[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Hey hey hey. [Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] N. Heat. Heat. [Music] N. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Hello. [Music] [Music] Hey hey hey. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] us this afternoon for the Charlotte City Council business meeting. and we're welcome and glad that you are all here today. So, I want to start off with introductions of the council members and we'll start with Miss Mayfield. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Lana Mayfield, council member at large. Edwin Peacock, District 6. Yay. Ed Drake, District 7. Now, District 2. By LA, Mayor Marcus Jones, city manager. Good evening. Renee Johnson, and I'm honored to represent District 4. All right. Good evening. Marjorie Molina, District 5. Thank you very much. Anthony Fox, interim city attorney. Stephanie Kelly, city clerk. Good evening. Victoria Watlington at large. Right. Thank you. So, we have one item that we're really proud to um have today, and that is the formal introduction to the Charlotte City Council by Edwin Peacock. So, Mr. Peacock, if you would like to join me in the front and have your beautiful wife and daughter join you as well. We'll go ahead and get this open box. Those are all yours. This is something that I think when we try to give this much service to our community and we're just so glad we have everyone joining us but we do have to and so I am going to go through the office and if you want your hand on your Bible repeat after me I Edwin the I do solemnly swear that I will support I do solemnly swear the Constitution of the United States that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance faithful bear true [Music] state powers and authorities which are already established government or the government thereof. And that I will endeavor I will endeavor support maintain and the constitution [Music] not inconsistent not inconsistent with the constitution with the constitution of the United States of the United States and that I believe in my office member of the city of North Carolina to the best of my knowledge. [Music] Ladies and gentlemen, it's an honor to be with you and to be appointed by this mayor and this city council. It's been 14 years since I finished this very ser from 2007 to 2011 with distinction and it's great to be back. Madame mayor, I would like to introduce the most important individuals in my life right now, which are my wife Amy Peacock and my daughter Avery. Avery Thank our our public servants, but you really should be thanking your spouses and their significant others for the sacrifice that they make. So, honor. Thank you. Please be seated. All right. Okay. Um we have Okay. So today today um we have our invocation that we have um that's for us to um join as a group and to work together in a way that's important for this community and what we try to achieve. And so we begin this meeting with an invocation for us and we'll be following this with a pledge of allegiance. Um, and tonight today we're going to ask Council Member Graham to give us our invocation. Mr. Graham. Thank you. May you bow your heads, please? Gracious and loving God, as we gather here tonight, we come with humble hearts, mindful of the challenges and uncertainties our city and council have faced in recent weeks. We ask for your guidance and wisdom as we seek to serve the greater Charlotte community with integrity and compassion. Grant us the courage to be transparent in our actions and honest in our words so that trust may flourish among us and with those who we represent. Help us to work together in the spirit of unity and respect, setting aside personal difference for the greater good. May our decisions reflect deep commitment to justice and equality in the well-being of all who call Charlotte home. strengthen our resolve to serve selflessly, always mindful of the responsibility entrusted to us. We ask for your blessings on our city, our council, and all who work for a broader, more inclusive future. Guide us in the path of service, trust, and teamwork. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you very much, Minister Graham. Let's now if if you choose to stand for our pledge of allegiance, please do so. I pledge algiance 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. Thank you all. All right. Now, I'd like to re recommen I'd like to have M council member Molina represent a proclamation for us for today. Thank you so much, Madame Mayor. Um, so tonight's proclamation uh reads as follows. Whereas Jewish American Heritage Month is celebrated annually in May to honor the generations of Jewish Americans who have contributed to the history and culture of our nation. They have been an integral part of Charlotte's vibrant history with the first Jewish settlers arriving in the 1870s and establishing a lasting presence that continues to enrich the city today. And whereas Jewish Americans have made significant contributions to Charlotte's economic development through entrepreneurship, business leadership, and innovation, playing a key role in building a thriving local economy. And whereas the Jewish community has enriched Charlotte's arts and culture, supporting institutions, artists, and e and events that celebrate creativity and foster cross-cultural appreciation. They have shaped education in Charlotte by advocating for highquality education for all, establishing schools and scholarships, and serving as educators and mentors who inspire the next generation. And whereas Jewish Americans have honorably served in the United States military, demonstrating courage, patriotism, and a commitment to protecting the freedoms we hold dear. Jewish physicians, researchers, and health care professionals have made critical contributions to medicine and health care in Charlotte, improving lives and in advancing the well-being of our entire community. And whereas the Jewish community in Charlotte has established cultural institutions, synagogues, and and organizations that have enriched the city's religious, social, and cultural fabric while educating and serving the public, fostering dialogue and mutual understanding among groups, and promoting a welcoming, inclusive community for all residents. And whereas recognizing the and celebrating Jewish American American Heritage Month reaffirms our city's commitment to combating prejudice, standing against anti-semitism and all forms of hate and promoting unity among all of Charlotte's residents. Now therefore, our mayor, V. Alexander Lyles, mayor of Charlotte, does hereby proclaim May 2025 as Jewish American Heritage Month in the city of Charlotte and encourages all residents to join in celebrating the achievements contributions and endearing legacy of Jewish Americans both in our local community and throughout the nation. Here to receive this proclamation is Rabbi Lexi Erheim of Temple Bethl, Douglas Green, Jake House, and Amy Vitner of the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte, Emily Zimmer, co-chair of Outshine Hate at the Jewish Federation, Katie Cunningham and Judy Leatra of the Stan Greenspun Holocaust Education Center. Please come to receive the proclamation if you're here. Who's here? Maybe they're not here. Maybe they weren't able to get in. I think that Well, we'll get it to them on a later date. We will get them to that get this proclamation to them so that they know um how much this means for our community. Thank you very much, Miss Molina. So our next item are consideration of city mayor and city council consent items with questions and answers. The consent items agenda is 14- 26 and may be considered in one motion except those items which would be move removed by a council member for a separate vote. Do I have a motion for anything with a separate vote? Motion to approve. All right, Miss Mayfield. I would like to pull out 26 for for discussion. All right. 26 for discussion. Um hearing Miss Johnson number 15, please. 15 for discussion. Yes. All right. Thank you very much. Was there a second? There was no second. There was no second. And the motion was made prior to the removal of the two items. So the the maker of the motion should accept those a change to I think Edwin, you made the motion. I made the motion. Correct. So we would like to make an adjustment for that with which means that we would have one for items 14 or as well as 2015 as well as 26 done separately. I will accept that. All right. Accepting all second. Second. Second. We have a second. Any further discussion hearing? None. Please all all in favor please raise your hand. All right. Thank you very much. And so now we'll go back to item 14. Um 15. 15. And I believe that was Miss Mayfield, right? No. Miss Johnson's 15. Miss Johnson. And then 26 is Miss Mayfield. Thank you, Miss Johnson. Um, I just wanted to acknowledge the the uh Prosperity Church Road improvements from Old Ridge Road to Benfield Road. And I just wanted to hear a little more about it from staff if someone's available. Sorry, you wanted to hear just an overview of the project. Yes. I believe Mr. Phil Rer is here to provide that. Sorry, Miss Kathleen. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Kathleen Cashek, city engineer. Um, so Council Member Johnson, to answer your question, we have a construction contract in the amount of $4.8 million to Ble Development. The project includes curbon gutter, sidewalk, storm drainage, bike lanes, and a roundabout at Prosperity Church at Prosperity Ridge. Okay, thank you. Motion to approve. Second. All right. So, we'll go next to item 26. We got a vote on it. I'm sorry. Let's vote on this one. So, all in favor of the motion by Miss Johnson, please raise your hand. Anyone opposed? Hearing none. I believe that that proceeds. All right. The next item is item 26. And Miss Mayfield, I believe you address this. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Actually, I reached out to Marie because I had a question even though this is for the purchase of a single family residential home where we are seeing limited single family residential homes. We have over 100,000 single family homes that are now rentals in our city. My question was directly in regard to a soontobe single standing single family home next that's basically next door to this property. Is that property currently occupied? I'm sorry. Is it is the home next door currently occupied? I believe so. Yes, ma'am. So, the concern that I have is we don't have a plan. council has never discussed a plan. Staff, meaning directly, our airport staff has not necessarily presented a plan or we've had a discussion in regard to what are we doing to protect those few homeowners that are still in areas where we have grown tremendously with the airport. And it feels like it creates a challenge when we say aging in place, staying in place is our priority. Yet our policy language is creating an environment that potentially would not create a quality of life for the long-standing single family home that is in this area. I believe Miss Gentry and I did have a conversation earlier and she shared that we've purchased we have the opportunity to purchase a lot more homes in the area around the airport. Yet at some point I would like for this council to have a discussion of what is our plan to ensure quality of life for the residents who are staying there. this particular property there's a agreed upon a price price of 342,000. This particular property was a rental fine but for that those individuals that are still living in their homes and when the cost of housing today when you have a home that's paid for or potentially 80 to 95% paid for and housing is 500,000 plus in the city of Charlotte. What is our actual plan to protect the few owner occupied homeowners that we have left in our city? And that is for you, Mr. Manager. Now, somebody can motion to approve it because I'm not. We have a motion to approve the item um for 26. We have a motion. And is there a second? Second. We have a second. Any further discussion hearing? None. All in favor of the motion, please raise your hand. Sure. Anyone opposed? Miss Mayfield is opposed. Thank you very much. We'll move forward on that one. So, um, the next item that we have is for our public forum. And I just want to say this that on behalf of the entire city council, we ask that all speakers and audience members be civil and courteous in their use of language. Speakers are encouraged to address the council and should refrain from responding to other audience members. Likewise, audience members should be courteous as well to those that speak. And we certainly do not like to have the opport we'd like to have the opportunity to not have interruptions so that everyone can be heard. So with that, I will go to our speakers list for today. Each speaker will have two minutes to speak with us because we have over 15 people that have signed up to speak and I will be calling those names as well. Please come down. We have a lot of cameras up here, guys. So we'll try to get two speakers one at each side of the dis and be able to hear from them. So the first speaker is Kimberly Wade. Miss Wade and the second speaker is Levi Ramos. Please and it's very helpful if you give us your name before you begin to speak. It really does help us know who you are. All right, please. I'm Kimberly Wade. I'm sorry. I'm Kimberly Wade. Okay, please. Good evening. My name is Kim. I've lived in Charlotte for 18 years and reside in District 7. I've attended nearly every city council meeting over the past two years, only missing two. And I speak tonight as a longtime resident, a volunteer, and a foster with Charlotte Animal Care and Control. First, thank you. I want to sincerely thank you for proposing funding for the shelter expansion and adoption center and for the decision to move animal care and control under general services. These steps show that council values compassion, not only for animals, but for the people who love and care for them. Every day I witness just how much animals mean to the people in this city. Right now I'm working with an unhoused woman here in East Charlotte who owns nearly 50 cats. She doesn't have a permanent roof over her head, but she makes sure these those animals are fed, safe, and loved. She chooses to feed them before she feeds herself. She could have walked away, but she didn't because they're her family. This isn't just her story. It's Charlotte's story. The story of people doing everything they can for the ones who depend on them. It's proof that the bond between people and animals is unshakable. And it's exactly why we need a system that can meet the needs of both. Because when we support animals, we also are standing by the people who love them the most. That's why I'm concerned that the additional staff positions animal care and control requested weren't included in the proposed bud budget. Intake is rising and the shelter expansion is still years away. These staff are urgently needed to keep saving lives. And while I know the organizational structure isn't under council's direct control, I do hope ACC director will report to the general services director. Reducing bureaucracy means faster decisions and better outcomes for everyone involved. Thank you for showing that compassion is something Charlotte chooses to act on. I'm grateful for your leadership and for your continued commitment to our city's most vulnerable. Thank you very much. Thank you. I want to check to see if um Levi Rama is in the build in in the chamber. All right, we'll go next to our next two speakers, Julie Kelly and Ricky Shing. [Music] You give us your name. Julie Kelly. Thank you. You have two minutes. Hi, I'm Julie. I'm here because of the American Lung Association's turquoise takeover. In 2022, I was diagnosed with lung cancer at 42 years old. I have three children who were 911 and 13 at the time. I had no risk factors and no symptoms. It was caught by accident when my doctor ran a calcium score heart scan. In September of that year, I had half of my left lung removed and was then placed on targeted therapy. Lung cancer kills more people than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer combined. We receive less than 10% of funding. My story is not rare. 20% of lung cancer patients have never smoked. Another 40% have already quit a substance known to be as addictive as heroin. All of us are fighting a disease society tells us we deserve. There are many risk factors for lung cancer. The main one is having lungs. I went to DC and begged the staff of Congressman Bud Tillis and Moore to believe that cancer research is the best spending our nation can ever spend. However, they knowingly approved a budget that cut lung cancer research from the small amount we had to zero. Veterans are at higher risk of developing lung cancer. Never smoking. Women are twice as likely as men to get lung cancer. We are the canaries in the coal mine. And we won't know why without research. and we'll likely see more of it without regulation to protect the general population over corporations. Three things to remember. If you're over 50 with a smoking history, go to save by thecan.org to see if you are eligible for screening. If, like many lung cancer patients, you are not eligible, ask about a calcium score scan like the one that I had. It saved my life. More awareness and funding will lead to more screening options. other organizations to support our go-to for lung cancer longevity and lung cancer initiative among others. Thank you very much for that information and appreciate Okay, our next two speakers are Dominique Chambers and Danielle Profette. Ricky Steven and I called his name and he did not come. They're not here. Steven will and Will are not here. They're not here. Personal care. Okay. I think Dominique goes first. All right. Would you He wants She wants you to go first. So, if you give us your name, Dominique Chambers. Thank you, Mr. Chambers. You have two minutes. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Dominique Chambers and I'm a wheelchair Asian at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. It's my job to help American Airline passengers who are elderly or disabled move through the airport with comfort and dignity. I help them get something to eat, guide them to the restroom, and love being the person they feel comfortable telling their life stories to. I love my job, and I feel like it's where I'm supposed to be. But most passengers have no idea about the struggles we face every day to get them to their destination. Every day, we are met with low wages, minimum benefits, and poor working conditions. The turnover rate is so high and we are so understaffed that many passengers are left waiting. Sometimes we're even pressured to push two passengers at the same time. This is stressful, dangerous, and unfair to workers and our passengers. Some of my co-workers are living in their cars, staying with family, staying in hotels, or even homeless because the pay is extremely low, and we just can't keep up with the cost of living in Charlotte. I live with my grandmother and would love to live on my own, but that's not the possibility when you're only making 1250 an hour. Here are hundreds of postcards from airport workers who are concerned about security and short staffing at the airport. Read them. We are calling on you to step up and do something. The city council must act now to make the airport a safe place to travel and work. Show us you care about us safety at the airport and the working people. Okay, you ready? Okay. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Danielle Profett and I proudly serve as president of CWA Local 3645 representing hundreds of airport workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport and they work for Pedmont Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines. I'm here today on behalf of the collective unions who keep that airport running day and night, rain or shine while struggling under unsafe conditions, poverty wages, and a lack of accountability from airport tenants. Charlotte Douglas is one of the largest economic engines in the city. If the workers who power it can't count on their elected officials to protect them, then who can they count on? We are asking this council to open a committee meeting so we can present proposed ordinance language that would set standards for workplace safety and livable wages because no charlatan should be working full-time and still unable to afford rent, food or healthcare. Mayor Laos, we know you have influence over this process and we are asking publicly and directly for your leadership. Delays help no one but the corporations profiting off of our labor. We are not asking for favors. We are demanding fairness. And the time to bring this forward is now. To every member of this council, you ran on promises of equity, justice, and supporting working families. If those words meant anything to you, now is the moment to act. If those words do not mean anything to you, then now is the time for us to act and vote you off of this dis. This is an election year and we are fully prepared to mobilize our members and the broader Charlotte community to support those who stand with us and vote out those who don't. We are not going away. We are growing louder, more organized, and more determined. And we are asking for a seat at the table so we can help make Charlotte a city that truly works for all of us. Thank you. I love you, girl. Our next speakers are Jeff Rizberg and Chris Barnett. All right. My name is Jeff Reeseburg. I'm a union flight attendant, member of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, and a Charlotte resident. Did you know that federal minimum wage was first set at 25 cents per hour? It was never generous. FDR wanted 40 cents an hour but agreed on 25 cents to satisfy anyone anyone. Southern lawmakers at the Charlotte Douglas airport. You've got workers cleaning cabins and pushing wheelchairs often two at a time essential jobs performed for wages that don't even cover basic needs. This isn't enlightened economics. It's a historical reenactment. It's like saying y'all that It's like y'all are saying if poverty was good enough for your grandparents, it's good enough for you. I recently helped a cleaner get her car out of the impound after I found out that their vehicle wasn't simply their transportation. It was their home. Why I was impounded, I didn't ask. They're humiliated enough to ask for help. But anyone who's been part of the working poor before can probably guess when you are barely scraping by things like renewing registration is a luxury. Sure, they can beg federal representative rep representatives to represent, but both parties have said no to raising the federal minimum wage for longer than any stretch since the Fair Labor Standards Act started it in 1938. I know the case the legality of case ordinance might be contested, but the least you could do is hold a hold a committee hearing and let the lawyer sort it out. We've heard from one worker at the last meeting who was evicted from their storage unit if you don't even pretend to care enough about these workers to hold a hearing. What options are left for these workers to remedy their suffering? I'd recommend partnering with civic groups to ensure that the people that are against this are never reelected. Who here believes that workers at the airport deserve a living wage? Yeah. Charlotte City Council, who do you represent? The Barnett. Uh, good evening. My name is Chris Barrett. Um, good evening. My name is Chris Barrett, president of Charlotte Metro Labor Council. Also I worked for the IM machinist along with American Airlines for the past 18 years. You could imagine during that time frankly how much Charlotte has grown so much so almost you don't recognize it. I'm here to talk about the pressing matter of the airport workers. A lot of these workers are seriously underpaid and while American Airlines dominates the landscape in the airport we also have been compensated for our work too. Well, I believe I Well, I believe that everyone should be able to live a respectable life and the wages should reflect that. So, I'm here to support my airport workers. Our next speakers are Sylvia Stitz Smith and Bobby Kurt Patrick. So be smart. All right. Why don't you start us off and give us your name? My name is Sylvia Stit Smith. Good afternoon to you, Mayor Lyles, to the Charlotte City Council, and to all of our citizens and visitors. I am honored to stand before you. I lost my youngest son, Samuel Harrison Stit, to gun violence in August of 2019. Sam was 23 years old. Like so many other families, I am personally invested in knowing that our community's leaders in both government and business see the impact of these tragic losses as more than just singular events, but also as a catalyst to champion the work needed to create sustainable, lasting change. June is gun violence awareness month. Tonight, we humbly, though passionately, seek your support to illuminate the Charlotte skyline orange in June as part of the national recognition. Our ask is that Charlotte City Council become involved in the process as a body or from your individual seats of influence. Your endorsement to light the night would send a clear message to Charlotte's center city that this recognition is significant and meaningful to the council and the citizens by whom you are elected to serve. And it sets an expectation to illuminate the Charlotte skyline in orange every first Friday. multiple community-based organizations. Me, multiple community-based organizations, members of the faith community, business owners and citizens who wish to also see our center city make this simple but significant act. By lighting the night, we honor the lives impacted by gun violence tragedies. We acknowledge the issues that foster harm and we also empower the work being done. Work that creates wholeness in our communities leading to safer futures and save lives. Thank you very much for that reminder. Um Abby Kurt um Abby Kurt Patrick I want to recognize you. Then we'll go to the next um part of our list. William Boltz. William Boltz. Okay. Michael Sims. street here. I have a petition here I'd like to provide to the clerk. Yes, we we can get that. You can give it to us after you make your remarks. Be very helpful. Thank you. Hello, my name is Michael Sims. I am CEO and owner of Crowntown Cannabis Charlotte. I'm a Charlotte native. Been here my entire life. I've loved this city. I've watched it grow. I've watched it go through all the perils of growth. And I'm here today to represent the business owners of North Davidson. Uh we have a growing epidemic of a problem with street vendors in our neighborhood. Uh we support and love local business and small business growth. Although it's gone from being a a nuisance to a public emergency for public safety. Um, we have seen more and more vendors show up. It is not allowing customers to be able to safely go down the sidewalks without getting into the streets. Those with baby strollers, those in wheelchairs have to literally go in the streets to make it up and down the road. Not to mention, it's turning business away from our establishment. But there are some vendors that have actually um there's been violence around it. It has escalated to gun violence to physical violence and ultimately is causing a nuisance in the neighborhood where the business owners and neighborhood is scared to be out in the streets. Um it's making it challenging to get in and out of business. It's a fire safety hazard. It's a safety hazard in general. Uh there's little to no laws around this and if there is there's real no there's no u followup or uh you know teeth to this. So, I'd like a policy to be put in place and have it where we can uh enforce these rules and not just a a faceless law or rule. It has become a a huge nuisance and it's only growing outside of the neighborhood and it's making it very hard to be a business owner in that area and it's uh it's very much so a public safety concern. Thank you very much. Thank you. Our next speaker is Paul McBrroom, followed by Jayla Jittens. Oh, I'm sorry, Jennifer. I missed. Okay. Good afternoon, Mayor, City Council. My name is Paul McBroom. Been in NODA since 1997. My wife and I started the neighborhood theater. We've renovated houses and been involved in bringing restaurants to the neighborhood. And the city of Charlotte has done great things for NODA. At the turn of the in the 90s, I guess it was, they narrowed North Davidson Street from four lanes to two. They put in streets, um, street lights. They put in, uh, benches. They put in trees. They really made the downtown Noi area have a good vibe. And that's going on for many years. The street vendors, there's some good street vendors. We don't have room for them. The sidewalks are five feet wide from the curb to the building. and the front doors to the of our businesses open directly onto the sidewalk. There's no room for street vendors. And yet they dominate. And most of the street vendors are good people, but we've got some bad apples. They threaten our children. They say, "We know where you live. We'll come and find you. Keep your mouth shut." Those are the kind of things we hear. And that is not where we are today in Charlotte. So we we know there's a simple solution. It doesn't cost any money. All we ask for is for our business district to be declared a I'm sorry. I'm nervous. I got to have some paper here. Uh congested business district. If you guys decide that the no business district is a congested business district, then that solves the problem because the law is that a congested business district cannot have street vendors and it's a simple solution and street vendors need a place to go. I wish you guys could do something for them. Thank you very much. All right. Our next speaker is Jennifer Dea. Good evening, Mayor and Council members. My name is Jennifer Deasa. I live in District 5, and I'm speaking tonight on behalf of CMPD Animal Care and Control. It's a pleasure to see you all again, and I'm grateful for your time, attention, dedication, and passion for public service to the city of Charlotte. First, thank you for your commitment to the well-being of our community's animals. I want to express my strong support for the proposed allocation of funds for the adoption center and the shelter expansion project as well as the integration of animal care and control into general services. These are important steps forward and we deeply appreciate your leadership on these initiatives. That said, I'd like to raise a few concerns. Animal Care and Control requested additional staffing support that is urgently needed given the record high animal intake numbers. With the new shelter expansion still years away, our current staff is stretched thin and the absence of these additional positions could significantly impact both animal welfare and public safety. We're also hopeful that when the transition of general services is finalized, the animal care and control director will report directly to the general services director. While I understand the council doesn't weigh in on internal organizational structure, streamlining leadership could help reduce bureaucracy and enable quicker, more effective, life-saving work. Thank you again for your time, your attention, and your continued support of Charlotte's animals. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speakers are Jayla Gittens and Amanda O'Hara. Hello. Good evening. Uh, my name is Jayla Gittens. I'm a Charlotte resident of 10 over 10 years and I'm coming to talk to you today about a crime that has left me heartbroken and frustrated with a system that seems to protect perpetrators more than the people they hurt. On April 6th, uh my car was stolen along with my six-year-old dog, Julio, while I was moving out of my apartment. If you're an animal lover, I'm sure you understand just how much my dog means to me. They truly are a member of the family. 5 days after the initial crime, um my car was found damaged with my items missing and my dog, Julio, has not been seen since. Um the heartbreak of losing him is something that I really do carry every day. But what has made the situation even worse is what I've observed about our juvenile justice system. Since the theft, I've received messages and calls from the juveniles responsible, as well as their adult family members threatening me, taunting me, even trying to extort me for my dog. This isn't just a petty crime. This is cruel, deliberate, and calculated behavior. And yet, most of the kids involved were sent home with no real consequences from parents or the law and no accountability. I was disappointed to find out how few rights victims have when minors are involved. I couldn't get a police report to prove to my job why I missed work. I wasn't allowed to know the names of the juveniles or even their parents in the situation. I felt like I was left in the dark while the kids who stole from me and threatened me went back to school like nothing ever happened. Some of these kids are repeat offenders. And these crimes aren't isolated incidents. These are patterns that the system is allowing to continue. If there are no consequences, why wouldn't they keep doing it? That's the reality we're living in. A juvenile justice system that sends kids back into the same environments with no accountability for them or their guardians. A system that teaches young offenders that they can steal, lie, and threaten without any real repercussions. I'm here tonight because that has to change. We need stronger protections for victims. We need real consequences for juvenile offenders, especially repeat offenders. Thank you very much. Thank you so much, Miss Gittens. Miss Giddens. Miss Giddens, you see this young man walking down that way. His name is Sean Heath. Sean, and if you would have an opportunity to talk with him a little bit more about this, this this would be very helpful. Thank you very much. [Applause] Okay. Good evening. My name is Amanda O'Hara. Nearly two months. That is how long Jayla has been living this nightmare and how long Julio has been missing since he was stolen in a brazen crime by a juvenile in our city. The crimes committed should not go unchecked. We are not talking about just a stolen car. We are talking about a stolen dog, stolen car, and extortion. Today it's a dog. Tomorrow it could be a kid. We are here tonight for answers, accountability, and justice. Reports show that just last year, 61% of juveniles arrested in Charlotte were repeat offenders. Many cases that go to the district attorney's office involving juveniles will not even see a courtroom. This is not working. We are here tonight for to ask that we get some sort of justice and accountability. CMPD is doing the work arresting the teens. However, the judges and DA's office continue to put the community at risk by not taking crime seriously. As many of you know, we have emailed city council, the DA's office, CMPD Chief Jennings, Captain Brian Crum, the principal of Northmech High School, among others. Uh, the city council members present tonight, not including not including newly sworn in city councilman Peacock, the only one to respond was city councilwoman Renee Johnson. Minors are not above the law because of their age. Where is Julio? The community has poured in tips, conducted their own community patrols, and placed flyers in various areas. When I asked CMPD if they would hold a press conference to spread the word about Julio, why was I told no? We demand justice for Julio and for Jayla. I asked Representative Johnson of District 4, where the crime occurred, Mayor Lyles, and City Manager Jones to request from CMPD a daily log or report of progress made in Julio's case to ensure that this is not being pushed to the wayside and to guarantee justice and accountability gets served. We will not stop until Julio comes home. All right, our next two speakers are Fred Mande and Michael Rosseller. I probably did not do that do that justice, but please come down and be recognized and help me pronounce your name correctly. You have to come down for us. Is he up there? Yes, he's up here. Stay up there. No, we you can stay up there and we'll have a What? What? Wait, is there's a mic up there? Yes, we've done some asking mic right here where that camera is and shouldn't be. Would you like to go first? We'll and then you get settled and get the mic set up and all of that. Thank you for that time. Absolutely. Okay. Good evening, mayor and council. My name is Michael Rosler. I am a resident of Nota. Uh two years ago, a small group of about 20 people from Nota asked the city manager to ban street vendors from the neighborhood by declaring the area a congested business district. In response, more than 1600 people signed a petition supporting the vendors. The neighborhood's naysayers then dropped their request, but this same small group of people is now asking council to run off our vendors. When these folks, who are mostly white, walk the neighborhood streets, they seemingly don't see the lively, dynamic place the rest of us see. A place made better and brighter and bolder by our street vendors, most of whom are people of color. Instead, they see danger and disorder, lawlessness and violence. The work of regulation is the work of weighing costs and benefits. The naysayers from NOTA tell a one-sided tale of exaggerated inconveniences and costs without accounting for real abundant benefits provided by the street vendors. When examined in their fullness costs and benefits, the calculus becomes clear. Notice street vendors are a great boon to the community. They helped to make the neighborhood a vibrant place unlike any other in Charlotte. The sort of place that draws people to it. No, in no small part because of these smallest of small businesses. The naysayers are asking you to run off the vendors through regulation, to displace them by regulation. When that request lands on your desks, we ask you to kindly decline the invitation. Thank you. Mr. Monty, you are you all settled? Yeah. Okay. Thank you. My name is Fred Monty and um I'm an activist and other things, but uh this goes back to Bloom Smith. It's going to have to do with Brut Smith's crime family, Mafia style crime family. and that I was uh when Bloom Smith was having trouble about getting his uh $80 million of Cabaris County and went all the way to end up going all the way to the Supreme Court of North Carolina. I went out to see him and we talked for over an hour this office in town and country forward that I was capable of getting that money for him and what what did we make and we entered into a contract if I could collect the money I'd get 50%. Which is about normal for collections of of of uncollected money. uh since I found out that he's the money has been paid through different arrangements from Cabaris County to the state uh Arendale County and Meckenberg County, the city of Charlotte. Y'all got there's a bunch of YouTube videos of me coming up. It's on YouTube uh coming up talking about Bloom Smith, Gonzo Smith, Godfather Bloom Smith, all kinds of things. And uh they don't want to pay me and and doing this practice of stall delay, hope I don't go away. Well, then as on the ship estate, they've actually sewed me off into the ocean hoping I'd die and such that they've left me out here a person on disability, senior on disability, uh hoping I die with CO or I die from the heat or die from the freezing cold. Uh and so now we're going into a whistleblower lawsuit that they've uh stolen this uh $40 million plus dollars from me and I won't pay it. They've laundered it through their organization as which could be Nation's Bank. uh that uh also uh uh this is a morality clause that uh NASCAR has and all the race teams has, all the dealerships has that they'll be in violation of this morality clauses. It's in all contracts that there could not be a race in October because nation's banks might not pulling out or NASCAR might pull uh their right to have a race. but it's getting ready to go international on a on a what they call a whistleblower lawsuit that's going to bring in the FBI, the SEC, IRS, uh probably uh Homeland Security. That is also going to be the charges of some Thank you very much. Um thousands of accounts of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree. Thank you very much for your remarks and if you have additional information, feel free to send it to the council. Well, it'd be up to y'all if y'all want to talk about it. Y'all are the ones that's going to have the economic loss. Thank you so much, Mr. Monty. All right, our next two speakers, our next Miss White from the um Charlotte Museum of History. 15. Thank God. Good evening and thank you for allowing me to speak. Um, I'm here to request that the two requests of the museum for this upcoming fiscal year remain in the budget and I'll quickly go over them each. Um, one is for operating and one is for a special project. for our operating support. I want you to imagine all of the arts organizations of Charlotte as children in a classroom and you are the teacher. And in the front row, you have the museums and cultural institutions located in Uptown Charlotte. And while they are by no means overfed, they receive a steady diet of support and promotion from the city. But way in the back in the corner still doing the work is the Charlotte Museum of History. And for years we have sat there without the same support that our peers have endur have enjoyed. We have starved and are getting thinner and thinner while being praised for the work that we do for the community. Each year we ask for support and we are told, "Oh, next year, next fiscal year, next fiscal year." Well, this is my third fiscal year as president. There is no more runway for us to wait while our peers are funded at higher numbers than we have requested. As far as our special project, for decades, people complained that the Charlotte Museum of History was only that colonial history museum that no one thinks about. Despite the fact that we have proven we have grown beyond that subject matter and this council has itself praised us for our d our diverse programming and exhibits and the city has named us its number one museum. We were shut down for support for our special project in honor of America 250, a geographically exclusive exhibit. Thank you. That we need your support for. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. [Music] That that concludes our um public forum at this time and so we'll go ahead and begin in our business meeting and the first item um Mr. Manager, do you have any updates for the council? No. Uh mayor and members of council, we just have the strategy strategic energy action plan. Um it's before you. All right. If if the council has looked at this, we'll now move on to the first business item for keep beautiful. I'm sorry. Number seven. Number seven, which is approve the transportation planning and development committee's recommendation to adopt the strategic energy action plan update. Do I have a motion? So move. Second. We have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? Hearing no discussion, we have a motion and a second. All in favor of the motion, please raise your hand. I believe that's unanimous. Is there anyone that opposes? All right. So, the next item is item number I'm sorry, my notes are um that the next item is the Charlotte item number eight, keep Charlotte beautiful program contributions. For item number eight, is there a motion to accept contributions in the amount of $42,000 for the Keep Charlotte Beautiful program from the following Lowe's Home Improvement 26,000, Keep America Beautiful 16,000 and adopt the budget ordinance appropriating this $42,000 to the neighborhood development grants fund. Move to approve A and B. Second. We have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please raise your hand. Anyone oppose? So that's unanimous and we carry through. The next item that we have is item number nine. approve a contract in the amount of 1,200,000 with the Habitat with Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte region to support the production and sale of affordable home ownership units under the acquisition, rehabilitation, and resale fund for a term of one year and authorize the man city manager to renew the contract for up to one-year term and to amend the contract consistent with the purpose for which the contract has been approved. Do we have a motion? Second. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Miss Johnson. Thank you, Madame Mayor. I wanted to ask Mr. Manager, are there opportunities for small businesses to participate in this uh in this program? I'd like to call Rebecca help her up to go a little deeper. Good evening. Rebecca Hefner, Housing and Neighborhood Services. Uh, currently the pool membership for acquisition, rehab, and resale is only open to nonprofit partners and uh and um and small businesses if they're for-profit businesses are not currently eligible to apply. So, is there an RFP? There is. There's an open RFP to solicit uh we call it um pool members, meaning that uh a nonprofit is evaluated in advance and then that gives them an opportunity as they find properties to bring them forward for acquisition, rehab, resale. Okay. Thank you. All right. Any other questions or discussion? Hearing none. All in favor of item number nine, please raise your hand. All right. Is there anyone in opposition? All right. Thank you very much. The next item is Albertar Landing Apartments affordable housing support request. Um, for item 10, is there a motion to approve a $1 million home investment partnership program allocation for a bridge loan to Albamaro Landing Limited Partnership, an affiliate of South Creek Development LLC for the Albamar Landing Apartments affordable housing development and authorize the city manager to negotiate, execute, amend, and renew the contracts as needed to make this transaction. Motion to approve item A and B. We have a motion for item A and B. Is there any discussion? Miss Johnson, followed by Miss Molina. Okay. Thank you. Um, Miss Hefner. Thank I didn't sit back down. I just moved. You knew, right? So, um, well, it's you I mean, everyone knows that I'm an affordable housing advocate, but I won't be supporting this, as I said, in committee because there are no units at 30%. Um, we've had that discussion and I wanted to I have a list of the rents for this. I do want to say, Mr. Manager and Miss Hefner, thank you. Thank you for meeting the industry where they are. The fact that this is post construction, you know, we had one of these come before us a year ago or some something and that wasn't supported because we didn't have a policy. So, it's it's good to be flexible, but my concern is that our most vulnerable population is not being served. I think public uh um council member Mitchell always says public dollars are for public goods and this is an opportunity to serve those who truly need it. The rents for these um complexes start at 1163 uh for a two-bedroom and that's a 50% AMI and they the top is 1767 for a threebedroom. We're also told that there will be units set aside for for individuals who have vouchers, but that's as there are vacancies, right? Yes. Okay. So, is that the next 19 vacancies will be set aside for for a certain population? Sure. So, thank you for the question, Council Member Johnson. So, there are two ways for our lowest income households at 30% AMI to access housing. one is with a unit that's reserved for 30% AMI and the other is with a rental subsidy uh that and an agreement to access a unit. So that's the the set aides. We didn't get as far as you asked us to get with providing 30% units with this development. Um, but we are excited that the developer has agreed to set aside 19 units uh for uh vulnerable populations as outlined in your city in your affordable housing funding policy. And so this this is a post construction loan, meaning they have already gone through lease up and the set aside units will then be made available as units become available. So will the all of the next 19 or just a a sample of the vacancies. I'll have I'll have to get that information for you. And that's okay because those units are going to be at market rate. In order to use a subsidy or voucher, they're market rate and then the subsidy follows the tenant. The it they're they are not rented at market rate. The units themselves are income restricted, meaning they're rented at whatever level of AMI they've been designated for. And so the subsidy won't pay market rate. It will pay the difference between the uh low-income households 30% of income that what their ability to pay and the rental rate. So if say say if it's that two-bedroom 1163 it would be not market rate but the difference between the household's contribution and the 1163. Okay. So then the market rate we talked about earlier, the 1790 uh through 2210, that's the market rate, but these units won't be at market rate. That's fair market rent. Um so which is uh the 40th percentile of rents in the area. So HUD HUD defines fair market rate as the 40th percentile of rent. So market rate is actually even higher than that. But when a rental subsidy is paid, it's paid at either the uh the rental rate of the apartment or fair market rent, whichever is lower. So in this case, because the rental rate is lower than fair market rent, that's the rate at which it would be paid. Okay. Well, as I stated, I won't be supporting it. We just had speakers u to come up and talk to us about one of our largest employers in the city. that aren't making the kind of money to to be able to afford what we're calling affordable housing. So, I think that um I mean at 1250, like the gentleman said, he wouldn't be able to afford this. You'd have to make, according to my calculations, $20 an hour to be able to afford this what we're calling affordable housing. So, um I and we've become as a council almost I mean I know there's a need for for workingclass individuals um this is better than the 1,700 to 2200 but again with public dollars I think we need to serve those who um truly need this funding. So I won't be supporting this. Thank you. All right, Miss Molina. Thank you Madame Mayor. Um, so before before um we go too far off, this is actually an existing property. This property is standing. Um, council member Lana Mayfield and I were at the ribbon cutting and people live there. So, this isn't to like approve something that's not already standing. This is actually to extend the uh benefit that's that's already in place. This is already an affordable housing unit and it's walking distance. Literally, the Eastland property is across the street. So, we have people who are at 50, 60, and 70% AMI that before Eastland and the 30 acre property and the mixeduse developments and the 5 acre park are going to be able to walk across the street to one of our most substantial economic drivers in the entire East Charlotte fabric. So I we can't we can't lose that and and and just because the 30% bracket is not covered in this project. We can't lose focus of the fact that 50 70 and or 50 60 and 70 are right there and all of these projects, the majority of these projects are actually income uh reserved. They're protected. So the the entire unit is already um an affordable housing unit. the the purpose of this particular funding opportunity is what we call post construction um which is something that's new where the city actually allows them to extend the benefit and they borrow the money and then they pay it back with interest. That's that's literally what this is. So, um I I know that um we do have a lot of our community members that um work in a subcontract form for the airport that are here that are speaking about wages. And that is something that I would I can only speak for myself in that that's not lost on me and I would assume none of the people who live here. So I don't want that particular subject matter to be attached to something that is uh for the benefit and the greater good of community members. And so with that being said, uh Miss Hefner, will you please explain what this particular item is so that it's not lost in translation, please? Yes. Thank you, Council Member Molina. This is a uh pilot that we are uh advancing to test out a postconstruction bridge loan. So the um your housing trust fund provides gap financing but for financing for construction and it has it has always it has always done that heavy lifting. Several years ago, you all had an opportunity before you to use housing trust fund dollars to provide po post construction uh bridge loan and declined that opportunity and and uh but what that opportunity gave us was a chance to see that there are needs for affordable housing funding along the development cycle. So there's pre-development, land acquisition, construction financing, and then post construction um either lease up and or stabilization. And so this is an opportunity to test out a post construction loan. It's a million dollars of your home funding, so your federal home allocation. It does not impact your uh housing trust fund balance. And yes, this is an already constructed uh um low-income housing tax credit development uh off of Albamaro, right there where where Central comes comes across from the the Eastland redevelopment. And the developer has an opportunity to leverage this $1 million into a very lowinterest loan from HUD that will help them reach their stabilization phase more quickly. The benefit to the city is that the developer has agreed to two things. One, to extend the affordability period an additional 10 years. So, currently it's at 40 per the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency. And they've agreed to extend to to 40 years. And they've also agreed to uh set aside 19 units for vulnerable populations according to your affordable housing funding policy. And uh in addition, they will be paying this bridge loan back over a period of 7 years at 3% interest to the city. Those funds then come back into your housing development fund and you can recycle them and reallocate them according to the guidelines of the home fund program. We have had some challenges leveraging home dollars for multifamily development and we think that a post construction opportunity uh is will actually make it um easier for developers to leverage our federal funds and also to bring additional program income back into your housing development fund for future allocation. Thank you, Miss Hefner. So, with that being said, and I just want to make sure that that part is not lost in translation. This isn't free money to an existing person post development. This is a loan where they pay the city back with interest and then we take that money and we recycle it from a federal program and use it to continue to create affordable housing. Um, and you only got 3%. Can a regular home buyer buy a home for 3%. So, it's not buying a home, ma'am. It's renting. And you and you can't have a back and forth conversation with me. Unfortunately, you can't at this moment because you haven't been recognized at the podium. No offense to you, but that's just not um so I just want to make sure that I put that part out there so that it's not lost in translation. And also 50% AMI, how much is that as far as earning is concerned, Miss Hefner? So 50% is about uh $60,000 for a family of four. Our current AMI in Charlotte is $112,000. So the current AMI for our city is $112,000. And this is with a family of four, they can live here making $60,000. Yes. Combined income. That's everyone in the household. Uh and 60% AMI is somewhere in that ballpark. How much? Yeah. Uh I mean I know those figures are exact, but I'm what I'm trying to do is paint a picture again so that it's not lost in translation. what's already been done and what the purpose of this particular item means. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Thank you very much. We have a motion on the floor. I have a question. Oh, Miss Brown. Yes. Thank you, Madam Mayor. So, I wanted to ask I heard um Council Member Molina getting the explanation to it. So, it's already standing. It is. Meaning that community is already filled. I just need a little bit more details on that. So, you It's already standing. The community is already there. The development is already there in the community. That's my understanding. It's a it's it literally if you going down Albamar Road at the corner of Central and Albamar, it's it's a it's a development that's right there at at the foot of those two where the corridors meet and it's already standing. It's already existing. This is what you call post construction. So, it's already constructed. Humans already live there. This is post construction for them to extend the existing affordability for the people who are going to reside there. And then they pay us the money back. But you're saying but they need $60,000 for a family of four. No. So this is see how it says here the 30 units would serve 50% AMI. So a family of four making $60,000 could live in these units. That's everybody in the house included making $60,000 combined could actually live in these units. And our average income is what Miss uh Hifner said. Um 112,000 is the average for our city. So it's less than half of the average of the humans that live in our city can actually afford to live in these units already before we extend any dollars to them at all. And here are the rents. Okay, that's all I have. Madam Mayor, I was wondering if Miss Brown had I don't have any more questions. All right. Thank you very much. Um, so we have a motion on the floor. All in favor of the motion, please raise your hand. Anyone oppose? We'll have Miss Brown and Miss Johnson and in opposition. But before we go on, I just want to make a note that in the last three items, this council has placed almost $2 million from the voters that supported affordable housing. And so we are working hard to deliver the various types. And I have to just say a lot has been done by Miss Mayfield and Miss um Watlington to make this discussion a lot easier for us as we continue how we can address housing and homelessness in our city. So thank you very much to the voters that allow us to be in this position to have these kinds of conversations. All right. So the next item that we have are the I believe there's an appointment to the approval of the housing trust fund for the Haven Ridge at Sharon Amnity that was deferred and that's going to be the deferred. We have this item the next item is 11 has been deferred by the staff. It'll come back on the agenda at some point I guess. Okay. So that's item 11. And so if we'll go to item 12, adopt a resolution approving a lease agreement with Envision Charlotte for the lease of city-owned property Seagull Avenue. In living in you mean I'm sorry, we're on 12. We're on 12. Lease of city-owned property on Seagull Avenue. Adopt a resolution approving a lease agreement with Envision Charlotte for the lease of the city owned property as noted on Seagull Avenue and authorize the manager to negotiate and execute all documents necessary to complete this transa transaction and lease agreement consistent with the intent. Move to adopt A and B. Madame Mayor, we have a motion and a second on item A and B. Is there any discussion? Hearing no discuss. We have discussion, Miss Johnson. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just want to to lift up the work that the um they're doing at the innovation barn. Um they are kind of a incubator if you will for small businesses. There's an ecosystem for um organizations like the bulb and wax all worm and powerup USA. So um I will be supporting this. I've also asked the manager and we have a copy of the other city-owned properties um where organizations have the opportunity for uh for a discounted rent. So, thank you. All right. Thank you. So, any other comments hearing? None. All in favor of the motion, please raise your hand. Anyone opposed? Anyone opposed? So, the motion carries. So that car lends us I think to the end of our business meeting on this portion but we now have appointments to the firefighters relief fund board of trustees. Um I think this tonight we have this appointment. Um the council members have already voted and turned in their votes to the clerk and so the clerk knows the rules better than I do. So, we'll have Miss um Stephanie to talk to us about what the results are for the um fire board relief firefighters relief fund board of trustees. Mayor and council um Chris for forall has been appointed to this position. Would you put on record that I did not vote? I did not cast my vote. It's fine, but I just want it on record. Okay. You didn't turn. All right. Thank you very much. Miss Mayfield, did you have a question? There's Amy right there on this or No, I have I did I do have something I would like to mention before we go. If we go into a close session, we are going to go into a close session. So, and so right now, but I think there was a question regarding everyone not turning in their ballots. Yes, she answered that question. I I have also another question after you, Council Member Mayfield. Okay. Thank you, Council Member Brown. Madame Mayor, thank you for a moment. I would like for us to pause with everything that's going on. I appreciate the fact that I had a chance to read the pro the proclamation announcing our clerk's month, but I want to take a moment because two big things have happened recently regarding our city clerk for the city of Charlotte. one. I want to congratulate Miss Stephanie Kelly because she received the 2025 IMMC Quill award of which that is the highest honor award that you can receive as a clerk across the nation. You are our international president. So this is an award of her peers but this is the highest award that you can receive for city clerks. the Quill Award as well as she received the 2025 program excellence in governance award for the introduction of innovative customer service and she received that as um our municipal clerk because of the work that she's done with our passport office. So don't take that for granted that we have a passport office in the city. A lot of communities do not. So, I wanted to have a moment for us to congratulate and recognize Miss Stephanie [Applause] Cleley and to be able to publicly thank you for how you represent the city of Charlotte, not just domestically, but also internationally and the highlight that you keep on our city and the work that you do. So I wanted So I appreciate mayor you giving me that chance Jess to highlight because I was able to steal a copy of the video of her award speech and I shared that personally but I wanted to use this moment to for us to just good news. We have staff out there doing some pretty amazing work. I also miss the for our city attorney. I wanted to get find out from attorney Fox a followup. There was conversations regarding you're doing some research on an investigation. I have shared and I am also going to acknowledge and apologize when we had a closed session meeting a couple of weeks ago prior to me getting sick. I left the way our system is set up because of North Carolina General Assembly legislative language. I must ask my colleagues to be recused in order to not be present at a closed session meeting. I have concerns regarding our closed session meetings because quite a few of those meetings honestly before we even leave the meeting the information has been shared with the media which is in direct opposition of the oath one of the oaths that we take but also legislative policy. Mr. Fox, I need to get an understanding of what is the process for there to be any research on what ability or inability we have. Let's say we're going to go, we announced from this dis that we're getting ready to go into close session. If I was to say, okay, clerk, go ahead and put me down as a no because I'm not going to be attending this close session. I don't know if I would be able to do that because the way that our policy language is written, you must be in attendance. If you are not in attendance, then that is an automatic yes vote. What do you need in order for you to move forward to one do an investigation and or identify? Can there be language to say no cell phones, no smartphones, no nothing in our closed session so that we can have a meeting that doesn't be reported to the immediate media immediately afterwards because there are a lot of important discussions that we have and the information is going to be released through the clerk's office after decision anyway. or is that something that I could request or is that something that has to come from as a council vote with majority? What does that look like? Um, council member Mayfield, there are several questions that you have raised um in in your address. Uh first of all, you're correct. The it's a it's a product of the state law that provides that if a member who attends a meeting leaves that meeting that that member is counted in the affirmative as a vote when they are not excused from that meeting. The law provides that you are excused when you can demonstrate to the council that you have a financial or procurinary interest in the matter. Absent that your colleague should not technically allow one to be excused. So you are your ability to announce that you are a no vote and not attend a closed session meeting would not have the weight that you would like for it to have because your vote would be counted in the affirmative. Now with regards to closed session, council member Wallson has raised a question that office is looking at about a bifurcated approach uh to a the meeting where you have a separate notice of the close session as well as the business meeting and we are evaluating that option. There are some hurdles to that, but we're looking to uh respond to that. With regards to I think your question regarding I don't know if it's an investigation, the only thing I'm looking at right now that's within my baywick is the product of having done a disclosure for the airport 25 bonds. And in that disclosure, we raised comments that were made and I in responding to that assured to the bond holders that we would look into that and that is something that I'm looking into to sufficient enough to provide a response that we have looked at it and determined if there's no there there's no there there but we've got to uh as a point of due diligence look into that issue. I think I hope I've answered your question. Apologies cuz I actually part of my question was asked incorrectly. I believe I sent you a email thanking you and saying I'm looking forward to whatever the results are based off of a emails previously sent. Yet also in there I think I asked the question and if not I'm going to ask it now. Is there a space for your office and or the manager's office to do an investigation so that we on the council can have full transparency if there is a member or members that is releasing information to the media when we are still in discussion of whatever the item that we go into close session for. Do we have what would be what would it take for that investigation to happen? That would require a directive for this council. Uh it required vote of this council to direct our office to look into issues around close session meetings and provide a report or response. Um partly that may include our office doing it or having an outside uh firm conduct that. It would require the directive of this of this council in order for us to undertake that engagement. So for clarification of a director directive, if I am requesting it, are you saying you will be able to move forward with an investigation or that you would need a certain number of council members to actually vote in order for that to happen? Yeah, I I view it as that would be a council action and action of this council requires six votes. Thank you for clarification. Thanks. All right. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Miss Brown, I don't know if that's related to that. I got something totally different. Okay. Do you have something totally different? No, it's related. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Madame Mayor. And I would support that bifurcated approach, but I wanted clarification as far as the the affirmative vote if a council member is not present. I think when people heard about that, they were surprised. That's how we operate. You said that's state legislation and can that be changed from a council perspective? It's state law. It's not something I can control. It's not something your ordinances control. It's a product of the state statute and it's clarified in the state statute. I believe it's either 16875 or 168 175 one. I get confused. So, does that statute allow council to to create their own policy around that? No, it is a part of state law. We are a Dylan's rule state. We only have the powers that we get that are given to us by this general assembly. And so that's what they have conferred upon governing body. It's not unique to Charlotte. It's it's municipal municipalities in general. Okay. Thank you. All right. Miss Brown related. Okay. Just really quickly. So just to be clear and and not to because uh council member Mayfield did bring up a few points in that. So, I just want to um double click on one portion of that comment in the duty to vote. And I don't know if that particular part is governed by state statute. I think what I would add to that request is that if we're in a session and then we close a session and then we reopen a session, what we have then um is the ability to decide whether our duty is applicable at that moment. Right? So, if I'm present, unless I have an extenduating circumstance that prevents me from being present, you know, would that in turn affect our our duty to vote? Because we actually have a sworn duty by our oath to vote on items. So, if I'm here right now, you guys close this session, go into uh a new session that's then closed, and I say, you know what, I don't want no parts of that, and I just leave, then am I foregoing my duty to vote? Right? The law assumes that you when you were here that that attendance continues if we were to go into close session there was a meeting and therefore your failure to appear at the closed session under the law would be construed as an affirmative vote. I'm answering your question. Okay. Okay. So let's get ready. I'm sorry. So, Madame Mayor, and my apologies as you were getting ready to say something. From my understanding from uh interim attorney Fox and from my question, what I think I need what we need is a what I'm going to ask you for is a referral to committee. I think this would go into budget and intergovernmental relations for us to actually do give the attorney the ability to do the research and bring some specifics back to us. I am only going to speak in the I personally have a concern with what we have witnessed repeatedly when it comes to our closed sessions. I also have a concern that whether it is a individual or multiple individuals sharing information in regards to our close session whether that is a corporate discussion possible relocation which potentially can hurt our chances whatever the conversation HR related conversations that is creating a challenge and it has been a challenge for a number of years. What I am asking is for a referral for us to actually finally take the time to give the appropriate departments whatever they need to start this investigation and to give us recommendations on what we can do as a council. Council does not have the ability to censure each other. But there has to be a level of accountability when we are having very sensitive conversations and that information is then being reported to the media either verbatim or some in some cases incorrectly and we do not know that which one of the members is providing this information. I think that um this is something that's really been important to all of us. But I also think that we shouldn't jump in just immediately. Um we are about to go into a close session right now in fact um tonight. Not necessarily a long one. But I think that it would be helpful for all of us to be able to um think about this and then make a decision that's more than one um per person asking because I think we need to figure out how this would work for and what the other members of the council would say. It would be great if we could have this debate right now, but we're going into a close session right now and I think that we should just hold on and see. So, you don't think we should move it to committee where we can actually have discuss? I'm not so sure that um that we should move I'm not saying that I have a position one way or the other on it. I'm just saying I think it would take it would be good for the council to have some time to think it through because I think one of the things that you said is, you know, how do we do it? And I think that that's worth some thoughtfulness. So why don't we go ahead and I'm sorry, Miss Watlington. Uh Miss Brown was before me. Miss Brown, is yours related? Um yeah. Oh, you said yours was different. Okay, so mine totally different. Okay, two quick things. So the first thing is um you're correct. I asked that question about a month ago. Um you mentioned there were some challenges to bifurcating the meeting. At what point can we expect um some conclusions to that? Yeah, I I hope to have a response to that in a in perhaps by the end of this week. We've already done some research, so I just haven't reviewed it myself and kind of weighed in on it. Okay. Thank you. Um and then the second thing, well, I'll leave the second thing for sake of brevity. I'm done. Okay. So, Madame Mayor, do I So, in regards to SEIU and the airport workers coming down, I just um I advocate for them and stand with them. And so I wanted to ask you or either the city attorney um I would like to ask for you to authorize the budget, governments and intergovernment relations committee to investigate the safety and efficiency of airport operations including but not limited not limited to researching the city of Charlotte's authority to implement policy to improve the safety and efficiency of airport operation and examining the measures to improve recruitment and retention of workers employed at the airport. So, how do we go about doing that? That's something that I am supporting and standing with the airport workers on. Now, if there's something we need to do, um, you know, we have to have some understanding of what the city attorney has provided us, how much depth we have or how much opportunity we have depending on what the state law is saying to us. And I think that one time we had a meeting and there were lots of conversations going back and forth, but it was not singular out there to do this. So I think it would be good for us to think about how to do this and make a decision with the attorney's advice on how this works and be glad to do that. Okay. I can definitely work with Mr. Fox uh office. Uh, and I'll just add I've I've opined before about the requests that they are making under the case ordinance. My we've had several communications back and forth. I sent a response to them today and to me to me the the information that they continue to provide doesn't change the analysis. The analysis is dictated by the wage and hour act and under 16820. It does not change the and so we still have restrictions around what we can do with regards to wage and hour considerations regardless of I understand the merits what they're asking for and it's altruistic is noble but we are restricted by law on what we can do and how far we can go. Right. So, I want to work with you and I I'm sorry. We're This is our discussion right now. Please let us have it. Thank you. So, yes, sir. Thank you for responding to that. And I just I wanted to see some of the language that they've submitted over and see some of the work that we've done to show that we're just trying to move progress forward for them. That's what I would like to see. Okay. I'm sorry. It's time for us to We're going to go into a close session. Um I do. Oh, ma'am. Um, just to follow up to that, my understanding was the last time that we met here, we were talking about a couple of different things, but when it the one that stuck out to me, I think council member Johnson brought up and it was related to our ability to review our procurement requirements as it relates to the output metrics. We wanted to make sure that as a council that we were expecting not only the lowest responsible responsive bidder but that particular KPIs were met and to the extent that the vendors or the biders could prove that they could meet those KPIs one of which would be employee recruitment and retention that would be something that would be within our purview. Whether or not that translates to wages would be something for the biders or the companies to decide. But it my understanding walking away from that discussion was that it was within our purview to have that kind of policy discussion from a procurement angle within committee. So if and that was what I interpreted this new request to be. So to the extent that that's what it is, I support council member Brown's request. Okay. Miss Johnson. Yes. So um Mr. Fox and I did have that conversation. and we talked about the uh procurement policy and we we'd like to take a look at that if council member Brown if that was requesting a referral to committee and council member Watlington can seconded that. Sure. I mean, I don't know that it can be in the more form of a motion because we weren't going to vote on this agenda item, but if so, then sure. So, that's what I was just asking the mayor. What would be the proper and I think what I'm saying is that we all ought be in this in a position that we all have the same information. And I think that that's going to be relying upon our city attorney to help us through this. And I know that this is something that people are very very um thinking about. How can we do something? How do we make something as I think the attorney said noble things but these are things that I think about in a way that how do we create jobs for people that pay better and how do we do that that's by getting behind people in a way that we can for you know provide these opportunities for them which is why we always and and I've had this conversation many times with several of the people in this group but I believe that we have the ability to think about how to create better jobs if we leave some of these things um with purpose and con and with what we were doing with all of our work around the um things that we believe in our I think our vict values and so right now I think that we should go ahead we're going to go into the close session we have a couple of things that we can talk with the um attorney about and then we can see what we have left over for what we want to do. I do not want to say that we can have a referral on something. It's something at this late in moment in time and to say that we've all agreed upon it. We just have to do some more work together. Can I say just say one thing? During our strategic planning session, I was very deliberate about asking how council members can get something on the agenda, right? Because I've been concerned for years that it takes six people to get something on the agenda. and we were told directly that a council member could request something on the agenda. You have three at least three possibly four council members that continually bring this up. We want to see a discussion move forward be that from a committee or uh at at the um on the dis. So I think this is an opportunity to that ask has been we've made that ask formally. So, it's it's your call now, may well, I haven't said. Yeah. The motion is to uh go into close session pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 143- 3181 1183 to consult with the city attorney to preserve the attorney client privilege in the matter of city of Charlotte F versus Tumi one LLC. That's the motion. So, move a motion and a second. Do I have a second? Second. Second. All in favor, raise your hands. Let's go into close. I'm sorry. Raise your hands. All in favor? All of do you oppose? One, two, three opposed. No, I'm not opposing. No, she's she's four. She's four. No, I'm going into close session. I wasn't. Sorry. Okay, then. So, we have two people that will not go into close session. They will not go into it. That's what I saw today. [Music] [Music]