Call this organizational meeting to order for the Wilmington City Council pursuant to the North Carolina General Statute One Sixty A Sixty Eight.

The City Council holds organizational meeting at the first regular meeting in December of each election year.

So we're here for this particular meeting, and at this time, I'd like to welcome Father Stephen Klunn of St.

Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

If you will please come forward to give our invocation.

Before I get started, I also like to recognize that we have several elected leaders here and former elected leaders here in our in our midst.

We have our chairman from the county commission, Mr.

Bill Ravenbark.

Bill, welcome and thank you for being here, as well as Commissioner Rob Zapple, who's also with us here this evening.

Rob, thank you for being here.

Also, our former city manager Tony Carter, I saw him somewhere in here.

He just came in, so welcome back.

Hey, Tony, there you go.

Good to have you back.

And of course, our former council member Ron Sparks, who's also here with us this evening.

Thank you for being here this night.

Oh, and Miss Stephanie Walker.

I didn't see you, Stephanie, at the very end.

Well, we always save the best for last.

What can I tell you?

Nothing personal to anybody else.

But um, tonight is obviously a very special evening for our community and for our city.

Um we have three new incoming, brand new council members that are going to be taking their seats here very shortly, and we have three great uh council members that are departing us.

Uh so it's a bittersweet moment.

Um, as I've got to know these people over the years, you can't help but to like them and love them.

And uh, we've uh had an opportunity to serve this community for a number of years together, and I believe we have accomplished a lot of great things.

Uh we've, I think, demonstrated that we've been able to work very well together and to demonstrate that uh we can take on the challenges of a growing region, a growing city uh with dignity and with respect for one another in our debate.

So I just want to say uh thank you all for serving.

But before we get started into the program, we'd like to introduce a small little video that we've put together for these uh three outgoing council members.

So Dylan, I don't know if who's handling all that.

Friends, colleagues, and citizens of Wilmington, tonight we mark the end of an era and express our profound gratitude to three remarkable individuals who have dedicated their time and talent to the service of this city.

It is with both respect and heartfelt thanks that we honor the service of council members of Luke Waddell, Clifford Barnett, and Charlie Ravenbaugh.

During their tenure, this council guided the city through significant challenges and presided over some of its most historic municipal achievements.

Let's start with the strategic purchase and establishment of our new city hall at Skyland Center.

This move consolidated 15 city departments under one roof, centralizing services into a single customer-focused location.

By acquiring this building at a significant savings compared to constructing a new facility, council ensure long-term operational efficiency while supporting the revitalization of Wilmington's Northern Downtown Corridor.

His leadership has been a driving force, particularly on the WMPO, where his advocacy was paramount in the ongoing challenges of securing funding to improve our transportation system.

Luke also sat on the board of the CFPUA during a time of major improvements to the water filtration system.

He served on the UNCW Board of Trustees, creating an essential connection between the city and the university.

Throughout his tenure, he is consistently focused on public safety, fiscal responsibility, and responsible growth and infrastructure.

And let me just say, if there was anybody that counted the paper clips and made certain that we were fiscally responsible, it was Luke Waddell.

Councilmember Clifford Barnett has served since 2017, helping to navigate our city through major challenges, including Hurricane Florence and the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on crisis leadership and community resilience.

He championed stronger resident recruitment for city boards, committees, and commissions to ensure responsible city growth, includes diverse voices.

Clifford has championed workforce housing at every step.

He also cast many votes toward the advancement of multi-use trails, park enhancements, and road improvements.

And I'll never forget watching him sink the first basket in the new MLK Center Gym.

His kind and generous spirit is contagious, and he brought a genuine sense of humanity to this dais.

Clifford Barnett is one of the finest human beings I've ever met.

We have had an opportunity to get to know each other over the years, long drives back and forth from Washington, D.C., and I have admired his leadership, not only to his church community, but to the city of Wilmington.

So thank you, Clifford, for everything that you have done for our community.

Finally, we recognize Councilmember Charlie Ravenbar, who has served this city for an extraordinary 24 years, making him a true fixture of our community for the better part of three decades.

He served in two distinct periods from 1993 to 2001, and again from 2009 to 2025.

I've had the pleasure of serving with Charlie since 2009.

Charlie helped set the tone for our downtown revitalization in the 1990s and was instrumental in the establishment of the Wilmington Tree Commission.

Upon his return to council in 2009, he made an infrastructure management a key priority serving on both the CAPUA board and the Lower Cape Fair Water and Sewer Authority.

In recent years, he played a central role in adopting the comprehensive plan and the land development code rewrite.

Efforts that emphasize neighborhood vitality, housing affordability, appropriate density, tree preservation, and improved bike and pedestrian safety.

Charlie has always been a consistent advocate for supporting law enforcement and ensuring that they have the tools and training needed to keep our community safe.

This city is better off because of Charlie Ravenbark.

And I also want to say Charlie gave me some great piece of advice many years ago.