate in terms of that um spousal or partner surcharge?

Uh yeah, I'll I'll get you all the those details and break it down.

If you can do that, it's helpful to be able to talk about that cost savings or a cost of recovery because I think that makes a difference also with being able to say if we're gonna do this, how much are we actually saving and where that savings will then be reinvested?

Um and then you talked a little bit about the prescription because I do understand that um my apologies.

Um prescription costs are definitely increasing.

And so when you talked about the 900 that are on the GLP medications, and so is that cost savings if I did that right when you said the $50 co-payment for that, so it's are you saving that $5400 if I did my math correctly in terms of how much that's costing us?

Are there any rebates that come with that, which are in terms of what medications you're using?

I'm just trying to better understand we're doing this to be able to offset the cost, but I know with this, is it incremental?

Is it significant enough for us to make up the deficit of the seven million that you're saying that the two million that we're needing?

Well, I and if you can't answer it in the right.

In and of itself, no, it does not make up the deficit, nor was that my um directive uh to staff because we don't charge 100% of our cost to our employees.

We knew we had a seven million dollar problem.

I said we've got to find 25% of that from our employees because that's what we typically we don't we don't ask for more than that.

So that's what aimed us towards a combination of changes that are trying to try to address two, two and a half of that seven.

Uh we weren't trying to address five or six or seven of it.

That would have been that would have been beyond uh what anybody could bear.

Um so that was that that was that was a directive.

Um again, you know, we will only know in hindsight what what plays out the way we think it will, but I feel like the staff, I feel like our consultants really just poured into everything they could they understood about the market and how these kind of changes normally normally affects the market uh and and came up with some um some strong estimates that that I'm comfortable standing behind.

Thank you.

Uh Zach I imagine that if we knew of a seven million dollar deficit, that that thought process probably weighed heavily on our minds, right?

When you're spending that much money and have that much of a hole.

I know you said you started late summer.

It probably would have made a heck of a lot of sense to have a work session on this when you're affecting 3300 employees.

We sit here and we talk about taking care of our employees.

We talk about increasing their compensation.

And then we within a moment's notice, as of Monday, two days ago, are going to affect their compensation with zero discussion from this council.

I saw this agenda, and I thought this is going to be a short meeting.

And I knew I jinxed myself.

And we did it in a way that you've got essentially two weeks to 30 days less than to make a decision.

Also, I look at this strategically and had it been a work session, and I hate shooting from the diet, but I would have probably questioned, and it's kind of hard to hear in here a little bit, but I would have questioned a little bit about the GLP co-pays.

Yes.

What am I doing?

Like this.

Yeah.

I would have questioned the GLP copay medication.

You made a comment that 900 roughly employees are on one type of that selection or medication.

And you don't want to have the 3300 people pay for it.

But they are paying for it.

They indeed they are.

Right.

So I would have increased that a little bit, not to discourage people from taking it, but to take less pressure off the 3300.

I also would have we would have had more time to have communication on this with our employees, and I know that's been said.

Again, you're not just talking about people's health care, you're talking about what you say is a significant uh hole in our budget.

Therefore, it would be our fiduciary responsibility to be knowledgeable of that.

I have not been knowledgeable of that hole.

I was not in that own council when y'all discussed it last time.

So I didn't know it was that big a deficit.

Um the spousal surcharge, I'm not a fan of that.

I don't have a spouse, but um you know, to me, to start out with a hundred dollars when you're only increasing the GLP uh deductible 25 dollars, to me that's that doesn't work.

Um you're punishing people's spouses to me that doesn't work, and again, just fundamentally timing and communication.

Now we've talked about this for probably 25 minutes.

Um this is supposed to be somewhat of a non-controversial meeting, we're supposed to listen to the public, and having that communication with us on such an important item should have been done prior to.

Oh, is that reached mine?

Oh I got Larry's email here.

I'm looking at it.

Um so yeah, I mean, those are just some concerns, and again, it comes back to we focus on our employees, we focus on our employees, we focus on our employees, and then we kind of throw mud at them.

And and to me, that's just not fair.

I think there's some other options that could have been considered strategically that were not considered so uh this is I'm not I understand Larry, we're in a tough position.

I don't disagree, I don't disregard that.

Um I think there's too many questions in this as it's been presented.

Can we I just had two other questions?

I'm sorry.

Um, when you all were looking at where to find that roughly two million dollars, um did you take a look at where the max out of pocket was, what would happen if we went up the max out of pocket?

I know that's difficult because you're hitting people while they're down, um, but it it impacts fewer people, and in looking at the numbers you gave me comparing the city's max uh maximum out of pocket to the counties, there is a huge difference.

And I don't want to go to the county level because that's that's pretty extreme.

Um but I would be interested in as you're looking at this and examining if we had gone up some on the maximum out of pocket, could we have somewhat abated the penalty for the spousal?

And and is that a trade off that that we could have at least considered.

Um the other question is, and I don't know enough about this.

Uh I am not an insurance geek, and though I've though I've looked at employee insurance for my whole career, um I understand there's something about rebates when it comes to some of the drug plans and drug administration.

Um I don't know a lot about it, but can you talk to us about are we getting all the rebates?

We should, do we get credit for rebates?

How does that work and explain that to us?

We do.

In fact, it's um it's a sizable revenue item, and it's one of the things that we do kind of use UHC to help negotiate for us.

Um I'd I let me put some notes together for you on it, but it it runs in the millions.

It's one of the ways one of our revenue offsets uh that helps to keep what would otherwise be even higher rates or higher taxpayer subsidies, but I can get you more details on that.

But yeah, there is there's absolutely um a big piece of what we try to do is through a through UHC um do we do have some negotiating power when it comes to some of the some of the medications that we offer in the in the plan.

Can I go back to your first question?

Or your first comment?

I yeah, absolutely.

We you know, anything can be moved, anything can be changed.

Give me more here, less there.

Philosophically, we've always kind of preferred, even if we have to be a little bit higher on rates, to um not to have as much risk for our employees.

So that's one of the reasons why we did not seriously consider um out of pocket maximums going up.

Um so that's so you don't you don't see that on there, but but absolutely absolutely you could.

I mean, that would be a way of passing along more cost, but that's that can that's an open-ended risk.

Yeah, very much so.

I would say not seriously, because philosophically we just didn't want to open up that door much further.

So, Mr.

Davis, what are our options at this point?

Are we up against deadlines?

What we're we're meeting with staff uh throughout this month.

Um staff have until October 27th to enter their choices in the system.

So this is this is the open or only time.

So yeah, we're we're um the the timing is compressed.

There's no doubt about it.

So wait a minute.

So no changes, this is it.

We have no decision on this, we have no advice.

This is just what you're presenting, period.

This this is not something that is part of the code of ordinances or anything that you would normally vote on.

Uh this is administrative uh item.

I understand that, but you're also talking about while we only have two employees, we represent the city and we represent the 3300 employees.

And certainly any direction you give the city manager will be followed, but you're not taking a formal vote on anything that you've heard tonight or any information that I'll be.

So, how will the concerns that have been expressed by pretty much everybody on council be addressed?

What we're going to do is take collectively.

I got a few notes myself, but I want to go back and watch the video just so I don't miss anything to make sure that we sit I sit with uh ACM Davis and his staff to ensure that we come back to council uh with a quick response uh to give you an understanding of you know what we can do and where we can go, uh, and then also answer some of the other kind of church point courses like um Councilwoman Hotel asked about communication with staff.

I think some of those things are important as well.

Uh so yes, to your point, I think you know, Councilman Bethany, you're asking, you know, as a city manager, am I going to listen to what I'm hearing today and come back to you with something yes or I do want to add one other thing?

Um the new the new rates, regardless of where they end up still include the wellness rates that we instituted last year.

So simply by completing a survey and getting physical, uh you can reduce the rates by 150 dollars, and we still have less than a thousand employees who have taken advantage of that.

So we will continue to make that known.

We'll continue to encourage employees to take advantage of that because that's we're not really asking you to do a whole lot and and you get a permanent reduction in your in your rates.

My question is only did the employees get the same letter memo we did.

No, what I sent to you was you you were the audience for that.

So yeah, I think I think that's part of the concern.

They got something similar from the people in culture director um through through the newsletter.

And then again, they're meeting individually, department by department, location by location, to dive into this on a more detailed basis.

I think that even that minimum memo I sent y'all, as detailed as it was, it was a one-way conversation.

You know, you you will you didn't have the ability to ask questions or or make sure you understood something.

So that's why we encourage employees to go to open enrollment tomorrow, nine o'clock to two p.m.

Uh at the Coliseum, 9 a.m.

to 2 p.m.

Uh attend some attend some of the other meetings.

Get your detailed questions answered that way.

Yeah, and I think my concern was, you know, I mean, we get a lot of newsletters, you know, and uh, and uh and I'm sorry, but you know, we try to read everything but line by line, and I think to me that is part of the issue that it was kind of like oh wow, now it's here.

And and you know, and being kind of buried in a newsletter may have exacerbated the the controversy a little bit.

I don't want to call it controversy, concerns.

So yeah, I th I think in the future maybe that could help alleviate at least we would know the questions earlier and be able to uh come to the city manager and say so.

So the question I just add one thing to your list, Larry, I don't want to ask now.

Just want to ask you, you talking about the copay is going up $25.

So is that any kind of revenue generators 50 now it's going to 75?

Just for those GPL drugs.

Just for those weight reduction, those two very popular weight reduction drugs right now that that lots of folks are on.

So there are other co-pays are not going up.

The other drug copies are staying right where they are.

But you say that amount is going up.

How is it gonna make any kind of significant difference?

And you can come back with the answer now to do it tonight, but how much is that?

$900, $5 a month, $12.

So that's all about bingo, exactly right.

Yeah, so it's not really gonna hit those.

Again, we could have we could have gone to 150 or 200, but and that would have been more more revenue, but at some point you you get folks who stop taking those drugs.

Uh which is the worst case scenario, once someone's been on them, you don't want them to come off of it.

So you've got to balance that.

It's like, yes, they need they should be, they should be paying more for it, but not so much more that they stop taking the medication.

My uh the question I have, I know that we are facing a budget deficit on this.

Is there a way that we could phase this in?

I do think it's a bit abrupt, um, especially for people who are living paycheck to paycheck.

This is a pretty big bump in a monthly expense.

Is there a way to instead of maybe doing a hundred dollars for the spouse, can you do fifty and let them know what it'll be next year?

Or are there ways that we can at least eliminate the um immediate uh immediate impact, allow our employees to budget that for the next year?

We can certainly consider that, absolutely.

And this impacts everybody who works 30 hours at that 30 hour rate is you know, they work 30, not 40.

Right.

So that's even less money that they're gonna have and 30 hours when they're 30 hour employees.

And so when you later on tonight when you forgot to have asked, yes, this involves our retiree employees as well.

Yeah, that's that's gonna be too difficult.

If you could give us maybe an option if there's a way to phase it in, and I have a question which might be a little off topic.

Um insulin, I know when I pick up my insulin and I'm on two different types, um, it's fifty dollars a month.

Is it 50?

Because that's what the Fed set it at?

Is that what the cost of insulin is, or is there still a markup?

And that I don't know.

I don't I don't know about insulin.

I'll I'll I'll find out.

Because I I think we have a number of employees um throughout our systems that are also insulin-dependent.

Absolutely.

Can I just make one comment?

So one of the things that you mentioned is that it's driving up our cost is the number of employees using the uh emergency room really as their physician.

Is there any way of uh attacking that situation and dealing with it for a more positive outcome?

Again, we've made we've made what we consider to be a fair but hopefully noticeable increase in the copay for that trip.

Um again, we could have gone higher, but we weren't trying to be punitive.

It was more about gradually hoping to change behavior and get the and began to get the thought that that's not where my primary care should come from.

Okay, thank you.

Ladies, thank you for your patience.

Um we have um Shirley Samuel Good evening, and it's truly is an honor and to have an opportunity to come to you before you about this, and I'm not sure that this issue has anything to do with budgeting or you know, monies or anything, but as a senior citizen who lives in an area that has been historically designated area um in the Bimbo Road area, and um in between the time that I was in Atlanta and I was gone for almost two years, and I've come back, and uh trafficking is very different.

Police presence, I don't see them, it's almost non-existent.

I've had to it's the excessive speeding on Friendly and Market Street and Gate City Boulevard, and even on Binbo Road, and these are narrow streets.

These are you know, these are not wide streets.

It's it's dangerous, but I don't see any law enforcement around.

And I used to.

I I used to see them parked like in parking lots that nobody was using during the day, but they're just they're just not there.

There is uh a young man who is homeless and he sits um on the corner of or that island that is between Gate City Boulevard and Marl Boulevard, and uh and what I'm gonna say about this is he's kind of intimidating.

He will walk right up to my car and stand near start pointing at me and talking to me, and he does it every time, except for when I remember to go on down and don't turn that way, go a different way.

I have called about him.

Nothing happens, he's still there next day.

And um it's it's it's just um making calls about the Fourth of July fireworks in a residential area, very close to my home, where there are roofs and and trees and all of that, and I'm not talking about just the little things that the kids can do on the street or on the sidewalk.

I'm talking about the ones that are shot up into the sky.

And um, and I could actually see that.

And it's it's it's just starting to feel just a little bit unsafe to me.

And um I live alone, like a lot of a lot of us do, and um enforcement of it is laws.

It's not happening.

Um if you call about it, they don't do anything about it.

So Ms.

Samuel, you you you've not gotten any what response have you gotten when you have called anything, anybody show up, anybody call you back.

We got a call back once.

But um there were there was um one and I got the call back and they didn't do anything.

And um I got a call back once about the lease logs is a dog that gets out and he roams around and he roams around so much that I was gonna get a delivery, and the delivery man said I'm not gonna deliver it to you unless you come out here in the street and get it from me, and I'm going to use the reason will be undeliverable because of dog.

And that's so okay.

I went out to the street to go get my package.

Yes, we are.

Um it's um it's a nuisance.

And the dog is not mean, he's not dangerous, he's sweet.

Right.

But you shouldn't be just allowed to just roam around.

And he scares the people because he's being he's he's big, and so people get frightened at it.

And so they're not observing leash laws.

It looks like they just don't even exist.

But the the speeding, I had to come to um, I had to come to a halt when I was coming out Bennett Street, tomorrow boulevard to turn left.

And the cars that were across the street facing me, that light stays red for them so that I can make that and I get a green arrow.

And a motorcycler just pulled right on over, but just pulled right on out, and I was out in the middle of the street turning left, and he yelled at me, give me a great lady.

But there was not.

There's no, I mean, it's it's like I used to see police officers, but I don't see them anymore.

Even when I'm downtown, I just don't see them.

And I is um it it just kind of bothers me.

It makes me feel like we're not there's nobody watching over us to make us feel secure.

And um at my age, it's kind of it's it's a big concern for me.

So um we do we do appreciate your concern, and I thank you for coming here and talking about it.

I think you've sent us two emails in the past.

Um did you get a follow-up from staff?

Has anybody reached out to you?

Yes, they did.

I got follow-up from staff from you guys.

That's that's how I got here.

Okay, invited me.

Yes, okay.

Yes, I did.

I got I got a response, and I'm thank you.

I I really do appreciate that.

But I just think some attention needs to be brought to it.

I have heard that people think that there is too much police presence.

I'm sorry, I don't see that.

I'm seeing if you're if you're doing if you're breaking law, if you're doing something wrong, then you should be held accountable for it.

And so um I just it's and thank you.

We we do appreciate that statement.

I think that's very important.

It is so I know there is a neighborhood association close to where you live.

Did the lady ever call you?

Yes, we made we made the call.

We just haven't had um we have she hasn't called me about a meeting yet.

But I I would like to ask staff if they would make sure that we have you know some people just asking for a ride by, they don't want all this saturation of police, but just a ride through a ride-by, and I've asked for that multiple times.

Um, so um you connect with Miss Samuel and make sure that that information gets out so she can she needs to feel safe one of our seniors in our community.

Well, most of us that live in that area are I mean um I live, I I grew up here, and uh teachers that I had at that time lived in the houses that are on my street, and um most of them are gone, but some of their children and grandchildren are living there, but um it you know, and we we certainly hear what it is you're saying, and um we'll have somebody follow up with you, especially regarding the concerns that you mentioned here this evening.

If she can leave her cell phone number or some type of contact information with the communications fix at the door, I'll reach out to you tomorrow.

Okay, thank you.

Yes, thank you.

Okay, well, thank you for hearing me.

And thank you.

Thank you for bringing in our attention.

Um, after our next speaker, we have Michael O'Neill, Robert Hoke, and Malik Hugh.

If you would come to the window side of the room, Miss Otis.

All right.

Hello, council.

My name is Willie Otis.

I'm a 20-year-old founder of Not Just Headlines.

Our goal is to increase voter turnout in local elections among Gen Z, and the way that I've done this is by interviewing every single candidate who is going to show up on the ballot in November.

So I'm just coming by after primaries and before election season to say thank you guys for being interviewed by me.

You guys did not have to do that.

And all the candidate interviews will be launching this Friday at 10 p.m.

at Not Just Headlines Media.

And I want to say that the work that we are doing is getting notice this past summer from June to now on our Instagram.

We have gotten 20 million views on our content.

So there are people who are young who do want to get involved in local politics, and it is my goal to make it as accessible as possible so people never have to skip a name on the ballot ever again because the work that you guys do is very important.

So we know these elections are won by a few hundred votes.

And since June, we have gotten almost 5,000 followers.

So people are going to be paying attention to these elections more often.

So I did want to say thank you guys for being interviewed by me because your interviews will be seen, and I have invited you guys this Friday out to the premiere launch so you guys can interact with some of the young voters there.

I've had people come to me being like, I'm coming Friday.

I've never voted in an election ever before.

And if I was gonna vote local, it would be here because of the work that you're doing.

So I would just like to say thank you.

And if you have not RSVP, go ahead and do it already because you're gonna want to say that you are in the room where it happened.

Thank you.

I I want to say thank you to you.

We had our primary yesterday, and we have over 200,000 registered voters, and less than 10% of those showed up to vote yesterday.

So any help you could get drive that vote out, we certainly appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Rosotus.

Just for the benefit of those watching, do you want to share with them the time and the place, etc.

of your Friday?

So I have a website called not just headlinesmedia.com, but it will also be distributed on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, and Apple.

And this is in a video format, so you can listen to it, but you can also see me sit one-on-one with every single candidate.

So say we have the district one candidates, both of them will be in one video, and then at large candidates will get their own video.

The mayor, mayoral candidates will get their own video as well.

So it's not just headlines media.com.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That's good work.

Thank you.

Hi, every uh, how is everyone?

Good evening, Council members, mayor Varn.

Um my name is Trey Rosley.

I represent GSO Peace Corporation Center, and I just want to take this moment to thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak today.

But I we want to use this as a formal introduction to let you know exactly who we are and what we do for the city here.

This leads a great deal to us.

GSO Peace Focus of the Richmond Center located at 122 North Airm Street.

And what we do is for the community and for all the kids.

That's right.

Yeah.

We are we teach them to the new house as a studio engineering as well as media podcast training.

Our program is totally free.

So we're letting everybody in here know that our doors are open to the public.

We have kids, we do gaming and technology, and we're just trying to expand our brand here in the greater city of Greensboro to reach out and give back to the uh to the youth and to our community.

And um, that's pretty much it.

We have some literature that we're gonna provide you with to give you some insight exactly what we do outside of GSO Peace Corp as well as with the Office of Community Safety, you know, doing um interventions and stuff like that.

Um, this is my family, my partner Michael O'Neill, and he's gonna take us from here.

Hey, how's everybody doing?

Thank you for allowing us to speak today.

Like my partner said with GSO Peace Corps.

Uh we work with the Office of Community Safety, and we're just here to give you a formal introduction of who we are.

I spoke to you guys a few months back about a community park and uh basketball court, and uh we had begun to move forward with it as far as the budget and getting things together.

So we're also gonna be emailing you guys over information concerning that, and hopefully we can get your help and get you guys to um just help us continue to get back to the community and create positive safe spaces for the children.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Is um Mr.

Hoke is speaking?

No, okay, after Mr.

Hope.

Okay, and Malik.

Mr.

Hope.

First of all, congratulations to everyone in here who has achieved higher education, such as myself.

I have a Bachelor of Arts Green from High Point University.

It is a strong tribute to my deceased parents that I choose to volunteer.

This includes High Point Theater, Queensburg's Carolina Theater, among several other art groups.

Now, as an employee in good standing in the past at Greensboro Coliseum, I applied for a customer service position at Tango Center.

In fact, the personnel director of the Greensboro Coliseum said that could be allowed due to the company transfer program.

I was declined hiring by single center manager.

So I chose as a second option of green to volunteer freely.

In fact, I requested a conference meeting at the Coliseum with several managers.

It was poorly attended.

So confused as the City of Greensboro Human Resources who clarified alone or provision that I never could had completely understood, nor was made aware of.

I knew in fact if you employees that we're actually working at those conferences.

I received a strong letter by FedEx from Deputy Manager concerning my employment.

I had said to others that are just managed and more understanding.

I think I can go for the customer.

Well, one of the parents are very limited hours to speak to city manager.

It was only the staff.

My efforts to speak to the city manager were never allowed.

My further very few requests to speak at all to Mayor Nancy Vaughn were never granted.

I thought that as a citizen in Fieldford County, I would at least have that right.

But on another regard, I am here and I do congratulate Mayor Vaughan for the wonderful economic boom that I have seen this my home county prosper through.

There's much to say, including differences of working conditions and my impairments.

I just have three minutes.

No, we stick with the three minutes.

I do know that this has been a situation that's been going on for quite some time.

And I believe that HR has addressed your concerns.

Um, but I don't believe that we're going to be able to do what it is you want done.

Property Corm says I should leave.

Um after Malik, we have Tayson Hicks, Andy Zimmerman, and Dr.

Tanya Palacios.

Hey, City Council.

Um, I've got one thing I wanted to say.

Um, if I could have my Beacon Bridge family stand up for a minute.

Because I wanted you to know, City Council, my BK Bridge family has been there for me, and they are helping me with housing.

And I wanted to let them know to recognize one, my friend Josh Standback, and I want to recognize him for being a great peer support member and being there.

And I also want to ask Ms.

Tanya Pilasi.

She's been there by my side when I needed her to help me.

So I wanted to make sure I shout them out as my family, as my peer support family and my community advocates for the homeless community.

They're right beside me when I got something to do, but right on your screens.

I'm gonna go ahead and get into it.

As you see, I have my first annual event next Saturday coming up.

And Miss Penda, I know you said you're gonna be there.

I want some of the other ones.

I want some of my other city council members to be there in attendance because it's gonna be big.

It's gonna be major, major, it's going to show light to the city, and I'm going to come out and make this big event so popular for us because I want to show it for my homeless members.

I got trunk of treat as you see on the bottom of the screen of it.

Right down here at the bottom.

Right there at the bottom.

I have a trunk of treat.

I also have fire truck.

I have also have donations coming out.

So please make sure y'all come out.

Make sure y'all show up because this is for my homeless community.

My homeless community have been asking, and I have been planning, and I have been talking to them, and I have been letting my IRC family know that this is going all the all the nonprofit stuff that I do for them is going back to the IRC.

Um, Trey Davis, I know we had talked a couple weeks ago, and um I've been waiting to get back with you, and I want to see when we can have a time that we can have a day we could talk and and get get a ground table discussion so that way we can kind of get some things planned out for my homeless community, like we had talked about that day that I seen you when the situation had went down, and I had had a chance to talk to Trey because it was some stuff that my city members and us, we've been asking for some of the police.

I know a lot of the public has been asking for the police to stop harassing some of us, and we want to ask for that to be looked at if they can to stop coming as like we like somewhere or put in a new measure.

But Nancy Vine, before your last term, before you leave out of this office this time, can you please try to see if we can get this lifted for us to get back in the park?

I feed.

I'm gonna make sure my make sure everybody picked up their chest at the end.

I'm gonna make sure that that gets done.

I want to ask Trey Davis if you can look into that and see if we can lift that down from the park for a minute, please, because we really want to get that because we found the feeling is too far away.

We did um we did say that it could be done on the Green Street side of MMOB, and I know that other organizations have used it, so I think you could just let people know that there's a different place, but it's very close by.

I mean it's a good thing.

I know, but we we we've been asking, and we've been coming up because it's getting hard for us to go long ways.

I understand, but we do have an alternative for you, and it's right here on the MMOB property.

All right, thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

Hicks.

Good evening, council.

It's good to be back in person after a break.

So uh in September of 2023, uh my daughter and I were in Center City Park when security ordered un unhoused people to leave.

She looked at me and asked why, and I didn't have an answer.

There was no safety concern, uh, no offer of help, really just seemed like a sweep of for appearance's sake.

Um, but that question never left me.

So, you know, me being who I am, I started asking questions and looking closer, and I saw the same pattern again and again.

Uh leaders obsessed with appearances instead of outcomes, spending taxpayer dollars to really polish downtown while ignoring the very people who live here.

Since that day in the park, I've pushed back, and I'll admit, you know, I haven't always handled it in ways that my daughter has been proud.

And I'll admit that she's told me that.

Um she's nearly 16 years old now, old enough to see the difference between words and actions, between photo ops and real accountability.

And I've spent you know quite some time now fighting for change, not just for her, but for every person who has been treated as disposable in this city.

Under Zach Matheny's leadership, GGI has used public money on trips, hotels, mills, and entertainment.

Most families in Greensboro could never afford.

And I think that you know, I'll tell you, I I'll say that you know my daughter is learning that people get swept from parks uh for investors.

Some get stopped for their skin color.

Police department refers investigations, but police associations endorse anyways.

She's learning whether integrity matters here or whether pi power just protects power.

My hope has always been that DGI and the city city would finally embrace transparency, so accountability could follow.

For the first time, I believe we may be closer to that than we've ever been, with an SBI investigation underway, and more people than ever stepping up to advocate for change.

Appreciate y'all letting me come tonight.

Thank you.

Mr.

Zimmerman.

Good evening, City Council members, Andy Zimmerman.

And first of all, I want to congratulate those candidates that uh did well in uh the primary voting.

And then I'd also like to just mention uh Mayor Vaughan, Dr.

Wells, Councilwoman Nancy Hoffman.

I'm gonna miss you.

We've not agreed all the time, but we've agreed a lot, and I respect you for what you've done for the city and for your leadership and for your values.

I applaud you.

I will miss you greatly.

Thank you so much.

Um I wanted to uh talk a minute about uh a project that both myself and another group has uh tried to uh embark on on the corner of Gate City Boulevard and Eugene Street.

Um I would love to, City Manager Davis.

I would love to meet with the Transportation Department and any other person of interest that is concerned about the parking on the South E.

And not just for the development's sake, but for the people that have invested a lot of money and are concerned about a project that was attempted to be pushed through that would have made the parking worse on the South End, not better.

I really am asking the new city council and new leadership, because I don't think this is going to go through the existing city council and leadership in Greensboro, that we take a look at and sit down as a community and figure out what we can do about the parking on the South End.

And not at the expense of a great housing development, whether it's by me or another group to me, it doesn't matter.

What matters is that we supply parking on the South End that I think is greatly needed to continue the investment and respect the investment that's already been made.

So I would love to again schedule a meeting with the Transportation Department and anybody that is concerned about the South End before future development makes it worse.

I have addressed and re uh submitted a proposal for not only the corner property in downtown on Elmond Gate City, but also two parcels on Eugene Street that I think would absolutely transform that entrance to our city, and we've addressed the parking issue.

And uh I just hope that we can take a look at it again before we make the uh the situation worse.

Um I also just want to add to every other city council person here.

Thank you for your leadership.

Thank you for the difference that you make in downtown.

Uh I know there are people that would like to complain, but I want to applaud you for your leadership and thank you very much.

Thank you.

Um after Dr.

Palacios, I hope I said it right.

Um, our final speaker is Cheryl McIver.

If I have not called your name and you think that you've signed up, please see our courier.

Doctor, good evening, Mayor Vaughan, members of the Greensboro City Council, and city staff.

I'm here representing Deakin Bridge, a North Carolina-based behavioral health and substance use disorder agency.

Our mission is simple but critical to meet people where they are in the moment of crisis and to make sure no one in our community is left without timely, compassionate care.

Recently, Trillium Health Resources released an RFP for a behavioral health urgent care center right here in Greensboro.

The center is intended to serve as a front door for individuals experiencing psychiatric or substance use crisis, offering stabilization, evaluation, and connection to long-term services, rather than relying on hospital emergency rooms or law enforcement as the first point of contact.

We submitted our proposal with the hope that this council would stand with us, that you would see this not just another health care project, but a public safety and quality of life investment for the people of Greensboro.

Before submitting, and again afterwards, we formally reached out to request a meeting to discuss our vision, answer questions, and collaborate on how this urgent care could work in partnership with city services.

Unfortunately, we never got a response.

I want to be clear.

This is not about blame or frustration.

It's about opportunity.

We know that Greensboro's leaders care deeply about addressing homelessness, mental health, and the strain these issues face on emergency response systems.

We simply want the chance to sit down and share how this urgent care center could be part of the solution, how it would how it could reduce unnecessary ER visits, give law enforcement a reliable drop-off point, and create a coordinated path to recovery and stability.

But beyond the data and the systems, there's the human side.

Every person who walks through our doors is someone's child, parent, friend, or neighbor.

They are people who deserve dignity, care, and the chance to heal.

And every time a city invests in behavioral health access, it sends a powerful message that we value our people enough to meet their needs and compassion instead of crisis.

So tonight I respectfully renew our request for a meeting and council leadership.

We're not asking for funding or endorsement, just a conversation, a chance to share that, a chance to share what we've built, to listen to your priorities and to explore how together we can make Greensboro a leader in behavioral health access and crisis care.

Thank you for your time, your service, and your commitment to this community.

I hope we continue this conversation soon, not in a public comment slot, but across the table, working side by side for the people of Greensboro.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

Yeah, what RFP has RFP went out.

That had to be a good question.

Not from us.

Okay, because I was feeling ready to say me and they have to help.

And I believe that the county has three seats on the Trillium board.

I think Mr.

Alston is on that board, and I can't remember who the other two are.

Okay.

But we don't have a seat on that.

We don't, okay.

Councilwoman Howtower, we uh the Department of Community Safety, uh, Director McNeil has been speaking with them.

Uh and so I'll get you some follow-up.

I think if what uh the young lady was referring to is a network of folks that they've all been working with.

So I'll get you some, I'll get uh Miss McNeil to to give you a call to give it an update.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Speaking of RSP, um, and communication seems like there is a communication problem internally and externally.

Uh a week or two weeks' notice about increases in premiums, um doesn't seem very well business or professional like for your employees.

I digress.

Um is it the city's position when an RFP is put out and it closes that the application should be completed and fully intact?

I would think so.

Is it the city's position when an RFP is completed that an organization or applicant can come back and request a great modification to their application after it has been closed?

Let me give you an example.

There was an RFP for neighborhood development for LITEC.

Uh Ms.

Dunsbury submitted an application.

She was a lead in submitting the application for 2813 Rundament Road.

I see that the application should have closed on March 21st.

I see final responses on March 25th.

However, on March 31st, an email was sent asking for modification to their application.

They wanted to reduce from 120 to 84, which requires significant change in their application.

It was recommended on April 1st by the neighborhood development that they did not reopen that application for the modification.

So how did that happen?

Who approved for the RFP to be reopened?

Not just that, when that application or that RFP was reopened for this project specifically to redo their site drawings or numbers or whatever needed to be done.

Was that also informed to the other RFP applicants?

Did they get notification that there was reopening and if they need to make changes, they could make changes?

Is this legal?

I don't know.

But that is what happened.

Thank you all for making sure I got my public records yesterday after a month.

I have not been able to go all the way through them, but this came from those public records.

So just my question.

Does the city allow for RFPs to be reopened?

And then the neighborhood development recommended they did not reopen it for this modification, but the modification happened.

So who approved it?

I mean, is that standard process?

Those are just my questions.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So that is our final speaker of speakers from the floor.

Um we have no uh now we have our consent agenda G1 through G13.

Um move by Dr.

Wells, seconded by Mr.

Holston.

Um I don't I don't have you on my list, and I don't believe you.

Excuse me.

They're not all speakers from Luther's not here.

Mr.

Fox is for another item.

I'm not sure what Tony is.

Um I guess Mr.

Hayes tried to sign on and couldn't.

He was here before six.

You have three minutes.

Well, we're gonna miss all y'all good folks.

But the thing is, my name is Tony Hayes, I live at 1415 Dunbar Street, and I guess everybody knows that.

But I'm the move on most of the.

But the thing is, I asked Joe the question before, and most of you didn't give me no answer.

You said up there looking like you're ignorant, stupid, and can't give no answer.

The thing is, how many cars can you own in the city of Greensboro?

And the thing is when you buy a car, if you don't register it, the car is still in the same person's name.

I try to contact your city lawyer up here and talk to them, they won't return the cars, but you want to charge everybody else with a fine still because I didn't own the house.

But that's the reason I said, What is your you know, what is the law is owning cars?

Can you answer that?

If you have a car, it has to be registered and insured.

A car only car is you buy a car, you don't have to register.

You register your car if you're gonna put tag the insurance on it.

You you go around the people's houses and take cars.

Do you all have the title?

Do you do you own them?

You have the city of Greensboro, you are city of Greensboro code for you got too many chiefs, not enough in you.

Everybody wants to be a chief up here and not enough in you.

But the thing is, you got a code enforcement, you got uh violations and all this stuff right here, and you got folks coming out, and the whole month, the whole month, the last month, you had people just riding by taking pictures, like how yeah.

But the thing is, you know, it's stupid.

It's stupid.

You you you got people work for the city, goes in the city calls out to the park, the car they're running, and people just uh taxpay the people's money to take in money for nothing.

You but you can always watch out for the meal, but you know it's stupid.

That's right.

How many cars do you own?

How many cars are the city of Greensboro own?

How many cars are the county on?

But you can't answer, of course, and I asked you, but you can sit up here and look at me and holler out what am I talking about?

I'm talking about the same thing.

You've taken my cars, but every one of them run, and you don't have to put a tag and insurance on either one of them.

You can buy any car you want till you get ready to res your car and state of Raleigh.

That's when a car is registered, then it owns you.

Thank you.

I think that Mr.

Hayes' question was answered by code.

He has talked to code numerous times.

I know he's he's unhappy with me, he's unhappy with code, but he has a neighbor that sends pictures too and shows cars that are right by her driveway where she can't get out safely.

I just got one the other day.

So it's just about being good neighbors.

It really is.

Well, we have gotten a number of emails regarding the problem from her.

Yes.

The question, the question that he's asking how many cars can you own?

Right.

We don't have a number by the cars you own.

We do have something about how many you could have in your yard.

Right.

I'm sorry, you can't you can't speak from the buttons the problem.

I don't know if he had any time left.

No, he didn't have any time left.

He didn't.

I'm sorry, then unless there's a question, unless there's a question.

She asked the crazy.

She said uh by the car, and you get old.

I said how many cars can you own?

She did not ask the question of you.

I said we have a rule about the number of cars you can have in your yard.

And where they and how they should be there.

If you have cars in your yard, then you're supposed to have some pavement there.

So it's not about us owning the cars, is what you do with the cars.

Well, they voted for 35 or anything wrong with it.

No, we we don't.

We have um front yard parking violations, so I know you've had conversation about that.

Well, yeah.

Okay, so um Mr.

Hayes was our final speaker.

Um we did have a motion and a second on the um consent agenda, but I don't remember the vote.

No, Goldie, were you the yes and I think you seconded it?

Okay, council, please vote.

And that passes nine to zero.

We have no public hearing items on the agenda.

We do have two general business items, make it three.

Um item I point one is a resolution readopting the Greensboro Alcohol Beverage Control ABC board travel policy.

Um Mr.

Fox is here.

Um if there are any questions.

Um this item is moved by Mrs.

Hoffman, seconded by Mr.

Massini.

Council, please vote.

It passes nine to zero.

Item I point two is a resolution authorizing the merger of the town of Pleasant Gardens ABC system with the City of Greensboro ABC system.

Moved by Mrs.

Hoffman, seconded by Mr.

Holston.

And that passes nine to zero.

Now we have item I point three, a resolution approving contract 2025-0050 in the amount of 632,000 with ASJ Wilson Construction LLC for the Pickleball Court Renovation and New Restroom Facility at Bryan Park.

Move the item.

Second.

Moved by um Mrs.

Abusawaiter, seconded by Dr.

Wells.

Council, please vote.

Huh.

Oh, it has decent numbers for change.

Yeah, and I'm decent.

You participate.

I am voting yes, but I it's not that passes nine to zero.

Um boards and commissions.

Uh Mrs.

Hightower.

I think I'm good for now.

I think so.

I don't have okay.

Nothing.

Mr.

Holston?

None tonight, Madam Mayor.

Mr.

Metheny?

Mrs.

Hoffman?

Um Yes, I'm uh going to um appoint Rebecca Whitney for the uh Commission on the Status of Women.

She's replacing Catherine Maggot.

That position has been open for a while.

Okay.

Seconded by um Mrs.

Thurm.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed, that passes unanimously.

Um I do have an appointment to the um to the GC Jack.

Um David Coates was elected to the Board of Education, so he has resigned um his position.

I'd like to appoint Sandra Davis of Westerville to fill his position.

Moved by Mayor Pro Tem.

Um all in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

That passes nine to zero.

Um Mayor Pro Tem.

None this evening, thank you.

Dr.

Wells?

None this evening.

Mrs.

Thurm?

No.

And Ms.

Pinder.

No.

Okay.

I have a couple, but you know, we have a we have people talk to us about speeding through neighborhoods all the time.

Yes.

And I know that GDOT is trying their best to come up with different traffic calming devices to slow down traffic.

But I think I've asked most of you, and I think I've asked the city manager to take a look at David Caldwell as you're getting on to Holden Road.

And I just think that is a mess and it is an accident waiting to happen.

I don't know if police and fire were contacted at all about this traffic cop calming, but you've got battleground and hold in.

And David Caldwell connects battle ground and holding.

So I imagine it's used as a cut through, and probably the neighbors are upset about it.

But basically you've just stopped the road.

You've cut it in half.

And I went and sat there and I watched people as they were approaching this traffic calming device, and they had absolutely no clue what to do.

If you were coming from Battleground and you were going toward David Caldwell, you had to drive all through the neighborhood to figure out how to get on to Holden.

And then seeing people come up holding trying to get to Battleground, they're just sitting there thinking, well, where do I go from here?

I don't know how well thought out that was.

I can understand that the people were concerned with speeding, but you have a massive roadbloe two major streets and no signs telling people where to go.

I don't know if anybody else wants to.

Yeah, I would just say that I've tried to negotiate that twice now, once at your request, um and once because I forgot that the change was there.

Um and there are people that like stop in the middle of the street because they can't figure out what to do or where to go, and then they drive a block and stop again because they don't know where to go or how to get their get out of the maze, and it it just I I think it's problematic, and I think we need to take a second look at that installation.

And the um if you're on Holden Road and you want to go into that neighborhood, um many of those entrances have been cut off with um with traffic traffic cones.

Um you know, I I think it's really good that we're trying to do these traffic calming.

We I know that this is done at the request of the neighborhood.

Um, but I think we you know, this might have been something that maybe we should have tried a um a speed bump on.

I know that we we don't like to put them.

We've been we've talked about this, I think, since I got on council initially in 1997.

People said give us a traffic speed bump, and we've always said no, no, no.

And I know we're concerned about public safety because they have to slow down, um, and that could be a life and death difference.

But clearly, if they if they go up to this traffic calming, there's nowhere for them to go.

I don't know what a fire truck is going to do.

Um they're gonna just have to drive around neighborhoods, and if the police car is responding to a call, um fast, yeah.

Yes, and they're gonna be uh, and then I don't know.

Did we talk to the school system about it?

Um, you know, there are school buses and um I I just think it's problematic, and that's one that I saw.

I know that there are others throughout the city, but um I'd like to know where these types of diversions have been put in place, and I really think that we have to reconsider this.

Well, I'm gonna add one to the list, and we look and answer this.

My daughter lives out by 840, so yance it.

When you turn into that neighborhood, that roundabout is not a roundabout.

Um way, if you're coming this way, they run they run that stop sign, and so is it it's not a roundabout, it's a curve about it goes this way and then goes back, and the people coming this way down, they see you coming out the neighborhood, but they don't stop, they keep running on going.

I don't know who designs these things, but it's not done very well at all.

So and I know that people have been screaming for these traffic calming devices in their neighborhood.

Um I know there was an application process.

We get emails about speeding in neighborhoods just about every day.

Every day we had a woman who came up and spoke about speeding.

I want us to be aggressive, but this just seems like a mess.

And if you know, I I would hope that you leaders would go take a drive and see what you think.

And there have got to be easier ways for us to do this, and to think that we've, you know, it's taken 18 months, two years to get where we are today, and that doesn't seem like much of a solution.

And I'm concerned because on Phillips Avenue, I've been living out there for years.

This is the first time people are passing like they on the highway.

So around pass me on Phillips at Lab, they pass you and fly.

Come down your your street, your neighborhood street, just fly.

I think we're gonna have to do something because it it's getting to be a problem, and you just cannot stop on the back.

Well, um, you know, I'd like an update on the red light cameras.

Um, I know that we're thinking of getting them in five intersections.

Mrs.

Hightower has been screaming about them for a while.

Um, do we have them on order?

Are they going to be installed?

We'll get you an update.

I don't want to give you the wrong number, but we have we are in the process.

I don't want to give you the wrong date because I've been promising councilwoman hot tower for a long time.

So I don't want to say something and it's wrong, but we are in the process of ordering and all the things that that need to happen to make sure they're up online.

The only thing I'll add to that is the um vendor did have to get license with the alarm board, which is going to take some time as well.

So we've intentionally had to split plate a little bit to allow the time for that to happen.

So we'll get you an update.

Yeah, well, I'd like to see it in this lifetime.

Yeah, I'd like them in the next 54 days.

Um in addition to that, uh I think it was weekend before last we did have the run for the greenway um for the uh it really the greenway looks wonderful.

Finally, all four miles are done.

Um, in the final section, they're still waiting for some artwork and plantings and things like that.

But um, this has been a really long project, but it is beautiful, an awful lot of um private money has been raised.

All the artwork that you see was paid for privately.

People um talk about how long it's taken and the cost, but I think if you go back and you look at that area before the greenway, you realize how much utilities have to be moved.

Streets were streets were reconfigured because they needed to be reconfigured, not because of the greenway.

Water and sewer projects were done.

Um, in addition to the greenway, there was an awful lot of infrastructure improvements, and it um you know it col connects a whole bunch of different neighborhoods, and I think that's great.

Each neighborhood has been preserved, they have artwork there that is special for them.

Um so it was great to see it open.

I know the official grand opening will be in the spring, but it's nice to know that the hardscape is finished after all these years.

So um comments, um, Ms.

Pinder.

I have a couple.

Um back to I've I believe she left, but Miss Shirley Samuels just talked about the importance of safety, and so this pat last week I had an opportunity to do a mental health and wellness walk with the police department that also included um our faith-based community as well as Beeheart and also the Family Justice Center, and so I know that that's one of the initiatives that they continue to do throughout the city and would encourage other neighborhoods because as mentioned connecting her to her local neighborhood association, and the more we can continue to do that, that's another example of how we have protecting and serving and not necessarily policing that we that continues to come up, and so highly encouraged that.

And that was just a it was just nice to be able to see the community come out.

Um and we had over 50 individuals that actually did that, including children.

So again, just to talk about the community engagement and safety, that's another way.

One to get some physical activity out, but then also building a relationship with others that are within the community.

So I just wanted to highlight that.

Um had an opportunity to go to the McConnell Ridge ribbon cutting and really want to lift that up because we talk about the different types of housing and housing options that we have in the city, and that to me just hit home because it was an awesome opportunity to be able to see housing that has a price point of 260 up to 320.

And that's an example of someone who is really, you know, if you're a fully emerged adult, if you're getting ready to graduate from college and with some of the employment opportunities that we happen to have here, here's something that it's hope and it is tangible hope.

And so I just I just thought it was an amazing thing, and many people have reached out saying, when is it open?

Can you go ahead and start now?

So I just really wanted to um just celebrate that because there are things that are happening, and this is happening in Southeast Greensboro.

So just wanted to lift that up.

Um then this week is AT Homecoming, so an awesome opportunity.

Aggie price for the whole city to celebrate, and there's something for everyone to be able to participate down to the babies up into the um our active adults or our seniors, and so I highly encourage if um you have an opportunity to be able to go out and celebrate that.

And then lastly, had an opportunity today to um attend the community and economic engagement summit that was put on by AT.

So another opportunity of the greatness that's happening in our city and how we're connecting and coming together, but another opportunity for us to continue to look at these ways and how we can connect with our younger generation, but also just look at how we um this is the time is right and meeting the moment now and how we can continue to grow our city.

So thank you.

Thank you.

I did have one other thing.

Um earlier this week, I met with um Gum, the Greensboro Urban Ministry to talk about the Wii shelters.

As you know, we had four churches last year who really stepped up, and um each church uh sheltered about 12 individuals.

Um they were really disappointed that they were not included this year in the winter sheltering plan.

Um they would still like to have an active role, and I did ask them to put together a proposal and send it to me that I would share with council and staff.

You know, we talk a lot about having the community step up and be part of the solution.

We've often called out our faith leaders, and here you have four churches that um spent significant money of their own last year to upfit.

They had to get the beds, the the bedding, um lockers, a whole array of things.

The church that I attend, Grace Community Church, they were one of those Wii shelters, and I know how much money that they invested.

I'm sure the other churches did too, and the congregation was really good about supporting the shelters with food.

Everybody got a hot meal every night and a breakfast in the morning.

Um so they were disappointed not to be included in the winter sheltering, and I'm disappointed that they weren't included.

Um, we're doing a great job over at Pomona.

Um, we have five RVs over there and the pallets last year.

We only had two.

Um, there'll be about 120 people over at Pomona.

I I know that the case workers at Pomona do great work about getting the individuals in the pallet shelters into permanent housing.

Um, there wasn't the same type of casework at the churches, um, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't still try to engage with the with the churches or other faith-based institutions.

So we seem to be in good shape when it comes to the Pomona.

The shelters will be moved over.

There will be no downtime for the people who are at um the regency right now, they will be able to move into the RVs.

So there was some concern that they might be unhoused for two weeks or so, but they will be immediately rehoused into the RVs.

So there will be more people housed at that site than in years past.

So that is a that's a really good plus.

Um, but I'd like us to see how we could also include the churches.

Can I add something to that?

Because that was my other comment.

I wanted to um, and I guess this is directed to um assistant manager Harrell.

Can you talk about that RFP um process real quick?

Because after you talk about that, also just can you highlight the event that's coming up on Monday, um, which I think will answer some of that and just talk if you can.

Yeah, absolutely.

So I'll say first um in the Gert Horton Library on Monday at 6 o'clock.

There is a meeting.

All of our faith partners have been invited to come and talk to us about what they can do to assist us with winter sheltering.

Um, we heard that they were disappointed that they were not going to be providing the we shelters, and so this is we're trying to respond to that need or that concern or that question, and just kind of have an open forum with them and see what they can do to assist.

Um, as far as RFP goes, the the RFP went out to anyone who wanted to apply.

We did change what we were doing this winter, but anyone was welcome to open up to apply.

The Greensboro Urban Ministry did come to the initial meeting.

They did not apply for the RFP.

Only one entity applied for the two arms of the RFP.

One was winter sheltering, one was case management at Pomona Park.

The IRC did apply for both of those.

They were the only entity into that is who we ended up contracting with.

In doing it this way, I think many of you have heard this figure.

We are saving 200,000 and we are doubling our case management from last winter.

So that that is the trade-off in doing it this way.

Now answer any other questions.

And is is the urban ministry aware of this meeting that's going to happen on Monday?

And have those specific churches been invited.

We invited a wide swath of churches, including the ones that assisted with us, assisted us last year.

Councilwoman Pinder was nice enough to share it in some of that places that she knows a lot of the faith partners, and so I think it's been widely advertised.

Because that did not come up in our meeting this week.

So I I if you could reach out to Brian and let him know about that meeting, and then he can reach out to the other entities as well.

Absolutely, I'll see to the only concern I have, and I don't know if it came up in the meeting.

I didn't make it.

I know you're looking at single men, single women.

Just in case, though, where is that family?

We use white flag for our families.

Um we are certain that we can separate families from single adults.

We did it very successfully last winter because we ended up having to do that at Glenwood Church.

Um, so we we learned how to do that last last winter, and we are very confident we will we will be able to do it again this winter.

As you know, sheltering for children, there are so many more parameters that go around that.

You can't use the winter sheltering, emergency sheltering um parameters, and so the only thing realistically we can offer for families with children is going to be white flag.

So they're not even welcome into the warming center space?

That's white flag and warming center, those are the same things.

Same thing.

Okay.

Yes, ma'am.

Yeah, but I am still concerned about that because there are some that's car in their cars.

And um we know we we try to seek those those people out.

I know if our police officers see anybody out in the cold, they they will transport them to White Flag immediately, um including families with children.

So we had some of that last winter.

I do think initially there was a little bit of concern.

Families coming into White Flag, they felt like is DSS going to get involved.

That is not what we are there for at all.

This is Office of Community Safety Employees, they are there to warm people up, make sure they have something to eat, and make sure that you know the next day when it warms up that they can go about and do what they need to do.

But do you still make sure they're connected through case management?

Absolutely.

Okay, yeah, I understand the piece about the children, but they need to know what resources are available.

So okay, thank you.

Thanks.

Yes.

Yes, Mrs.

Serm, sorry.

That's okay.

Um earlier today I attended a training session for um the minimum housing commission board, and we had a really good discussion.

And Laura, thank you for your help and support with the last discussion and trying to schedule this one today.

Um I know that they very much would like to have a discussion session with council coming up, and I just wanted to mention that to the city manager to see if we could get something on the calendar for after the new council is seated because we talked today that they really needed to have those discussions with the new council for anything going forward.

Um they shared some of their concerns and and thoughts with me.

Very valid, good discussion.

Um, but I think that's something that we as a group really need to move forward with together with that commission.

Unfortunately, there has been a disconnect there for quite some time.

Um, and I was really surprised to hear that they frequently don't meet because they don't have any cases to review.

Um, we certainly have plenty of substandard housing because we hear about it all the time.

So we need to figure out where is the disconnect there between substandard housing and actually getting it to the point where they're the minimum housing commission is is taking a look at it.

Um there appears to be something has fallen apart or fallen off the tracks.

We need to figure out what that is and get that back on track.

I know when I sat on there, gosh, we had 25 to 30 cases every single month.

And I understand they're not bringing back some of the continuances that we used to have month after month after month.

But in some times I think it's good for to bring back those continuances because if nothing's happening, they're not making any improvement, then we need to do something more rather than just continuing as is.

Also last night, I went to a really good program at Elon Law School.

It was all about the Fourth Amendment and rights that citizens have versus immigrants have in our community.

And I'm wondering if maybe we could reach out to Elon Law or perhaps our legal department could help provide some limited education for us as a council on that too.

I found I learned a lot, and I think all of us could on council could benefit from hearing some of those what does and doesn't apply if you're an immigrant just because of the situation right now.

My last item is to congratulate, congrat congratulate, congratulate all the um candidates that have been running and working so hard to get through last night's primary, and congratulations to those that are moving on.

Early voting starts October 16th, and we really need more than 10% of the city to come out for for these elections.

And for those folks that are watching, for those folks that are watching that can tell their friends and neighbors, um, and I I don't mean to sound sarcastic when I say this, um, and nor do I mean to sound rude, but I know that there are more than 10% of the citizens that aren't happy with everything that's going on in our city, and this is a way for those folks to have a say, and I think it's important that the community comes out to vote.

So I encourage folks to vote and um look forward to seeing something more than 10% coming out to vote on November by November 4th.

And uh to follow up with that, there have been numerous forums, and I've heard those who are running say that there are so many forums.

So we yeah, so you need to get out and learn uh hear what these folks are saying that are running so you know who to vote for.

And um it that's very important.

All politics is local, and I know a lot of citizens wait for the the election of the president and the vice president of the United States, but the people that sit up here are the ones that affect your life directly.

So you need to study the candidates and vote for the best ones.

I want I understand that the um forum at the concerned citizens last Thursday night went well.

So we thank you for coming up to Northeast Greensboro.

There's a first annual community day event that's coming at Peel or Recreation Center on October the 18th, which is next Saturday from 12th to 5 p.m.

So come out for the day to show our community the beauty of its free haircuts, free hairstyles, hygiene care packages, free food, job resources, housing resources.

So there'll be a lot of things that will be going on at Peel of the Center next Saturday from 12 until 5.

So we avoid invite you to come.

Well, and after they go there, they can go to the Coliseum and see the puck drop because that will be opening night for the gargoyles, and it'll be the first time in 20 years that we're gonna have hockey back at the Coliseum.

Oh big day.

Yep.

Mary Kay?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um wanted to mention the Commission on the Status of Women had the purple tree lighting, so if you drive by at night, that is uh to raise awareness of uh domestic violence awareness month, and then the purple is the color, so you will see the parking deck lit up in purple and the trees are lit up in purple as well.

And they're also lit up in uh pink for breast cancer awareness month because that is also this month.

So wanted to mention that.

Many of us, and the mayor spoke were at the uh fire department memorial for those who had passed away in the past year, the firefighters who had passed away in the past year.

And it's turned out over the years, it's it's kind of new, but it's turned out over the years to be a really, really nice event.

And I know that a lot of staff were there.

Um, so appreciate that as well.

Um several of us were in the Dudley Panther Parade, so that was a lot of fun.

And um, you know, I I want to echo what has been mentioned already.

Yes, it's it's uh an exciting season to hear people who are campaigning and candidates, but uh you know you want to make sure that everyone knows that they do have the right to vote because it is so true.

Our politics is local, and I think we can all agree up here that a lot of the things we do affects our residents every day.

So just want to encourage that for the November election, and that's it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mrs.

Hoffman.

Yeah, there's a forum for our citizens tomorrow night, not for candidates.

Uh it's at Temple Emmanuel and uh Mayor Vaughn will be there along with uh formerly our Keith Holiday and uh former um council member Justin Outling, and it's really um what does City Council do and why should I care?

And it's uh yeah, that's the case.

So I think that's it's at seven o'clock tomorrow night.

So for everybody listening, uh it would be an I I went to this um uh they they had a one uh several years ago at uh UNCG.

Um and it was it was it was very informative and very interesting.

So uh for those of you who are looking for something to do tomorrow night at 7 o'clock.

Thank you.

Zach Hugh I just very just very briefly, I want to uh piggyback or hitchhike with my fellow council members about uh excuse me, about McConnell Ridge and the housing opportunities that are being provided and those price points and availability and the down payment assistance programs that they provide that are stackable with the other ones that we provide so that residents can uh find uh both attainability and affordability at the same time.

Uh several of us attended the 48th annual Native American uh powwow on September 19th, and as always it was an outstanding event, and uh I'll say that it was uh the first year that we didn't have council member former Mayor Pearl Tim uh Yvonne Johnson with us.

Um but it was a great event and uh was very well attended.

Uh I joined council member uh Mayor Pearl Tim Abuzawitter at the uh Purple Tree Lighting, and uh as always with domestic violence uh uh month, it's it's just important that we keep that at top of mind.

And um the uh Greensboro Fire Department Memorial Service always always uh with uh firefighters that we've lost in service or even out of service, um is always a very special um very telling event when that bell tolls for those officers, and um and then also with uh be celebrating with Councilmember Pender is the greatest homecoming on earth.

Um hard for me to say that, but it's it's the truth.

Uh I am not a graduate of North Carolina AT, but uh I have been to enough J Holes that I think that I'm in the honorary, a self-annointed honorary agony.

There might be some real aggies that have a problem with that, but self-anointed, honorary Aggie.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you.

Sharon.

Huh?

Uh Ditto.

I'm a I'm a I'm a self-annointed egg as well.

Everybody is sitting in Grace Rips from this month to the end of this month.

Um, but um I want to um first say um we had a great event on September 21.

We renamed Bimbo Park after Bob McAdoo, who is our native son, who is a five-time MVP and a Hall of Famer who last played with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Um so we had a great event, great turnout.

Community spirit was just unbelievable.

Um, and so really enjoyed that.

He was so honored.

Um brought him to tears in another arena we were talking, um, and he appreciated.

And it's great to do that when people are here with you.

And so he could see and hear and feel just how much we really appreciated him.

And it puts Greensboro on our map.

We got, you know, we've got MBA players and we've got football players and just so many sports mayor Vaughn and I sat and listened to Mr.

McAdoo list off several individuals who we just like, wow, they all came out of this community in the Bimbo area.

And it needs, we really need to craft some type of Greensboro History Museum needs to go and document this.

I mean, so there are people, like Cedric Maxwell, he was there, but I mean, there were other guys who cornbread, yeah.

Uh he was there as well.

But they Bob mentioned so many, and you're just sitting around looking like these guys grew up here with us.

Um, so that made our community really just more historic than it already is.

Um, so I was glad of that.

Um, then secondly, um, I was at McConnell Ridge with um my fellow council members, uh Boozer Wader, Pender, Durham, and Hugh.

Um, but even more special to me, it's in District One, and it's in East Greensboro, I'm gonna say it.

Um, and it's a beautiful community um out there, and it's it's a total of I believe I wrote it down here of how many houses it is 343 single family homes and 275 town homes at price points a little bit higher than I think you mentioned.

I took pictures of the stuff on the wall, but 260, 289, 320.

Um, and so that's attainable housing.

Um, and so it's gonna really offer young professionals and families somewhere safe to live.

There'll be a fire station built out there, probably.

Um, not sure the exact timeline, but it's right there.

There's a fire station that's gonna be built out there as well.

Um, so it's really a beautiful area out there, so we're excited that cut some ribbon.

Well worth cutting ribbon as well.

I also um want to say we had a water meeting, this color water meeting on September 30th.

Uh very engaging conversation, great couple of great suggestions, solutions came out of the meeting from um some of our community members.

So, Mr.

Davis, I hope you're starting to put that together because I think we it should be a priority.

Um, as so as you know, so um you have a plan to move forward.

Um, I think it was a very comprehensive meeting as well.

Somebody calling, I wish they stopped calling.

Um I also want to.

Oh, and those homes, uh, Mr.

Davis, make sure you're adding them to the road, the 10,000.

All right.

Um, I do want to ask you quickly, um, with the road to 10,000, how are we um factoring in the rehabs?

How are we promoting that?

The rehabs and the renovation piece, because it it's not just brand new homes.

Yes, we we want all of them, but it's also those houses that need renovation.

And Miss Thurm, to your point about minimum housing, which I've been concerned about for a while, they stopped doing that, putting all those cases on because they were given guidance that minimum housing was only supposed to be about either upholding the inspector, and that's why many of these houses that I've brought pictures of are not being addressed because they're not getting to minimum housing, and they've had multiple code violations, but yet I'm having to wait for one to get to minimum housing before they can get it on the demolition list.

That house, half of the garage fell down by now.

When are we going to look out for the safety of the community, the neighborhood?

That house needs to come down.

But I have to be told I have to wait for it to get to minimum housing.

Gotta get it on the minimum housing.

Um, that's another 90 days at least.

So that was the instruction given to a previous minimum housing commission.

And one of my people that I had appointed to District One raised a lot of cane, and people didn't like him, but he made a lot of good points.

And he pushed the needle to get it done.

And when he was pushing the needle, they started pushing back.

So we need to really revisit that as well.

Because we got to rehab houses, knock them down, get houses built for people to have safe and affordable and attainable places to live.

I also would like for you all to do a review again of random and row.

Lights seem to be out there, and we need to really go back and up and down that corridor at night and identify those lights that are out and where spots are that need lighting.

Okay.

Because it it is dark and we and I know people are concerned about public safety.

So if we can go back and start do that.

Let's do that at night because you can't tell lights are out in the middle of the daytime.

So if we could do that, I know maybe that you may somebody may say I don't work at night.

But we gotta start looking at that.

Um even code enforcement.

We need some different schedule times to get some of this work done.

So if you can look at that, I'd appreciate it.

And then fine, I think that's it for me.

Other than other than don't forget, congratulations to the um hardest campaigning people have seen in a while, and um that we have a vote coming up.

So I encourage everybody to exercise your right to vote.

Thank you.

And bring your ID with you when you go to the polls.

Yes.

Um, Mr.

City Manager.

Really quickly, uh, one um ACM Davis and I are working really hard uh to give you a reply so you will have an update uh on the insurance conversation.

I thought it was a really great conversation uh to Councilmember Thaney's point.

I know this is something we needed in the work session, but I do really appreciate you all and your responses and your feedback.

The other portion you you got a message earlier from ACM McCray.

Uh, thank you all for allowing us to push the road to 10K forward.

It really has opened up the world as it relates to housing.

Uh, we've introduced a number of conversations, built relationships.

So tomorrow morning, ACM McCray uh and April Albright and will lead uh a uh a roadshow conversation, it will be a panel discussion geared toward developers and builders.

We're really excited about this opportunity so that we can continue to build out Councilwoman Hot Tower to your point you just made.

Um rehab is a big part of that.

Like I I had my I had my my um my draft up uh to look at the website because we're over 2100 houses just since March.

And I want to say thank you to you all as counsel for that.

But it's not just about a number, it is about growing and building the houses the right way, and the rehab is a part of that.

Uh and lastly, uh we are very excited.

Thank you.

The mayor introduced Tori Frank, uh, who is our new clerk.

She's come in very nicely.

Uh, we're really excited about her being here.

I'm just trying to figure out when I walk down the hall and say Tori, uh, both of them answer right now, so I gotta figure out some names for them.

Uh but we're really excited about her being on the team.

Uh, we're gonna give her a couple months and then we're gonna tell her like these are some things we need.

But uh no, thank you all, counsel tonight, and we really appreciate you.

Yes.

Um Madam City Attorney, no motion to adjourn?

Yep.

Okay.

All in favor say aye.