Bring this meeting to order.

Obviously, we have two presentations.

We have one from the annual report from Kenneth Waldrup tomorrow, and an update on the shelter strategy.

Consent agenda C1 is the approval of the minutes.

C2 is a resolution amending the established 2026 schedule of council meetings.

C three is a resolution authorizing city manager to enter into an agreement to purchase firefighting gear from North America Fire Equipment Company, Incorporated of Decatur, Alabama for twenty ninety-two thousand one hundred and seventeen dollars.

C4 is a resolution establishing the City of Wilmington Housing Affordability Advisory Committee and By Laws.

C5 is a resolution authorizing the award of a supplemental contract to WSP USA Incorporated in the amount of 384,000 602 dollars for professional engineering services for phase one design of the downtown trail.

And I do have a question, and I I know Tom, you're out there.

Um I thought this thing was further along than the phase one.

I thought that we had who who's yeah, Abby's here.

Abby, can you kind of give us an update as to where we are?

I thought that the design on this thing was Yeah, so good morning.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Um so the project currently the design plans stand.

We are expecting 60 percent design plans at the end of February.

Um this supplemental contract is for um sixty percent through a hundred percent of the design.

Um after two and a half years of coordination with our railroad partners, um, there were some additional design elements identified that had not been originally scoped.

Um, so the remaining uh money has been used to get us to 60 percent, and then this supplemental contract will get us through 100 percent design, which is anticipated by the end of this year.

By the end of this year, okay.

Then I I know it's all comes down to being able to allocate money to do this to do it, whether we do it in phases or we do it all at one time.

Would we then go out and kind of start a bidding process just to kind of get an idea?

Would this design stay in place for so this will get us to 100 percent design plans?

Um, the next steps will be uh determining a funding source for uh right-away utilities and construction.

But once that design is set, we don't have to go back out and design it again.

Right, correct.

We'll be at 100 percent design.

Okay, and then we can keep that design in place until we find monies at some point in time, whether it be in a year, five years or whatever the case may be.

Basically, pretty much, yeah.

Pretty much, okay.

All right.

Any other questions?

Okay, thank you, Abby.

Thank you.

Okay, C6 is a resolution to exchange um a roadway responsibilities with the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Then we have public information, public hearings, pH one is an ordinance amending the land development code chapter 18 to modify dimensional and building orientation standards within the R3 medium high density mixed residential zoning districts.

Then 01 is an ordinance making supplemental appropriations in the amount of four million seventy-one thousand six hundred and seventy dollars from the sell of surplus property to fund lease back costs and paid debt services on the skyline center.

And then item two A is a resolution authorizing city manager to enter into a supplemental agreement with NC DOT to receive additional funding for the milling and resurfacing of Dawson Street and Wooster Street from Third Street to 17th Street, and then O2B is the ordinance making a supplemental appropriations in the amount of 254,000 from NC DOT to the streets and sidewalks capital projects fund for the milling and resurfacing of Dawson Street and Wooster Street from Third Street to 17th Street.

And then resolutions R1 is a resolution to support the North Carolina Department of Transportation South 16th Street Lane Reduction from Castle through Queen Street, and then R2 is a resolution.

Yes, sir.

I'm sorry, Mayor Pretend.

I had a question about R1.

Um, yeah, Dennis.

Well, how did how did this come about to just um yeah, how did it come about?

We've gotten a lot of requests from uh residents in the area and the business owners in that area about feeling uncomfortable crossing 16th Street um in the vicinity of Queen Street primarily.

Um there's there's three travel lanes there now, and it's very heavily traveled in the peak hours.

So um the thought was to implement the curb extensions that we've been um doing around town to reduce the number of travel lanes, reduce the ped crossing distance um just to make it safer in general for the area.

Right, but I mean when you when you look at it, and like you said, that 16th and 17th Street have had three lanes as far back as I can remember.

three travel lanes there now and it's very heavily traveled um in the peak hours so um the thought was to implement the curb extensions that we've been um doing around town to reduce the number of travel lanes reduce the ped crossing distance um just to make it safer in general for the area right but i mean when you when you look at it and like you said that 16th and 17th street have had three lanes as far back as I can remember and I I mean just how do we get the public on board with going from flying three lanes to once you get to Queen and then Castle which I mean you have to slow down before you get to Queen this just merging into two lanes well currently 16th Street all the way from Gray Street um is two lanes until you get to Queen Street at Queen Street is when it widens out or when you get the castle it widens out.

So we're extending the two lane section just by one more block.

We're we're removing so coming going towards the hospital.

Correct right okay but yeah I got you so 17th Street's not changing at all it's gonna be three lanes a single lane will drop on Wooster as it does now and then 17th becomes two lanes north of Wooster.

So nothing's changing on 17th Street just 16th street's being reduced for one block.

Okay so what how how we gone about disseminating this information that have it's dependent upon us but have we checked the posts of others in the community about it it's a DOT project um they asked for concurrence from the city um to support this pedestrian essentially it's a pedestrian safety project in the area okay thank you yep and then R2 which is the last item which is a resolution opposing independence boulevard extension just question I I know that we've been talking about this thing for my God uh 10 years eight years um is this finally putting it to bed once and for all so good morning uh mayor mayor per time members of council so at this point the state has issued a draft environmental impact statement for the project so this resolution would be providing comments to them opposing continuing on further with the project how the state responds to that um I cannot tell you but this is something that if we think we believe the city taking this step to to make this resolution and put it forward to say that the city is not in favor of this project moving forward is a statement they will have to take into account and address before they issue a final environmental impact statement.

Okay all right thank you wait then the isn't the the comment section for uh submittal to NC DOT about this project does that close today no I believe it closes mid-January so what when if you do approve the resolution tomorrow night we will then submit that resolution to the to the state dot okay thank you and I mean this may be more for the mayor pro tem um in respect to extending or four laning from the railroad track there on independence to Market Street that's where bottlenecks right now where it kind of stops there is there been any discussion with the NC DOT about four laning that we're adding two more lanes to that road so they had a lot of options like like several options as to what they would do and um there was impact from pretty much independence all the way to MLK but there was less of an impact where where you're talking about as far as families losing their homes and things of that nature but I I didn't look at every option that they had at that um because that seems community meeting that seems to be at independence where it kind of bottlenecks when you get over the railroad track and it reduces down to two lanes and you got a tremendous amount of traffic going up to market making either a left or making a right that to me would seem like to be the most logical step is if you're gonna make any improvements that would be the section there because there's more businesses there than anything.

But then also uh you would have to look at some of the um items that we passed last year as far as development that'll take place there too so it's kind of yeah on both sides of the road okay all right thank you okay anybody else all right city um manager miss hall thank you mr mayor uh mayor part time members of council we do not have any presentations this morning and so um we are concluded with the agenda briefing okay and I do know that we have a committee meeting right after this meeting so if there's another else then no we're gonna stand adjourn.

Okay with that we stand adjourned