[music] It is 7 o'clock on the dot. We will start our public comments and uh everybody three minutes each. You're going to you're going to give instructions. >> Good evening, uh mayor and council. I'm Ran Northam from the communications department. A happy new year to everyone who's joining us for the first public comment of the new year. uh want to we want everyone to have the chance to be heard when you step up to the mic. So, a few quick instructions when you do so. Uh take the time, please, to adjust the mic. So, it's uh just in front of you and address your comments over the microphone. If you turn your heads to either side, we will lose you not only here in the room, but also any of those who are listening uh watching from home. So, if you follow these uh quick instructions, we'll be able to hear you here and at home. And we thank you for your time. >> Right. Thank you. Teresa Williams. Hello committee. I'm here with a concerned about my uh concern about my neighborhood and my um uh subdivision. I live in Triion Place and they're building town homes behind us. about 104 new threestory town homes with uh twocar parking and an alley and street and they just notified us about this in October. But one of the neighbors expressed that she heard uh bulldozers in the summertime about uh with them uh uh tearing up for streets. My concern is that we don't know how tall these buildings are going to be um behind our homes and most of our windows um where we get sunlight and uh natural light in our homes uh in the back of or in the back of our homes and that's where the wooded area is. we would lose that light in our homes and we would also lose our peace I think and our safety. Um we love natural, we love the um the deer and all of the animals that that come through there and we know that they'll be gone once all of these houses uh town homes are built. Um we wouldn't mind if they built homes back there. uh because the homes would be more level and uh it would be nice if they would be affordable for us that are already in the community. Um but our our concern is that we don't know how tall these town homes are going to be. We don't know how close they'll be to our property, to our home, to our house, and um how this will affect our quality of life, the noise, the traffic. um this notice, we got the notice in October and it didn't tell us anything regarding that. And this is why I came today as a concerned community citizen. Um I've talked to other neighbors and they have expressed that instead of town homes, like we said, we need places to shop and restaurants that are closer. We have to travel at least 20 minutes just to go to the grocery store. Um, our neighbors indicated, one neighbor indicated that she heard the trucks back in the summertime, but like I said before, we didn't get the notice until October. Um, just this morning, I was sitting in my room and I heard a big boom and it was like something hit the side of the house. You could hear the shingles. Uh, there was a jarring and creaking and sound of siding shifting. And uh I we don't know how with all the construction what damage that would do to our structure. Um it's from Cyrus to Wall back >> you >> the mic's gone off because you um the three minutes but sounds like you've got a lot of questions and maybe staff needs to follow up. So if make sure just we have your contact information and we'll >> okay >> try to follow up. Thank you. >> All right. >> Horus Clemens. >> All right. I guess do you want to just distribute the Thank you. Uh I thank you for the opportunity to present my issue for your resolution and hope that the results are more positive than when I presented this same issue on August the 20th of 24. So I've provided you with the following information for your review and analysis. There it's a cover letter analysis of the current noise ordinance and its enforcability. and information on Pratt's history of how they respond to ordinance violations. So, it's my analysis and I'd like for your attorneys to verify if I'm correct that you have the ability to stop Pratt from making the noise or for making noise outside of the hours. So quite frequently they operate past 11 o'clock and operate before 7 o'clock. So and if you look at the history Pratt has a tendency to just pay fines and keep doing the violations that they're finding for. I heard a joke today that said somebody asked a business a businessman asked the lawyer that if I do these things that the ordinance says I can't do are they illegal? He said yeah they're illegal. Well, what'll happen to me? Well, you'll be fined. He said, "Okay, so you're telling me they're legal as long as I pay the fine." That's the way you guys operate. I'm sorry, but in 24 I was here about this problem and it continues. >> So, you have any comment for me? >> Appreciate this. And we um I think you also sent an email, right? So, we've got that information and we'll follow up with staff. >> Okay. But I mean, it's enforcable. It it but by enforcing it means you shut them down and that takes courage and conviction. So I hope that you will use the tools that you have and make them start stop operating past hours or before hours. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Octavia Rainey. >> Good evening. I'm here to discuss a problem that has really bothered me. On the corner of State Street and Oakwood Avenue, the builder is building town houses there at $600,000. That part don't bother me. But when you name it, the view of Oakwood, I got a problem because you are not going to go up in Oakwood and build anything the view of Ottawa. Now, when I did talk to the developer, he was nasty. He hung up in my face. But you know what? That don't bother me because see, I'm used to people being nasty with me. So, I don't care because I don't have an attitude. I have maturity. But you know what? I'm going to deal with him now. I'm through with my holidays and I'm calling the press conference and I'm calling him out and I'm asking him to come to the press conference because you happen to be a developer with an ego. That was nothing but a ego and money. But there's something wrong with naming it the view of Oakwood. It's disrespectful. And as a black person, I hate that with a passion. I hate it. So, I'm gonna deal with that just because they're building in 14 states. I could care less. My experience for 50 years is in fair housing and I have worked in near about every state and I am investigating 10 black states with them in it cuz I want to look at patterns. I've looked at all the development they done in this city and I'mma ride around and look at every last one of them. This is unacceptable to me to the city of Raleigh. You know, y'all got to do better with respecting boundaries in this city of Raleigh. In the planning department, I understood it. But let me say this to y'all, all of y'all. You tell the planning department, the next time I ask for information, don't serve my information up on no trash can lid. I don't like it. When I went to pick up my information, everything was there in folders, in jackets. minds were out there hanging out like a trash can lid. I don't appreciate it. You tell them they got to do better than that. I don't like that. But the problem I'm going to deal with that with my press conference and I'm starting my meeting at the church on racism. Now, at one time I thought the city had a better control over this, but y'all don't have a better control over this. He should have never been allowed regardless of their rules and regulations and they need to change. >> Thank you, Woody Biggs. Tonight I will talk about noise and crime. First, noise. A friend shared with me data from her statistics request from the city. From June 6 to June to September 30th, a 4mon period, there were 92 total noise complaints for Glennwood South. Total citations, zero. So 92 complaints, zero citations. If you want me to believe that can actually happen, I'll share the words of Judge Judy. Don't peel my leg and tell me it's raining. A new noise ordinance went into effect January 1st. Let's see what happens. There is little trust of RPD in the city with residents regarding noise enforcement. Now, crime. 4 days after I spoke about crime in October, we had 12 run rounds of gunfire and two people shot in Glennwood South. I moved to the Glenma South area over two decades ago and it was a nice area and a safe area and a fun place to live. Those days have long been over, particularly over the last few years. The norm is gunfire, shootings, assaults, fights, property damage, attempted breakins, home invasions, and murders in the Glenwood South and surrounding neighborhoods. What has the city done? put police cars and police at intersections down Glennwood and Glennwood South on Friday and Saturday nights from 1000 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. and at a cost to taxpayers of just under $1 million in 2024 alone per an RPD source of mine. While it has been helpful, this is not solving the underlying problem, but throwing money at a problem and putting a band-aid on it. As I said in October, Glennwood South and the surrounding neighborhoods are simply not safe. A neighbor of mine recently told me on his daytime, daily walks, he carries a gun. How many of you feel the need to carry a gun during a daytime walk in your neighborhood? I wonder if the city's desire for tax revenue from alcohol sales accounts for your inaction. Under your watch, Glennwood South has deteriorated and become a dangerous cesspool and whose problems spread to surrounding neighborhoods. You have failed the residents of Raleigh. >> Thank you. Kevin Kang, is Kevin here? Okay. Hannity Ali not here. Okay. Uh, MSA Sultari. Good evening everybody. We must look inward because what happens abroad does not stay abroad. There are documented partnership exchanges and training relationship between the US law enforcement agencies and Israel dipar forces. These programs are dressed up as counterterrorism and security corporations. But let's stop pretending we we don't know what really means. It means importing tactics rooting in surveillance and it means as well racial profiling, collective punishment and the control of civilian populations. When these taxes are normalized, they do not stay overseas. They come home. We see it clearly escalating, militarizing with ICE. We see it in aggressive raids, mass surveillance, family separation, and enforcement actions that treat entire communities as enemies rather than human beings. When law enforcement is trained to dominate instead of to protection, violence is no longer an accident. It's an outcome. Renee Good is dead. Keith Porter is dead. The these are humans. They have lost under this system has been allowed to operate without a real oversight, without accountability, and without restraint. And yet, where is the leadership? I want to thank you, Council Member Christina Jones, for always speaking up and talking about the people of the United States. If Gaza had taught the world anything is this security without humanity is not security. It's state violence. When international law is shredd abroad when civilians are collectively punished, starved and bombed with full political cover. It teaches governments that power comes before people. I supposed to be to be operating under the US constitution, not mirror practices shaped by decades of military occupation. When our government normalized brutality abroad, it should not be shocked when brutality shows up at home. This is what why Gaza matter to us. This is why international law matters. And this is why unchecked alliances that ignore human rights will always correct that trains with oppression, funds oppression and excuse oppression should not be surprised when oppression becomes its own reflection. The question is very simple. who will continue to stay south. Thank you. Elizabeth Scott. Good evening everyone. and my name is Elizabeth Scott and I'm deeply troubled by the false claims being made in connection with the Big Branch Greenway connector project. First, city staff have repeatedly claimed that this connector project was identified as a priority in the 1976 and 1989 greenway master plans. That is absolutely false. These documents do not mention the big a big branch greenway connector project. Further, had the 1986 city council considered running a greenway through Anderson Forest to be a priority, the city council would not have agreed to an easement specifically for h prohibiting greenway construction through Anderson Forest. Second, parks and recck touts that 143 single family homes are within 100 ft of the greenway, but I ask you, how many of those homeowners purchase their property pursuant to a city accepted easement that explicitly forbids greenway construction through their yards. Third, let's be clear. The Parks and Recreation Greenway Advisory Board voted 6 to3 against running a greenway through Anderson Forest. Please watch the October 16 advisory board meeting deliberations and the actual vote itself. Fourth, city staff have claimed that there was overwhelming public support for routing a greenway through Anderson Forest backyards. They failed to mention that 49% of the phase one survey response uh respondents voted for a street side option down Belvin with the highest streamside uh vote or option got garnering only 24%. Both surveys were non-statistical contain misleading information and the phase 2 survey contained deceptive in images. Even some of your own parks advisory board members found the phase 2 survey to be deceptive. Again, watch that October 16 meeting and listen to their comments for yourself. At best, the phase 2 vote represents less than.3% of Raleigh's population. That, ladies and gentlemen, is not overwhelming support. And finally, votes garnered through misleading images, inaccurate information is nothing more than public manipulation. It should not be tolerated and should not be allowed to masquerade as public engagement. Thank you. >> Thank you, >> Liliana Maren. Good evening. Thank you for your opportunity to speak tonight and for your ongoing commitment to protect the health and the well-being of our community. My name is Liliana Marin. I'm the community impact director for the American Heart Association here in the Triangle. Given my role, I work with families, clinics, hospitals, and organizations across the triangle. And my focus areas are public health and community development. I'm here today because clean, safe air is an issue that deeply impacts all of us. The places we share should be environments that support our health, not compromise it. Eliminating smoking and vaping in public places is a powerful step towards that vision. For many exposure unfortunately is unavoidable. And for those with asthma, heart disease, and other chronic medical conditions, this can be extremely dangerous. This is where your leadership matters. Policies like smoke and vape-free public spaces don't punish individuals, they protect the collective. They set a standard that says in Wake County, health comes first. These policies also shift norms. When we create environments that reduce tobacco exposure, we encourage prevention, we support cessation, and we send a clear message to our youth that says that here in Wake County, we stand for what is right. Communities across North Carolina and the nation have already demonstrated that these policies work and that they're widely supported once they're implemented. If we ask our elders why they smoked, they will tell you that they didn't know it was dangerous. They had no data, no research. But I have great news for everyone in this room listening. Our generation has extensive data and research that labels this products extremely dangerous. According to the American Heart Association, secondhand smoke causes more than 34,000 deaths um from heart disease across the US. And there is no safe level of exposure. You are in a position to create change. By taking action, you can reduce preventable diseases. You can reduce healthcare cost and create cleaner, saf safer public spaces for everyone, not only today, but for generations to come. I urge you to pass the updated ordinance language that will be shared next week showing that our city's leaders continue to prioritize clean, healthy indoor air. I believe that I have the right people at the table to do things right. So allow me to get ahead of myself. I'm going to thank every one of you for your leadership and your continued support to protect the health of our community. Thank you. >> Thank you. Mona Maslong, members of the Raleigh City Council, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Mona Mazloom and I am speaking on behalf of the American Heart Association as a volunteer and public health professional. First, I want to thank all of you for your unanimous vote to move forward with drafting an updated smoke-free air ordinance. This action shows the council's continued dedication to improving the health and safety of Raleigh's nearly 500,000 residents. Next week, the council will be presented with the updated ordinance language, and I respectfully urge you to vote in favor of this draft. Over the past few months, you've heard from parents, students, and young adults like myself during public comment. Their message has been clear and consistent. Raleigh must act to protect residents from the well-documented harms of secondhand smoke and aerosol. There is no safe level of exposure. Secondhand smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, hundreds of which are toxic and known to cause cancer. Aerosol from ecigarettes is not harmless water vapor. It contains ultrafine particles, heavy metals, and nicotine that can be inhaled deep into the lungs. Protection from secondhand smoke is imperative. Just 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke can cause irreversible damage to bystanders. Children are especially vulnerable when smoking or vaping is allowed in public spaces. Children, workers, and families have no choice but to breathe in the harmful substances. Additionally, permitting indoor smoking and vaping sends the message that smoking is socially acceptable, particularly to impressionable young people who may frequent these venues. It's essential to create environments that promote healthier lifestyles and discourage behaviors that contribute to preventable diseases. Passing a robust smoke and aerosol-free ordinance is a proven effective way to promote public health. Again, I urge you to support the final passage of this ordinance and ensure that all who live, work, and visit Raleigh can breathe clean, healthy air. Thank you so much for your time and consideration. >> Thank you, >> Alexis Kennedy. Okay. Mama Sanders. Good evening, y'all. It's another amazing day in paradise. Thank you guys so much for your service. Happy new year to each one of you. Um I hope you all had safe celebrations. We um Wisdom and I have had an interesting introduction to the new year. Um just this past weekend we actually attended two memorial services. One was for an older lady who had passed. She had lived to um see her grand her great grands um several of them be born. She was 102. And um but the other one was somebody who you all might be familiar with because she served the city. She was a graduate of Raleigh Neighborhood College and the Citizens Leadership Academy. In fact, she was in Citizens Leadership Academy with me. Um [clears throat] you might know her as um Suzanne Leah Martin. Um, she committed suicide in the day before she was supposed to graduate from Hope Renovations last year. She took her life on July 30th. and um her mom, her parents, well her mom especially decided that it would be better to wait to hold a memorial service after they went through all the things that they needed to handle um in order to be able to really represent. And so it was a beautiful service, a beautiful memorial. Um, she apparently loved crows. So, mom gave out bags of crow feed and asked for people to to feed the crows and gave out little crows just to remember um her buy. But um the reason why I'm bringing this up is because um Suzanne lived in a condo and while we're busy developing density, what is missing is that we're not intentionally creating community. And community is what is needed because there are other people who are like Suzanne out there that we don't know who aren't showing up in places. And whoever knew Suzanne knew that she was ready to give a smile and a hug. She served as a secretary on one of the commissions, one of our city commissions, but none of us knew that she was so had lost so much hope that she would take her own life. And it was because she had lost her job and she couldn't get the help she needed and she finally just lost hope. And so we don't know what people are going through. And so we need to figure out how to be more intentional because creating developing density does not automatically create community. And if you ask Patrick Young, he will tell you it'll take decades. So please keep that in mind. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Uma Ka Good evening. My name is Uma Kuncha and I'm a junior at Broen High School. Thank you for the opportunity to speak and for considering 100% tobaccof free and vape free policy. Over the past few years, I have witnessed numerous peers fall victim to substance use. As a student, I find the glorification of vaping and tobacco use alarming, especially amongst my own peers. Due to the lack of education surrounding vaping and its effects, many students adopt a dismissive mindset towards its risks. When in reality, vaping as vaping can cause long-term addiction and serious health consequences. The prevalence of vaping among students in bathrooms led to administration making the decision to close down the majority of bathrooms in my school. Today, I continue to walk through the hallways and see open bathrooms crowded full of students vaping still. This is frustrating and unsettling. A safe space that was once used by so many students has been taken away and has become something we are forced to avoid. From a different perspective, safe environments play a crucial ro role in the everyday lives of all. Younger children deserve the opportunity to play in public spaces without being exposed to vaping or secondhand smoke. The more exposure they have, the more likely they are to become desensitized to substance use, and the more likely they are to begin using at a young age. Addiction can quickly take a toll on someone's life, negatively impacting school, relationships, and the future. This policy creates opportunity for prevention and positive change amongst youth and can help promote healthier environments that truly make a difference. Enacting a tobaccof free and vape free policy will help support a healthy a healthy lifestyle, one that children, youth, and families deserve. Thank you for your leadership and consideration on this vote. >> Thank you. Anvi Matur. Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak with you this evening. As a student who's grown up and attended Raleigh schools my whole life, I want to show my support for the 100% updated comprehensive tobaccof free ordinance. My name is Envy Murther and I'm a student at Enllo Magnet High School. As a student, I have witnessed the rapid increase accessibility and glorification of tobacco and nicotine products. I attended middle school near Moore Square, a public park at the heart of downtown Raleigh. Every single day before and after school, I would pass by people vaping and smoking in these public spaces. The more youth see them, the more sensitized they become to their presence. The more that youth are exposed to and observe the usage of these products, the less scared they are, increasing their likelihood of using nicotine and becoming addicted. The younger someone is when they try vaping or smoking, the more likely they are to become addicted. 95% of people who are addicted to nicotine began using before the age of 21. And some users start as young as age 9 or 10. We must limit this visual presence. This normalization promotes youth experimentation and can lead them on a pathway of lifelong addiction. 69.9% of young people who currently use ecigarettes want to use one within an hour of waking up. And 19.4% of those people want to use one within 5 minutes of waking up. That shows you just how strong this dependency is. By implementing this Raleigh tobacco and vapefree ordinance, you are limiting youth exposure and in turn its normalization. Tobaccof free ordinances help to reduce early initiation and rates of youth addiction. This ordinance not only helps prevent early initiation, but it also promotes cessation. Having this ordinance helps those who want to quit and are on the pathway to recovery by reducing visual reminders of the products and the triggers of the smells. Thank you for supporting the 100% tobaccof free ordinance and thank you for all your efforts to make our community healthier and safer for the youth of Raleigh. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, >> Sarah Cuadri. Hi, good evening. Um, I want to just thank um, city council, mayor, and everyone here and residents at home for allowing us to have these three minutes. Um, sadly, we've had our timing cut short at many times, so it's sad to see less engagement, but we get our full minutes. I'd rather have it all at all times. Um, and segue on our voices being spoken. Sadly, it's being cut short with the fear that is within our communities, especially what's happening around the nation. Um, ICE was within our city. I would like to see what our city can do to ensure the safety of residents if future situations happen and especially within our school communities. The school board president said they hadn't, but my children's schools had seen officers on campus. And this is jarring to see that the people that are in power are not protecting our communities. And instead of waiting for, god forbid, a resident to be shot in the face that we've seen in other communities, we need to proactively help our own community members the best way we can. So, I would urge city council and the mayor office to come together to figure out what we can do to help in these situations before it happens. And um at the end of this month, January 30th 31st, the Almo Draft House Cinema will be playing the voice of Hend Rajab, a 5-year-old girl who was within 6 seconds 64 gunshots were placed in her and that went with our tax dollars. Things like this haunt me. Hearing that recording haunts me. I'm not sure if I'll be able to go see it, but um if you can, I think we need to hold on to our humanity cuz we're losing hope with that. And with Dr. King's birthday coming up on the 15th and his message with not just I have a dream, but also with what he talked about war and militarism and working together with communities, his message with Vietnam, where are we? Like sometimes I feel like I'm working waking up in a Twilight Zone episode. Like there's our government is everywhere. And yes, it's hard to make our government listen, but if we work together, every community such as Raleigh and others, we all make bigger voice, we can stop this insanity that's happening. What are we going to tell our children? What are we going to do? Like everyone said, it's okay. It's a law. But when laws are meant to hurt people, that are harming people that are killing citizens in our streets and are scaring our children, what can we do? And as local governments, we can do something. We can make a stand. So I urge you guys know what you guys can do within your space, but do more. Speak up more. And we have election frauds and things happening. I don't know if you've heard of our state election board when it passed. Thank you, >> Pam. Van Mden. >> Good evening, mayor and city council members. My name is Pam Vanmden, and I have proudly called the North Hills area of Raleigh home for more than six decades. Yes, over 60 years. I'm one of those rare Raleigh locals who has watched the city grow from a quiet community and into the vibrant, dynamic place it is today. Before anything else, I want to thank you for your service, all of you. I know the issues that you face are complex and affect the people of Raleigh personally, physically, and financially. You carry a tremendous responsibility, and I appreciate the time and care that you give to the decisions that you make. I'm here tonight because the future of Midtown is at a critical moment. With so much at stake, I believe it's important that the public has more than just 12 minutes to speak. When the direction of an entire district and the character of its surrounding neighborhoods hangs in the balance, our community deserves the opportunity to be fully heard. One of the things that makes the moment so significant is the potential impact on the neighborhoods that border Midtown. Tall buildings placed directly besides longestablished homes will permanently change the environment from privacy to sunlight to the feel of the streets themselves. Preserving the character of these neighborhoods matters. Once it's gone, it is gone. That's why the Midtown Area Plan was created in the first place. It was one of the most successful community engagement efforts Raleigh has ever undertaken. More than 1,000 residents participated and the city invested over $250,000 to get it right. The level of involvement reflects how deeply people care about this area. When a plan is built with that much community input, it deserves to be respected, not disregarded. We don't have to look very far to see what responsible growth can look at look like. North Hills East. It's a perfect example. More than 20 buildings, tall, dense, and vibrant. They're all placed within the core of the development, intentionally set away from lowdensity neighborhoods. The thoughtful placement protects existing homes while still allowing for economic energy and urban design. And if anyone doubts the environmental impacts of tall buildings, I encourage them to take a simple walk. Start at Front Street, walk towards Dartmouth, the two roads that exit to Six Forks between Capitol Grill and AC Hotel. It's always windier, shadier, and noticeably cooler there because of the canyon effect created by the tall buildings. That's not theory. It's reality. I believe Raleigh can grow and must grow. Thank you, >> Robera Stevie. Good evening. I'm a newbie to Raleigh. I've only been here 20 years and I'm a resident of North [clears throat] Hills and I've recently been learning the the ropes of trying to get involved more with city council and with the processes that you know y'all work so hard to to get going for us. But I do think there's some things you can do to streamline um things that'll make it more user friendly as I've experienced just trying to walk through things just like speaking tonight. Um it was it was took me a while to go through it because the directions on the website are incorrect and many links to the forms that you advertise don't work. So, I had to go old school and call the department and they explain the directions to me which are you go to the city website, then you have to type in city clerk and then you have to hunt for public comment and you scroll through several pages before being able to l link find a link to the correct date which you may or may not know because there's so many varieties of meetings and then you finally get to sign in and these directions are not provided anywhere. And I think there's a lot you could do with getting someone to make that more user friendly with voter turnout being very low in this area. It would be better if there was more transparency and more communication. The people that do come, which I witnessed at another meeting, um if you take more than two minutes above the time allocated for your group, you get escorted out of the building. And that's not encouraging people to participate, which is really what we want. scheduling meetings for developers at their convenience in their building and blocking out the media that doesn't encourage public participation. I appreciate a lot of the work that's happened since I've been here in North Hills area and I was really happy with the comprehensive plan. When I was following through on looking at it back in the day, um I was shocked at how much they expected Raleigh to grow, but I felt like, okay, I can I can age in place. I can watch this density and there's going to be housing for everybody and this the buildings aren't going to be crazy. So, I felt like I would be comfortable and especially knowing that they were going to upgrade the infrastructure and improve Six Forks Road and apparently that's not happening and yet we're adding people to just severe congestion. The fact that the comprehensive plan was dismissed by previous councils is frustrating. And as Pam mentioned, the money spent and the fact that a thousand people gave their time and then this is just being swept under the carpet, you know, really gives me pause. I feel like, you know, we need to look at the people that are here and maybe take a a little bit step back from always working around what the developer wants. I mean, it's not that you have to give them everything. You don't have to give them anything. What you owe your attention to is the people paying their taxes here. getting uh benefits was supposed to be a part of the process when you're adding a change. >> Thank you. >> Manib such good evening council members. I want to be begin by thanking you for the vote you took last week to move the smoke-free ordinance forward. As a student living in the Raleigh area, it meant a lot to see our city take that step because our city requires a more comprehensive tobacco and vapefree ordinance. [clears throat] My name is Mansipo. I'm a junior at Green Hope High School and I'm here tonight because I wanted to share what this decision looks like from my perspective as a student growing up in this community. On my school bus, there was a student who openly sold vapes to other kids. It wasn't hidden or secretive. People knew who to go to, how much it cost, and when to ask. It was talked about casually, almost like trading cards or candy. What struck me most wasn't just that it was happening. It was how normal it felt to the other students. There wasn't any shock or hesitation. It blended into the background of everyday life. That sense of normaly doesn't come out of nowhere. According to the CDC, over two million middle and high school students in the United States currently use ecigarettes. When I saw what was happening on my bus, this number stopped feeling like an abstract statistic and felt something more real. As a teenager, you're not always thinking about long-term consequences. You're thinking about fitting in, curiosity, and what feels socially acceptable. When tobacco and vaping are visible and common in public places, it lowers the barrier for experimentation. It quietly sends the message that this is a part of growing up. Most people who use nicotine start before the age of 18, often much earlier. That's why the environments youth grow up in matter so much. The signals we absorb from our surroundings shape our choices long before we fully understand the risks. From my perspective, this ordinance is more than just regulation. It's about changing what feels normal for the next generation. It helps draw a clearer line and reinforces that nicotine products are not a harmless or expected part of youth culture. When you vote on this ordinance, I hope you think about the students like me who see these effects early on buses, in parks, and in public places long before addiction shows up in data or headlines. Your decision has the power to shape the environment we grow up in and the standards we internalize. Thank you again for your leadership and for considering the voices of the youth who live with the outcome of this vote. >> Thank you. >> Appreciate all the high schoolers and public students coming. Thank you. Um Robert Hubband. [clears throat] >> Good evening. In November, I read council quotes by several members of your parks, recreation, and greenway advisory board that called out the city for its use of misleading photoshopped images of the big branch streamway option and bias in in its public presentation and surveys. Putting its foot on the scale of public input was wrong. Recognizing this public survey bias was just one of the many reasons your advisory board voted not to support staff recommendations for greenway through Anderson Forest. Director Bentley continued the subtrafuge in his PowerPoint presentation and comments to council prior to your vote. Even with the city's bias, the public ser both public surveys showed strong support for street side route. In the first survey, 49% of respondents favored a streetside route and only 24% voted for the staff recommended route. The city tossed these results and doubled down. Even so, in the second survey, 38% of people favored a street side route. Recently, the city completed a 1 half mile long street and sidewalk connector leading to the Crabtree Creek Greenway along the side of Oxford Road in Fallon Park. This is a very heavily used greenway connector near Our Lady of Lord School and Church. The city narrowed the width of Oxford Road and installed safety railing. Instead of constructing street side, the city could have chosen to run a greenway stream side along Oxford Branch within Fallon Park, thereby creating a more scenic and natural greenway carter and one far more greenway like than Anderson Forest backyards. To be clear, I think the city made the right decision about Fallon Park, even though the street side route along Oxford Road does not meet greenway evaluation criteria. I would like to know, however, how this heavily used street and sidewalk connector adequately serves thousands of Raleigh citizens, but using a similar street and sidewalk connector for much shorter distance rather than condemn Anderson Forest backyards is not acceptable. After all, Raleigh already has many miles of streetside greenway. I will also point out that a street and sidewalk connector from Six Forks Road to Wake Town Drive could be constructed on existing city property for approximately onetenth of the many millions the city is apparently willing to spend to condemn a conservation easement in private property and construct a backyard greenway. I urge council to reconsider $600,000 or over $6 million to achieve the same purpose. Which one would Raleigh taxpayers prefer? I think you know. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Well, that concludes the list of speakers for tonight and without further ado, we are adjourned. [music]