[Music] o [Music] o o [Music] oh oh oh [Music] 22nd Mary Johnson was the founder of of of creating rtn yes [Music] o [Music] oh oh oh [Music] [Music] adjusting the mic Dr Harrison I wanted to publicly thank you for um our meeting last week the meeting was very productive um for mayor cowl and council members I want to summarize just a few key points for you and ask for your support please I've spoken at several of the council's public comment SE sessions asking for the council's attention to p pcbs inside District D I'm a current breast cancer patient who is exposed to very high levels of pcbs at NC State's po Hall and for the last 16 months my mission has been to build awareness of pcbs and the effect that they have on humans and to ensure that my fellow citizens are not put at risk in our meeting I reminded Dr Harrison that the city has an existing environmental Advisory Board the board advis advises this Council on matters related to Environmental Quality and promotes Environmental Protection standards and policies to the public I reviewed the bylaws of that environmental uh board and saw that in article six the board can create special ad hoc committees with agreement of this city council under article six I ask Dr Harrison to enact a PCB task force or committee to protect Raleigh citizens Dr Harrison suggested broadening the scope from only pcbs to focus on forever chemicals which would also include pcbs but also pasas I agree fully with her um idea of broadening the focus and I fully support it research studies have said that environmental advisory boards have not been utilized enough for issues outside of climate change so the implementation of a forever chemical committee could have very positive outcomes including facilitating communication between citizens and local government leaders such as yourselves building Community awareness of the chemicals and the effects they have on air air water soil and human beings creating Community involvement we could rally citizens around the initiatives or the projects that would come out of such a committee task force and building intergovernmental cooperation which has been a large problem with this PCB um issue at po Hall so going forward I hope you'll hear more about this from Dr Harrison um I hope you'll support the implementation of forever chemical committee under this existing board and don't have to invent anything new I also want to say if I can be a resource in framing the focus and the goals of such a committee I would love the opportunity to do so and Dr Harrison I would just want to thank you for your willingness not only to meet and to collaborate but the joy of that meeting was your creative thinking and that's the best part that came out of that meeting um so if implemented this would be a big step forward for our city it would also be a big step forward for protection of our citizens from a lot of toxic chemicals so thank you very much thank you thanks Miss Alfred um and my apologies to Liz High who I inadvertently uh skipped so yes you forget all right good evening my name is Liz High I've been a Wake County resident for 10 years and a volunteer at the Wake County Animal Center for the last three and a half I'm here to reiterate the growing concern in the Raleigh Community around the retail sale of dogs in pet boutique stores if you have not visited Wake County Animal Center off of Newburn Avenue I personally invite you to take a stroll through their through their adoption floor you will see 80 to 100 dogs available for adoption 15 to 50 cats and an Eclectic mix of small Critters sometimes even farm animals wcac is the only open intake animal shelter in this County meaning they are required to except every single animal brought to them if a person is arrested or hospitalized wcac cares for their animals if a person dies wcac cares for their animals animals from hoarding cases abuse cases feral animals animals that have bitten humans and owner surrenders are all cared for by wcac in 2024 alone the Wake County Animal Center accepted 8,520 two animals even with over 4,000 adoptions Raleigh is still clearly experiencing an animal crisis does it sound like we need any additional animals bred and sold in our city backyard and puppy mill breeders are so prevalent in the Raleigh area that entire rescues exist to care for the discarded puppies from irresponsible breeders Perfectly Imperfect pups is a Raleigh based rescue that specifically cares for disabled and dis discarded dogs these dogs are often doodle type or other Niche crossbreed dogs that are bred specifically to be sold in Boutique puppy stores such as Petopia Superstar puppies and Petland there are no consequences for breeders that fill our already stretched shelters and rescues please take into the account the very clear opinion of your constituents and ban these types of stores from existing in our in our city use your connections to help persuade state legislators to ban the retail sale of dogs do not let Raleigh be left behind as cities and states across the US ban the retail sale of dogs eight states and over 400 cities have already banned the practice the Raleigh Community has spoken loud and clear on this issue we do not need more dogs in this community while North Carolina has the second highest rate of Youth in Asia thank you for listening thank you miss high next we have Laura Harris Laura Harris District D I'm here with others affiliated with Raleigh people's budget assembly to once again voice their demands um that public speaking time not be reduced uh two to fund a community response team that's separate from the police three to establish a meet and confer policy between city workers and the city manager and four to establish a participatory budget process so that the city budget is determined from the bottom up instead of the top down and as an individual I have something else to speak on on Sunday February 16th I was passing by Oak City cares which for those of you who may not know is a a homeless Aid Hub um here in Raleigh um and there was a flood of cop cars behind me passing me just rushing um and they're around in total and with how they were rushing you would think like a mass shooting was taking place with and how many um so I stopped to film um and when I got there I missed the altercation itself um but from the best I could tell afterwards it had just simply been a fist fight um and you know I didn't see any weapons or anything that have been confiscated um I don't see how it takes that many officers and security Personnel to respond to a simple fist fight um and at least one witness told me um that one of the people involved in the altercation was a pregnant black woman and that she had been needed in the stomach by an officer while um they were intervening in the altercation um now there are ways of dealing with situations and that's definitely not one of them is she has a mer a miscarriage she has no legal recourse um you know this points to the militar militarization of police here um and against you know poor black brown and the homeless um and the over policing of those communities you know now this is a damn shame and I demand that the matter be investigated and the officer in question be disciplined and this is why we need a community Response Team separate from the police thank you thank you Miss Harris next we have Donna Bailey good evening um tonight I want to talk about City Planning and the importance of predictability we can see with What's Happening Now nationally when plans are not followed it's total chaos this is also applicable to following the established plans that were carefully considered and adopted in the city specifically I want to talk about the recent change to Z5 the previous Z 5422 case where that parcel was brought into the downtown transition area that change gives very clear guidance on height at the edge of the and adjacent to residential it's very clear that the top Heights should be no more than 12 Stories the same as across the street at the Publix this is not downtown this is an edge anything you do down here will set a precedent for every other area in the downtown what's the point of having a plan and not following it mayor cowl this will be an important case for you if the 30 stories is granted you can expect developers to use this as the new role model you have the power to stop this councelor silver you were involved in the creation of the comp plan I've often heard you say just follow the plan many times I know that councelor silver has said he has no conflict of interest I spoke to Mr Silver before the election and expressed my concern since he was so closely connected to the development industry industry with his position at McAdams Mr Silver represented the developer during the comp plan amendment when the downtown transition area was requested he had numerous meetings in his office at MC McAdams with the applicant and other interested parties it seems to me and many others that you clearly have a moral conflict of interest it may be legal but it doesn't pass the smell test we all know the city needs more density by following the comp plan and the recommended downtown transition guideline the city can achieve much more density and still keep a reasonable height next to the neighborhoods whatever happens here you can expect to be repeated in other downtown Edge neighborhoods this shouldn't be hard to deny the 30 story request from this or any other developer and councelor silver we will all be watching to see if you can be trusted to do the right thing thank you thanks Miss Bailey next we have Robert courts honorable mayor esteemed city council my fellow Raleigh I I stand before you today on behalf of Raleigh's firefighters urging you to approve the funding for the firefighter separation allowance these brave men and women risk their lives daily to protect us yet they do not receive the same retirement benefits as Raley's other public safety heroes our police officers yesterday right here Raleigh's fire chief shared staggering facts recruitment struggles compensation concerns and most troubling firefighter mortality rates while recruitment is a major Focus retaining experienced firefighters must be our priority they are the backbone of the department the leaders and mentors who keep it strong without them we lose not only their skill and experience but also their ability to to train and Inspire the next generation of firefighters as Raleigh grows so do the burdens on our firefighters every new neighborhood annexed every highrise added to our Skyline increases the complexity and danger of their work fighting fires in a single story home is vastly different from responding to emergencies in a 30 story highrise with each expand ion we ask our firefighters to take on more yet we have not expanded the benefits needed to retain them approving this allowance ensures our firefighters can retire with dignity easing the financial burden between retirement and age 62 without it we risk losing more seasoned professionals professionals further weakening a department already struggling with vacancies 4 for today and at least 60 by the Fall this isn't just a firefighter issue it's a public safety issue a short staffed overstressed Department cannot fully protect our growing City without experienced Personnel response times increase training suffers and the safety of both firefighters and our citizens is put at risk providing this allowance will help retain Talent attract recruits and ensure our fire department remains strong capable and ready to meet the challenges ahead Raleigh is thriving and we owe much of that to those who protect it I urge you to support our firefighters and allow this separation allowance to be approved thank you thank you Mr courts next we have Chris crew Mr crew here okay James Russell is Mr Russell here right [Music] William oh he's also okay I see I should be going by the more updated uh Alex bevens is is Alex here okay we're making progress uh Miguel magalen good evening everyone my name is Miguel maganis I am the manager at endless Grind Skate Shop I am here today to talk to you guys a little bit about skate parks and not just any skate parks DIY skate parks um recently graveside DIY was demolished that was uh off midpines road it was a private property but it was a place for all types of people to come together and build um a DIY skate park is a community funded skate park so the city does not have to really spend any money on it um there is such a need for a place for people of all walks of life um artists uh people that enjoy car carpentry or concrete um or just skateboarding in general um with gravide and also skate rally soon to be um torn down there's a huge need um I see people every day whether they're kids or young adults or adults um that need a place to call theirs um and a legal one of course um so uh I guess I am here today just to kind of advocate for them as well thank you thank you all right Paul Thompson good evening Council um my name is Paul Thompson I was born and raised in Raleigh North Carolina I'm now a homeowner in Raleigh where my wife and I have decided to raise our two kids I've been skateboarding now for over 25 years and I hope to continue as long as I am physically able uh when I was growing up and throughout my high school years the City of Raleigh didn't have any dedicated spaces for skateboarding at all my friends and I quickly learned to build our own ramps and obstacles so that we can continue developing our skills on the skateboard uh I now work for a commercial general contracting company based in carry and I continue using the carpentry skills that I acquired when I was building the skateboard ramps with my friends as a skateboarder and Raleigh native I'm proud that we now have Creek skate park and I hope we can continue to provide more spaces for skateboarding for future Generations one unique characteristic of skateboarding is that the style and tricks are constantly evolving the facilities for skateboarding need to evolve with the sport for example most of the skat parks in the US that were constructed in the 1970s were demolished within 20 years because these Parks were no longer being utilized skate skateboarding was still very popular but the layouts of these Parks uh would did not evolve with the style and the tricks as skateboarding developed you can see this is a unique issue compared to other athletic facilities as basketball courts and Tennis Courts have remained the same for decades since skateboarding is constantly growing and changing the dedicated spaces need to be updated to remain relevant or they risk becoming underutilized by the community one solution to this issue is to allow skateboarders themselves to decide what features should be constructed at the dedicated spaces for skating the city would provide a relatively flat smooth concrete or asphalt slab and the skateboarders would fund design and construct all of the obstacles in this space uh this type of project is affectionately called a DIY skate park similar projects can be found all over the country and these are historically the most popular and most utilized skat Parks recently Charlotte provided a dedicated space for a DIY skate park and they were able to bring new life to a neglected tennis court meinberg county has provided many skat parks for their communities and has set aside funding for even more future skateboarding skate park projects as the next Generations of skateboarders are influencing the sport and pushing it to new heights I hope that Raleigh will continue incorporating spaces for skateboarding in the future Park developments and consider the DIY skate park project method thank you thanks Mr Thompson right Michael Haron okay Riley Murphy hello my name is Riley and I'm here today in with many other local skateboarders in support of a legally sanctioned DIY skate park in Raleigh similar to other North Carolina cities such as Charlotte Asheville and Statesville the previous Raleigh DIY skate park space located off of midpines road was just demolished to make way for a new condo development this place was fundraised designed and built by the skate Community for the skate Community please follow the link in the provided PDF to a recent virtual tour of the skate park site this 3D scan serves as both a reference and a reminder of the time effort and resources put in to this project over the past eight years it's also an example of attention to detail creativity and what works for this community composed of all ages and types much to the disappointment of skaters all around North Carolina along with many neighbors and supporters it is now gone and we are in need of a new place to collaborate and call home something unique to Raleigh that will complement the local vibe while also bringing in newcomers from across North Carolina and Beyond we'd like to propose that the underutilized area at JC Park a space that had been mentioned in the past be dedicated towards this use the overwhelming support for this idea was shown on multiple platforms and voted on by dozens if not hundreds of us this would be a great place for a project of this kind while complimenting the existing Park and getting plenty of use if this area at JC Park is not available then where can we make this happen we're ready to get started right away thanks thank you Clinton Perry thank you city council members for letting us speak I want to back up all my friends that have are new to me and are ever changing our relationships as my wife and I decided to move to Raleigh about six to seven months ago I am a native North Carolinian but we chose Raleigh for a certain circumstance I've been skateboarding for 40 years of my life it is part of my heart my soul and my passion just like these guys have spent over eight years creating a place graveside it's like no other skate park that others that really don't understand skateboarding a lot of times spend the money spend the time and the effort to make it happen but often times that gets lost in the shuffle for the people who really enjoy it there's lots of families and lots of areas surrounding Raleigh that have new extra great new places for families and skateboarders alike to enjoy Raleigh has just seen gravide one of the most dedicated DIYs for the folks that I've just spoke upon building by themselves on their own dime time and effort to just go away we understand that other people own property my wife and I bought a house here for that particular reason to have something of our own we understand all of those legal guidelines we would just like to suggest the city council consider offering a space where we can build with our own time with our own effort when our own money just a safe place for us to go we all know what youth does when you know the the they don't have the time or the effort to do what they want to do they get in trouble we don't want to do that Raleigh is a great City that's why we also chose to move here I'm a professional photographer I have helped so many folks from North Carolina become professional skateboarders some of them even going to the Olympics we've seen the Olympics we've seen what skateboarding has changed it's not just you know some guys dressing weird and all that stuff there's women it covers the gamut now please support us and offer a space that we can build on our own thank you thank you great Erin Collins council members I'm here not to ask for money your time labor only permission to build a public DIY skate park and Raleigh equal or greater to in quality to graveside DIY which is just demolished this is like a community garden for our community we appreciate public skate parks like we can appreciate a State Botanical Garden but sometimes getting your hands dirty and being more involved in community is longer lasting building ramps and doing front side grinds is integral to the Raleigh skate scene thank you thank you Nadia f Nadia here no Nathan wellish good evening uh honorable City Council Members my name is Nathan wellish I'm an independent photo journalist with a bachelor's in media and journalism from UNCC Chapel Hill and I'm here to speak about our City's need for a sanctioned DIY skate park I began uh I'll be by speaking about gravide a little bit in the spring semester of 2023 for My Capstone photojournalism project I chose to do a story on graveside DIY my Photo Story which continued until the Park's desr destruction destruction this past February focused on gravesides development and Community during my two years documenting the park I made many friends and considered graveside a second home the park was approximately 18,000 ft complete with 8ft tall quarter pipes creative features and a fully skat loop everything was built by hand by the community with crowdfunded and recycled materials for approximately $220,000 what was once an abandoned lot tucked in the woods off of midpines Road became a tourist attraction for skaters across the country in my time documenting the park I spoke with dozens of people who traveled many miles to skate graveside many even brought their families and kids honorable council members I know you might be thinking what's the point of approving a project like this if there are already skat parks in the area first I invite you to think about a DIY skate Park not as a skate park but more like a community garden as my friend Aon mentioned in a traditional uh excuse me um a traditional skate park is more like a state funded Botanical Garden we can all appreciate the beauty found in a Botanical Garden but there's something more gratifying about getting your hands dirty and growing something yourself that's where Community Gardens come into play people can come together and grow food and flowers as a community enriching activity in a space that they all share a DIY skat park is in many ways the same they teach trade skills like carpentry and concrete um concrete work with hands-on experience and they are an everchanging reflection of the community that skates there additionally there is already precedent for City sanctioned DIYs in other North Carolina cities Charlotte has kilborn DIY which is the replacement for Eastland DIY that was demolished two years ago this year Statesville opened skates Ville DIY the city's first skates park since the 70s and Asheville has Foundation one of the only things in the river ARS District that survived hurricane Helen it's privately owned but it's a good example of what a DIY Park can become with support from the city honorable City Council Members I encourage you to please consider granting a space for a city approved DIY thank you thank you Cavin mcau Cav here nope gray mamr all right frolin Martinez Nikki nap hello council members my name is Nikki nap I'm here with the DIY skate park Advocates that you've heard from I was born and raised and went to college here in Raleigh I actually moved away for a few years but came back due to my deep care for the city um including this initiative that's going on right now skateboarding changed my life ever since I started 5 years ago at age 23 I lead an organization that started in 2020 called skate forward our mission with skate forward is to bring inclusion diversity and Community to the skate scene in the triangle and Beyond creating a safe space for skaters of all skill levels and encouraging each other both on and off the board skate forward raises awareness around sexual violence and gender discri discrimination and we have some incredible allies here in the room for our organization in the past few years we've been sponsored by Red Bull hosted four large events and have had appearances in the media um and skate forward's presence demonstrates the legitimate legitimacy of Raleigh skate scene and public interest in skateboarding we are as far as I know the only public wom in lgbtq organization in North Carolina with hundreds of members skate forward was born out of graveside the DIY it was a place that many of us felt comfortable going to as women and fem skaters a park where a skate park where we um build ourselves feels safer compared to Parks like Apex and Marsh Creek due to the many approachable obstacles where we can learn new tricks and smaller crowds that reduce the risk of injury graveside became skate forward spot for weekly meetups especially this past year we would love to continue having a space that Fosters our mission a space to replace graveside will help us continue a culture of collaboration divers and Community speaking for myself and skate forward a sanctioned DIY skate park will help reduce injury bring inclusion to the growing skate scene draw on additional resources and cultivate sustainable Safe Community that allows impactful collection collectives like skate forward to keep going thank you thank you right my understanding is that Michael Haron um has arrived yeah if you want to come on down hey council members thank you for your time uh my name is Michael Haron uh I just wanted to talk also on behalf of the DIY skate park um so you've heard so many talking points already um but I'm here to relay them and relay my own personal experience with skateboarding and why this is so important to the community um first of all it is truly a commity Garden it's a place where people can not only get their hands dirty um but they can build something and see it last and see it grow so I I mean I would even liken it to planting a forest you know like it's one thing to go to to go show your kid a a tree to go show your kid a flower and it's another thing to plant that flower with your kid and watch it grow into an entire Forest an entire Garden um and and to get to experience that to teach them new skills to teach them how to fall and how to fail gracefully and how to handle themselves when they do fall because they will and I think a lot of um people nowadays they're like kids nowadays they don't know how to fail and there's a reason because they go outside and they are pushed into a space where report cards can only be A's and if they do fail it's seen as their own lacking so it's really a a deficit that we have in our community there's PL there's not many places for our kids to go and there's not many places for them to fail freely so I would advocate for this skate park because skating I mean it's taught me that I can fail I mean through all my education that's not something that I learned um but skateboarding taught me that and uh I think it's extremely valuable it teaches grit it teaches perseverance it teaches how to build things and makes good people um and it Fosters intergenerational community so I mean 40-year-olds befriending 13year olds at the skate park teaching them life skills invaluable mentorship I mean the list goes on so yeah a lot of people here have a lot of stake in the matter and there's clearly a deficit in our community because so many people are here um so I think I would greatly consider um I would ask you to consider to please hear the needs of the community and to recognize the value in this weird Niche thing that really is really important and it's really healthy for the community so thank you guys thank you right John Myer hey I'm John Meyer um I didn't really prepare much so I'm just going to improvise here um yeah these people um a this is a small sliver of like a larger Community um and I see some of these people like most days of the week um a few people that spoke tonight I've never even seen them before so I feel like an example of you know bringing people together you can see that tonight um but I think there's like a prevailing message and even amongst other people like um Donna Bailey talking about a development disturbing an a pre-existing um uh uh housing community rather um I myself have had a developer take a tree down on my property last week uh day one of uh breaking ground um so I feel like uh there's a there is a message of the city doesn't care so I feel like um providing a space for a DIY Community to flourish would be like really positive to uh really everybody um let's see here yeah that's all thank you thank you Tim Niles okay uh John sequera all right good evening council members and City staff my name is John sequera and I am the executive director for Citizens for a safe and secure Raleigh as we're in budget season and having important conversations around all public safety I'm here tonight to urge bold action in regards to law enforcement a news and observer article on February 24th claims Raleigh has a crime problem with crime increasing from 2020 through 2024 while surrounding towns earned excellent safety ratings well the truth is Raleigh's Police Department is underresourced and without material increases in pay and head count our city remains at risk specifically I ask that the next budget increases police salaries to be the highest in the region and that it initiates a budget headcount increase of 400 additional officers over the next 45 years to meet the needs of our growing city in regards to pay I applaud our recent progress in recruitment to address our yearslong vacancy issue unfortunately we do have a pattern of officers joining our department and the leaving for other department shortly after training citing low pay for reference the starting salary for a Raleigh Police Officers $55,000 while Carrie and Apex start officers at just over $60,000 the average officer salary in Charlotte is roughly $20,000 more than in Raleigh a public opinion poll last year revealed that Public Safety is the top concern for Raleigh citizens and 75% of respondents supported a substantial police pay increase Chief R Boyce has already emphasize that pay is directly tied to retention and that retention in turn improves recruitment when we take care of our officers he said they become our best recruiters Beyond meeting our current budgeted headcount the city's own 2020 Staffing study found that Raleigh should have roughly 400 more police Personnel to meet Community needs without sufficient resources every resident In The City Is At Risk the result is longer response times fewer proactive patrols and limited crime prevention efforts the impact on businesses is is also clear speaking with members of the Raleigh Merchant Association and uh property owners who have shared that concerns about crime particularly in towntown downtown continue to affect employers employees and wouldbe customers of businesses and events we also have members of the Raleigh Hospitality Alliance represented here representing Hotel operators who voice concern over vehicle break-ins throughout the city and the ripple effect negative guest experiences has on future business to reference maso's hierarchy of needs everything that allows us to enjoy life life in our city relies upon a foundation of safety Public Safety is the city's most fundamental responsibility that we must meet by increasing police headcount and leading the region in Pay I urge you to pass a budget that achieve that goal our City's future depends on it thank thank you all right uh Nikki W okay Cole McMullen Cole McMullen uh first I watched yesterday's budget work session and would like to reiterate my support for firefighter separation allowance um and I agree with something Council Lambert Milton said uh that other city employer employees that perform dangerous and physically demanding tasks should be considered for separation allowance as well uh shifting gears uh I was blown away by how successful the bringing Neighbors Home pilot initiative has been in such a short amount of time um as a resident of Raleigh I'd like to thank EMA Sutton and her team in housing and neighborhoods for highlighting the fact that it is fiscally responsible to address homelessness with housing instead of criminalizing the unhoused as well as external Partners like Oak City cares and the weight Continuum of Care that were involved in this um I would like to see this pilot program expanded upon and continue to be funded to hopefully see the day when nobody in Raleigh is unhoused that being said I'd like to think even more longterm with regards to housing availability giving that housing is subject to Market forces and North Carolina state law precludes enactment of rent control the potential for private landlords to drive up the price of fair market rents through the through various means remains intact um ways to address this include increasing the supply market rate housing which has been a primary focus of the city um I would argue a downside of this tool is that it is primarily reactive instead of proactive implementation of rent control would be a more proactive tool for maintaining housing affordability but requires approval of the general assembly uh three members of this Council have already expressed public support for rent rent rent control thank you councilors Jones Patton and Harrison um I would like to see all council members similar similarly Express public support for rent control as well as direct the city's lobbyist to the general assembly to aggressively push for rent control another tool for maintaining overall housing affordability is to expand public housing up to the maximum number of units Allowed by the fair cloth Amendment which I believe in Raleigh is about 70,000 units compared to the approximately 7,000 Current public units um if I recall correctly uh while it is true that 70,000 units does not meet the estimated need using a rolling window of 70,000 public units to to construct multif family housing would help house our most vulnerable residents and provide an Avenue to establish housing cooperatives throughout the city to provide home ownership opportunities that are currently being lost to real real estate investment corporations granted this is an incredibly ambitious course of action that would require years as well as federal state and County funds for support but I think this is a long-term goal and strategy that should be pursued by the city which is why we can't afford to have our elected officials sitting idly by on shorter term issues like rent control rent control is not the only short-term issue that could be lobbied for at the general assembly oh I'm out of time right thank you thank you David olmer sorry I need the readers this time uh David Almer 2105 C Bluff Court that's North Raleigh District a uh it's been about 2 years I bothered to come down here for open mic night that's primarily because I've been pretty happy with city council so the leadership and the direction generally very happy um that said the recent budget engagement process I think missed the Mark um sending people out and just saying here's our pie chart here's our website all right tell us everything you want and need I understand there's a listening part and listening to what people need but if people don't walk you know walk in and then walk out better educated about where money really comes from then you can't really have a discussion about the budget because people aren't thinking about the revenue side of this so uh you know Urban 3 is an organization in North Carolina that looks at housing types and how much money you generate they looked at Durham it was just a short four minute video but it's fantastic because what you begin to realize is single family homes in low density neighborhoods over a 30 40 year period of their life doesn't generate enough tax revenue to pay for the long-term infrastructure costs Glennwood south on the other hand you know you'll hear people in North Raleigh complain about Glennwood South oh they get too much money too much money is spent downtown as somebody in North Raleigh I appreciate Glennwood South and all of downtown you are funding me I am well aware that people in Glenwood South are donating tax dollars to North Raleigh I appreciate it I always love free money but that said that's what your budget engagement process is not covering and so how does this play out Midtown CAC Wayne miles and Greg Marshall show up they want to talk about the dam they want to talk about Eastgate Park so now your water department can take on a a bond you can take on debt now in your water department apparently so that's going to be what $6 million you're thinking about for that project you look at that R4 zoning around that neighborhood even intoxicated I couldn't make that work I mean you just look at what that you know 400 single family homes you look at that 765 that Wayne's talking about covering that for a single family home as a storm waterer fee it doesn't work 25 years 400 homes which is high for that area that's a community park it's not a destination Park it's less than a million dollars so the rest of us in Raleigh have to subsidize that I mean I understand inflation is there and fees will go up but unless this is in Z bab way it's never going to get covered you know and not by that area I mean that's what you're asking that's is why those budget engagement processes are so important and you can't have people walking around this ignorant because the rest of us in the city are going to subsidize that area in North rowy that area is not a poor area that area is not you know happy to finally get a library put in or something uh you know again I don't want to get in too much into conversations about equity and other stuff but when you're subsidizing people at my income level with my background with a dam you you kind of got to wonder you know are you spending your money smart and the reason you can't talk about this with voters is your budget engagement process is trash to be quite honest you're not making people smarter thank you thank you Mr olmer uh Terry Turner right Summit Mandall good evening city council and thank you for letting me speak today about skate parks my name is name is Sumit mondal and I'm on the board of skate Raleigh the nonprofit that put together conin family skate park downtown I'm here to lend my and skate righ support to create a DIY skate park at JC Park you may have heard that gravide has been torn down recently and it's also true that in the next year Colin family skat Park will be torn down as well this leaves a huge void of safe accessible and fun skate parks for communities and families next year a 2021 study by the as Institute found that skateboarding was the third most commonly reported interest for high school students another 2021 study found that there were 8.8 million skateboarders in the United States up 35% from 2019 this doesn't even account for BMX roller quad and inline skaters as well I have been a skateboarder for over 15 years and I know that skate parks facilitate a sense of community I moved to downtown Raleigh 3 years ago and I found my friends through endless Grind Skate Shop conin family skate park and graveside skate park talk to any skateboarder and they will tell you the value of connecting with other skaters at skate parks skate shops and events skat Parks provide a unique space for Intercultural communication they offer skaters the opportunity to understand and interact with skaters of diverse racial age and gender backgrounds these Builders here behind me can build an equitable skat Park and that they can build obstacles of varying sizes for a wide range of skill levels for different types of wheels and they can facilitate a safe Community for all skaters thank you for listening and I know we can work this out at JC Park but it doesn't stop here we need more skate parks in Raleigh and I hope to see you all again to talk more about skate parks thank you thanks okay iob eptp Council cat you guys know I'm with meals for the masses a free meal distribution every Sunday in more Square I am here in support of the demands made by Raleigh people's budget assembly to fund a community response team that's separate from the police police don't prevent crime they only respond to it and often make situations worse as the saying goes police are like a box of chocolates they'll kill your dog establish a meet and confer policy between city workers and the city manager city workers deserve to have their input heard and implemented when it comes to policies that impact their livelihood give community members input on how funds are spent by establishing a participatory budget process having a single public comment session is not enough the people of Raleigh deserve their needs heard and met in the budget that they that they fund with with their taxes uh I also support giving Raleigh firefighters a separation allowance unlike police they actually put their lives on the line and save lives for next to nothing pay and I also support the DIY skate parks as the city council continually gives preference to developer campaign donations over its constituents third places for Community to come together and connect are now fewer and farther between I personally think that the city should provide this fund this group with the funds for this project you fund tearing down you fund the tearing down of these people's community space then you owe it to them to fund them rebuilding a new one thank you Reeves peeler how's it going y'all Reeves peeler 417 Austin Street so I'm actually here tonight to stand in solidary with Raleigh's firefighters and join them in their fight for separation allowance for some years for some years now as most of y'all know our firefighters professional association local 548 have been advocating and organizing around winning a well- earned separation allowance policy and all these $ 1.43 billion budget some of you might know firefighting is incredibly dangerous both on the job and after retirement firefighters nationally uh get cancer rates much higher than the average person including 1.5 Times Higher for Non-Hodgkins Loma and Two Times Higher for testicular cancer uh now the city as I understand it just got back a pay study uh that shows the cost of separation allowance in terms of money per year and this came back as I saw roughly $5 million per year this money was put into investment fund this could pay for itself be self-funded essentially 20 years uh now there's plenty of predent for this here in Raleigh Raleigh Police Department has enjoyed separation allowance for many decades uh I believe our firefighters should enjoy that parody there's also precent across other municipalities in the state including meban Gastonia Canapolis Elizabeth City and Washington now Al you know obviously these towns have fewer employees they also have much smaller tax bases uh so if we were to do this in Raleigh this would amount to less than half a penny per person property tax per year and using an a average residential property tax bill that would come out to somewhere around $10 per year per household something I think would be well worth it to have healthy firefighters and have a firefighting Department that we can both attract people to and retain experienced people in um yeah so I ask you please pass separation allowance in this year's budget also shout out to the graveside people that are here I'm not here to speak on that but I've been there before and I think having a DIY Park and Raleigh would be an excellent thing thanks thank you Jeremy Gilchrist all right good evening everybody um well I just wanted to speak out on public engagement and um particularly the speaking time being reduced I'm obviously very much against that and in particular we've seen across the country uh on the national level a rise of fascism and a shutting down of public discourse and public speech we just saw that I'm wearing this tonight from mmud khil who was basically disappeared in the system and I'm just nervous that we're going to you know we're seeing too much capitulation to to uh the far right and fascism across the country we're seeing that even among Democrats uh locally and otherwise uh nationally there are exceptions but unfortunately I'm seeing a lot more capitulation than resistance these days and it's becoming clear to me now exactly how the Nazis got as far as they did back in the 30s and 40s with the you know with the lack of resistance we're seeing today so I just don't want to see I want to see r protect its citizens protect speech uh the Palestinian Community that's been marching week after week has uh month after month uh as that was going on did it peacefully uh there was never they never caused problems uh to other people in the community and everything else but of course we are the state capital and there are many groups that I don't agree with that my blood would boil but they have a right to come here and protest as well so I just do not want to see us go down that road I want to see people be able to come here and express their thoughts to to their government officials as they should be able to without that much restriction so um and of course I want to further uh add my support to the people's budget assembly demands uh all of them that I listed and in particular I want to speak on the um the care idea the uh the non-p police dealing with mental health again going back to the National level right now I don't know if people are seeing the way the economy is going but the way they're doing things we're we're about to go over a cliff here and possibly in the recession and what's that going to do to the city of Raleigh that's going to put more people on the street than we already have and we still never fully recovered from the pandemic and those years when I believe homelessness doubled or tripled in the city so uh we're we're in for a really rough time coming up whether you know so we got to do what we can here on a local level to protect our citizens so we're going to see a lot more mental health struggles because of that too even if people are not on the street you're going to see a lot more people um you know suicide attempts mental health breakdowns and everything else if we do slide into recession so I really do think that in uh looking into that CARE program is detrimental uh with that on the horizon and um I do want to thank Christina Jones who's been instrumental uh in fighting for public engagement and that's uh why she's still here on the council today one of the big reasons and she's done a great job with that but let's just please not go the way the rest of the country is going and and keep the discourse open thank you thank you Mr Gilchrist and next we have Colin iser okay Alex Bret hi good evening city council uh my name is Alex Bret I live on Brookside Drive uh I'm here again to plead for the Brookside Drive bike lane installation to move forward finally it's been voted for approval there should be nothing standing in its way at this point um I don't understand why it's taking this long it's especially urgent now with the weather improving that means that con elementary kids are are out on their bikes um I've been outside in the neighborhood I've seen so many kids on bikes huge marauding gangs of kids on their bikes um as menacing as they may be they deserve to be safe um and these kids really demonstrate the importance of Brookside Drive it it's not just about the residents of the two block stretch that we're talking about uh it's not those residents that we need to be prioritizing um we need to be prioritizing the safety of all the cyclists and the kids and the pedestrians and all of the users from the surrounding neighborhoods um we need to reaffirm and prioritize the city's own modality goals more than we should be more than we should be prioritizing parking for a handful of residents who already have private parking um so again I'm pleading um there's nothing left to discuss about this project the vote has already been taken to install Bike Lanes in both directions um this plan is in the best interest of the safety of the neighborhood uh please hold to the city's vision for active transportation and Mobility options please move forward to implement the bike Lan plan that we have that's all thank you thank you next we have Athena Wallen hello I'm Athena Wallen I also live on Brookside Drive and I am I'm complimenting this strangers uh thoughts here uh he's my husband everybody um so Brookside Drive uh NC doot in November of 2023 stated that the a annual average daily traffic for half of Brookside Drive is 6,700 that's annual average daily vehicular expectation uh it wasn't always like that and um mil Bernie expects approximately 2,500 and has every modality represented in that stretch of land it's amazing when one has to die out because of you know cramped space there's still visibility for every modality so it never actually dips out it's very generously catered to the street and that's what I want for Brookside Drive too not just a portion of it the complete actual street because it is a through fair in many ways um the disparity that I feel is that there's an expectation that Raleigh residents will know how to come to you to ask for help um but we're stretched so thin that I I see so many people who don't even imagine themselves ever asking for help let alone thinking that if they do there can be an actionable change um how many times have I brought up the Brookside apartment complex as part of my Spiel of of Equitable evolution of Transportation um this is a building full of renters buildings full of renters who have never gotten their opinions catered to to complete a sidewalk that has been incomplete for decades and we're still trying to squeeze in parking for two blocks for tenants that don't even live here yet so that's the disparity that I'm trying to keep breaking us out of when we want to talk about projects that span a small section of a wider Street I see Neighbors that carry grocery bags in the mud where a sidewalk should have been I see Neighbors in wheelchairs wheelchairs riding from the sidewalk to the unmarked roadway with the same dangerous driving that you're seeking out resolution for for homeowners two blocks south um we have a renowned educational facility that is literally teaching children how to ride their bikes and there's no infrastructure as soon as they leave that school when I want to see smart planning for that infrastructure it's acknowledging that there are things like that existing in these communities and wanting to help us grow because that's what we're relying on you to do and help us with thank you thank you nway Williams I'm glad you got my name right thank you I appreciate it um hey y'all good evening nqu Williams member of refund Raleigh as well as the Raleigh people assembly um I want to give a quick shout out to Jane Christina and Megan for being on the side of the people and not voting to reduce our public comment time however I am extremely disappointed in stormy Jonathan Mitchell Janet as well as Corey for voting to reduce our public comment time um despite Community opposition I mean you still just chose to ignore us but there's still opportunity to do the right thing so let me give you a few things that you all can do number one reinstate public comment time bring back the three-hour public comment period on the second Tuesday of each month number three oh number three my bad number two prioritize real Community safety during this budget season you might hear testimony to increase police funding however if Public Safety is a priority then funds should be directed towards fully Staffing the community response team the community response team is the only pillar of Raleigh cares that does not involve police and the only pillar that has not yet been funded in a 2024 candidate survey Jonathan you said I will work hard this year through my relationships with Wake County Commissioners to make the partnership happen happen before our next budget cycle so the community response team can receive full funding and support in addition Megan you said I will Lobby to make sure that funding gets allocated to the fourth component the community response team I will work to ensure that that piece of the program stays out of Raleigh out of Raleigh PD we need all of you to make it happen for 2026 we cannot allow another budget another budget cycle to pass without fully funding this essential service we recognize that Wake County has a role to play and they must be held accountable but so do you all number three pay city workers what they deserve solid waste water and parks and wreck workers are still underpaid while Millions go to the police make it a priority for 2026 budget cycle to increase wages for city workers who actually keep Raleigh running rather than expanding a police force that does not prevent crime or keep Community safe number four establish a meet and confer policy for city workers in the same 2024 candidate survey I referenced earlier stormy Jonathan me um Megan jenet uh Christina Corey and Jane all said and agreed that they would work with public city workers union to ensure safer working conditions to uphold that commitment you must Implement a meet and confirm policy giving workers the ability to negotiate better pay in working conditions this is your opportunity to make the right choices the Raleigh people's budget assembly is well oh thank you thank you Miss Williams is mamai Sanders here she is good evening y'all it's another amazing day in paradise thank you all for your continued service especially during this budget season I just came from the preserving trees event to be here and watch the budget session yesterday so I'm feeling especially grateful for our city employees yesterday was fascinating I appreciate all the work that was done to prepare the presentations on compensation and the separation allowance I appreciated the subject matter experts from the fire chief to Human Resources the budget Department finance and even the city manager's office what I appreciated the most about the presentation on the separation allowance is that it included all the Departments where jobs are the most physically demanding where wear and tear on the body is higher because of the demands of the job and or where a minor sickness can be more detrimental to the communities our city workers are in service to like firefighters and EMTs while I'm here I also want to take a moment to say thank you to Lucas and the whole Tech Team who keep these meetings available to the public they are everywhere all the time and they deserve their flowers too I was able to attend last night because of that service I am here to speak in favor of awarding the firefighters their separation allow since they have been most vocal and advocating for it but I'm here for every Department that was featured getting it plus the pay raises I think focusing on the legal ramifications is a mute point none of us are out there running towards fires to save anyone or out picking up trash on a daily basis or physically maintaining the thousands of miles of pipes that nourish the city while I what I find Most Fascinating at this time is how the tables are essentially turned and what I mean by that is that everyone on on Council the city manager and the City attorney all represent communities that have historically been marginalized whether that's lgbtq women black and white and black men there are no straight white men in charge here I I say I mention this because the decision you have to make is about funding separation allowance in particular will predominantly affect men I imagine most of them being white I also imagine that most of them are potentially the Breadwinners in their families so this is really a historic occasion I know it's a challenging decision before you because that's a lot of money the 15% increase in wages plus you know the $5 million that has been mentioned I'm going to be like the resident who attended the district D budget listening session and submit that you should fund all of it he suggested you raise taxes to do it I don't agree with it but next week I plan to address how you can do it without raising taxes thank you guys again for your service and good night thank you all right last speaker key zamas I'm very thankful to be here and for everybody here I come a lot and this is my first time speaking city council fund a community response team that is separate from the police city manager Adams David and city council make us stronger by establishing a meet and confer policy between city workers and city manager and you the city manager manager we want to look up to you and we want to meet more establish a participatory budget increase public speaking time I'm key I love live in Tuscarora territory and I'm a resident of Raleigh for 2 years we are all watching to see what happens after each public comment we are eager for a participatory budget skate forward in DIY skate parks are Community Values and interests that can be better nourished in a participatory budget rpba Raleigh people budget assembly wants to collaborate with you to create that Wake County H houses Justice Coalition and meals for the masses is community to collaborate with to ensure our unhoused neighbors are long-term sheltered and fed to have our basic needs met so we can all be housed Neighbors in Raleigh refund Raleigh is community to collaborate with to make Raleigh safer without militarization or police today from Lara and at the last public comment a person came with concerns with the Integrity of Raleigh police officers who have and allow traffic stops with falsified narcotic drug test and evidence the complaints were sustained with their Internal Affairs but Raleigh Police said that they will not sustain any changes now the same person is experiencing repeated harassment and arrest from Raleigh Police Officers please go back and watch last ones um from our 1 minute 10 I go for a run this week and stop to dance in an empty parking lot a police officer in a vehicle pulls up and does not leave till I do I'm reminded of this neighbor's experience in Raleigh with police violence I know how unprotected I am under the surveillance of Raleigh Police I know from my last home in Denver Colorado that that a black person dancing in the streets can get the cops caught on you and have you killed like our neighbor Elijah mlan I know the racist Zionist systems that trained Raleigh Police see me as a threat there are 126 sworn and police criminal arrests for sex offenses cases in North Carolina and they haven't been updated since 2019 I do not hear the people here demanding for police sharing their experiences of being unprotected they are already protected by police demands for more police funding is greedy we need protection from police protection from paramilitary groups have been violently threatening the safety and health of black communities only 30 minutes north of Raleigh and Oak Grove we need people trained in deescalation adult youth Mental Health crisis neurod Divergence anti-racism anti-zionism and who are learned in the many experiences of people here in Raleigh we need strength for years to come as a capital at risk of insurrection when we focus a community funding on our basic needs of shelter and health and safety we prevent violence thank you to everybody here thank you that was the last speaker of the evening and we are adjourned [Music] a [Music]