Board of Commissioners

Fuquay-Varina Town Board Meeting Minutes Book - Page Fuquay-Varina Town Board Meeting April 20, 2021 John W. Byrne, Mayor J. Blake Massengill, Mayor Pro Tempore The Regular Meeting of the Fuquay-Varina Town William H. Harris, Jason O. Wunsch, Marilyn B. Gardner and Larry W. Smith, Town Board Members Board scheduled for Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 7:00 Adam G. Mitchell, Town Manager Mark D. Matthews, Assistant Town Manager p.m. was held at the Fuquay-Varina Town Hall, 134 N James (Jim) E. Seymour, Assistant Town Manager Main Street, Fuquay-Varina, NC. Rose H. Rich, Town Clerk James S. Adcock, III, Town Attorney In attendance were Mayor John W. Byrne, Mayor Pro Tem Blake Massengill, and Commissioners Bill Harris, Jason Wunsch, Marilyn Gardner, and Larry Smith. Also in attendance were Town Manager Adam Mitchell, Information Technology Director Scott Clark, and Town Attorney James Adcock. Assistant Town Manager Mark Matthews, Assistant Town Manager Jim Seymour, and Town Clerk Rose Rich attended the meeting virtually. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Byrne called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE Commissioner Larry Smith provided the invocation and Mayor Pro-Tem Massengill led the Pledge of Allegiance. VIRTUAL MEETING PROTOCOL Town Manager Mitchell stated that all attendees that have joined the meeting have joined muted. There is a public comment period near the beginning of the meeting and there is one public hearing tabled from the previous Town Board meeting that is scheduled. The time to address the town board on any matter that is not the subject of a scheduled public hearing is during the public comment section of the Town Board meeting agenda. If the public wishes to address the Town Board during the public comment period or the scheduled public hearing, they will need to notify the Town host that they wish to speak. For the public's benefit that may be joining the meeting via the zoom application, press the “raise hand” button in the Zoom application or star 9 (*9) to raise hand via telephone and notify the host you wish to address the Town Board. After you have raised your hand, you will enter into a queue. When the time for public comment begins Mayor Byrne will ask the Town host to recognize you to speak by calling out your name, or the last four digits of your telephone number. You will be unmuted at this time and invited to address the Town Board. The public is asked to begin comments by clearly stating your name and address for the public record. The public is asked to keep all comments to three minutes so that all that wish to speak can be heard in a timely manner. Once an individual has finished addressing the town board, they will be muted for the remainder of the meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 3A The April 5, 2021 minutes of the regularly scheduled meeting of the Town Board of Commissioners. MOTION: Mayor Pro-Tem Massengill SECOND: Commissioner Wunsch MOTION RESULTS: Passed Unanimously (5-0) PRESENTATIONS 4A There were no presentations for the April 20, 2021 Town Board meeting. PUBLIC COMMENTS 5A Kristen Pope, 108 Brookside Drive, stated that she was very disappointed to see a pause in the work of the Public Safety Committee. She stated that what was asked of the Committee was that multiple communities be looked at such as Apex, Durham and Fayetteville who all have citizen advisory boards in place. She proposed that a grassroots community group was not the type of committee that the public is seeking. She asked that a community advisory board be put in place. Mayor Byrne thanked Ms. Pope for her comments. ITEMS PREVIOUSLY TABLED 6A Zoning Map Amendment & Land Use Plan Amendment - AE Saunders Farm, LLC - a portion of 7621 S NC 55 Highway - PIN 0675353953 - REZ-2020-20 Purpose – To consider a requested zoning map amendment for a total of 72.334 acres, located at 7621 S NC 55 Highway, from the Residential Agricultural (RA) Zoning District to the Residential Medium Density Conditional Zoning District (RMD-CZD), and the corresponding Land Use Plan amendment from Rural Residential (RR) to Small-Lot Residential (SLR). Staff Comments – Town Manager Mitchell entered the agenda abstract and supporting documents for this agenda item into the official record of the Town. He then provided general information about the agenda item and made the following remarks. The subject property totals 72.334 acres and is located in the Town's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Although the property is subject to annexation, an annexation petition has not been submitted at this time. Currently, the property is partially cleared and used as farmland. The remaining portion of the property is forested. A single-family home is situated on the northern portion of the property along with structures associated with agricultural uses. The zoning map amendment petition requests approval of the Residential Medium Density Conditional Zoning District (RMD-CZD), which is intended to permit proposed residential development and existing single-family detached, duplex, triplex, or quadplex residential uses. The petitioner has requested the following permitted uses be made applicable to the subject property: 1) Townhomes (attached and detached) 2) Single-family detached homes. The petitioner has requested the following site-specific conditions be made applicable to the subject property: General 1) The Neighborhood will consist of a Horse Farm theme emphasizing rural, agricultural, or equine features in the common area structures, fencing, and monumentation. 2) Common area structures will consist of a Pool House that includes a fitness room and covered pavilion with horse barn or farmhouse theme. Elements may include board and batten siding, a weathervane, and barn-style board and batten shutters. The outdoor pool will have at least 3,000 sf of surface area with an associated pool deck and parking area. 3) Additional structures will include a covered pavilion for mail kiosks and a covered pavilion/gathering area with outdoor sports features such as cornhole and horseshoes. The architecture will be consistent with the theme of the Pool House. 4) Other amenity areas will include a tot lot, dog park, and open lawn areas. Nature trails will provide access to common areas and provide connectivity throughout the neighborhood. 5) Monumentation at the entrance will emphasize the community theme. Accent fencing at the entry and common areas will include split rail fencing and/or brick columns. 6) The Development will consist of Single Family Detached Homes, Attached Townhomes and Detached Townhomes. All homes will have an enclosed garage. The Townhome development will include front garage and rear garage homes. The Detached Townhomes will have a rear garage and will not exceed 30' in width measured at the front elevation. 7) The architecture of the homes will consist of a Modern Farmhouse Style and will include other appropriate home styles to encourage diversity within the neighborhood. Exterior building features may include board and batten siding, horizontal siding, shake shingle, and masonry accents. Architectural details may include board and batten shutters, standing seam metal roof features, and carriage-style garage door hardware. 8) A varied color palette shall be utilized on homes throughout the subdivision to include a minimum of four (4) color families for siding and shall include varied trim, shutter, and accent colors complementing the siding color. 9) Garage doors will be painted to match the house trim or siding color or will be allowed to have an acceptable accent color. Front-facing garage doors will have either windows, decorative details, or carriage-style adornments. Garage doors that protrude more than one foot from the front façade or porch will have either a variation in roof form, balcony, trimmed window, lights, or a decorative vent over the door area to minimize the visual impact of the garage façade. 10) In order to promote variation in home appearance, no home can be constructed with either an exterior elevation (front façade) or color palette that is identical to the home on either side or directly across the street from it. Variation of the front façade shall include at least three of the following: • Changes in exterior materials such as brick, masonry, board, and batten, horizontal, or shake siding. • Changes in roof lines, direction or materials • Addition of front dormers, shed roofs or gables • Addition/Variation of a front porch, balcony, covered entry, portico or stoop • Addition of decorative trim, shake, cornice, horizontal trim, brackets, or air vents/windows on gables • Addition of covered side entry • Addition of shutters, window trim, or window grids  • Addition of a trellis or shed roof over garage door • Entry door with a minimum of 25% glazing • Addition of bay, transom or casement window • Architectural shingles • Addition of windows, decorative details, or carriage style adornments in the garage door A variation of the Color Palette can be achieved by selection of one of the four (4) available color families for application to siding, trim, shutter and accent materials that are not used on an adjacent home. 11) Vinyl siding is not permitted; however, vinyl windows, decorative elements and trim are permitted. 12) The Single-Family portion of the neighborhood will be developed as an Open Space development in accordance with the F-V Land Development Ordinance. 13) The number of Townhomes will not exceed 150. 14) Private driveways will not be allowed to access NC-55 or the proposed collector drive (Denson) that connects to NC-55. 15) On-street parallel parking will be allowed in the townhome portions of the neighborhood. 16) The density of the development shall be limited to 3.25 dwelling units per gross acre. 17) The width of the required perimeter buffer along the southern property line between lots with a Wake County PIN 0675339927 and PIN 0675537664, inclusive, will be increased to 25'. Existing vegetation within this 25' buffer will be retained except up to 20% of the area of this buffer can be disturbed as required for construction of utilities, drainage, and stormwater treatment devices. 18) The rear of homes adjacent to NC-55 will have variation in the roofline and include trim and shutters on the rear windows. 19) A 6' tall wooden fence shall be installed as part of the buffer along the NC-55 R/W where homes abut the buffer. Single Family Residential: 1) Single family home types shall have a crawl space, basement, or turned-down slab foundation with a minimum of 20-inches from grade to front elevation finished floor. On front elevations, the 20-inches will have masonry such as brick or stone. The side and rear of houses do not have to meet these requirements. 2) The roof for primary structures (i.e., excluding porches, bay windows, etc.) shall be pitched at 5:12 or greater. Roofs shall have a minimum 12-inch overhang on the sides.  3) The side or rear elevation of the home that faces an existing or proposed public right-of- way (excluding alleys) must include at least two (2) of the following elements. At least ten (10) homes that are located at main intersections within the neighborhood will consist of at least three (3) of these features. • Window with shutters • Masonry for at least 10% of wall area • Variation in siding material pattern for at least 20% of the wall area • Bay, transom or casement window • Decorative trim, shake, cornice, horizontal trim, brackets or air vents/windows on gables • Column, Porch, Portico, Dormer or Balcony • Entry door with a minimum of 25% glazing • Architectural shingles • Matching window grids Townhomes: 1) House entrances for units with front-facing single-car garages shall have a prominent covered porch or stoop area leading to the front door. 2) Attached Townhomes will consist of a mix of three (3), four (4), five (5), and six (6) unit buildings. 3) The roofline of attached townhome buildings cannot be a single mass; it must be broken up horizontally and vertically between every unit by staggering the unit a minimum of 24" or providing a minimum 8" vertical step between units. End units shall consist of a minimum 12-inch overhang on the sides. 4) The side or rear elevation of a townhome that faces an existing or proposed public right-of-way (excluding alleys) shall include two (2) of the following elements, At least three (3) townhome end units that are located at main intersections within the neighborhood will consist of at least three (3) of these features. • Windows with shutters • Addition of a gable, dormer or shed roof. • Two or more building materials • Decorative trim, shake, cornice, horizontal trim, brackets, or air vents/windows on the gable • Masonry for at least 10% of wall area • Variation in siding material pattern for at least 20% of the wall area. • Column, Porch, Portico, Dormer or Balcony • Side entry - Entry door with a minimum of 25% glazing.  • Architectural shingles • Matching window grids 5) Building facades shall have horizontal relief achieved by the use of recesses, staggered units, or projections. Surrounding properties are generally residential in nature. The Carolina Gardens subdivision and the Hidden Valley subdivision are north and to the west of the subject property, respectively. Additionally, existing properties to the north and east are single-family residential. Properties to the south are a mix of forested, single-family residential, and a small airport airstrip. The 2035 Community Vision Land Use Plan (LUP) calls for the Rural Residential (RR) Classification at the subject property. Although the requested zoning district is not consistent with the 2035 LUP classification, the petitioner has included a Land Use Plan amendment as part of this zoning map petition, which will be described later in this report. Public water and sewer will be installed by the developer in conjunction with future development. The subject property has access to S NC 55 Highway and Denson Road. S NC 55 Highway is classified by the 2035 Community Transportation Plan (CTP) as a 120-foot right-of-way and is identified as a four (4)-lane median divided road with sidepaths and a carrying capacity of 20,200 average daily trips (ADT). 2019 NCDOT counts north of the property on S NC 55 Highway, indicate an annual average daily traffic (AADT) traffic count of 15,000. Denson Road is currently a single-lane paved driveway for which NCDOT traffic counts are not available. NCDOT project R-5705B is a currently funded project that will include the right-of-way acquisition and road construction along the S NC 55 Highway frontage. If the subdivision development occurs before the NCDOT project is constructed, the Town Board may consider a payment-in-lieu of thoroughfare improvements. The developer will need to coordinate with NCDOT to ensure CTP required pedestrian accommodations are provided. The petitioner held a neighborhood meeting on January 13, 2021, via the online conferencing application Zoom. The meeting report is attached, and Town staff takes no position as to its content. The 2035 Community Vision Land Use Plan (LUP) calls for the Rural Residential (RR) Classification at the subject property; however, the petitioner has proposed a Land Use Plan amendment from RR to Small-Lot Residential (SLR). Small-Lot Residential is typically formed as a neighborhood for single- family detached homes with uniform housing densities. Typical densities in a SLR neighborhood range between two (2) and six (6) dwelling units per acre. As a result of several neighboring developments, existing area thoroughfares being improved to meet CTP designated standards and public utilities are now available, the property is able to develop at a higher intensity than was predicted when the Land Use Plan was adopted in 2017. This amendment supports the LUP's Recommendation, CF.1 - Invest in Existing Growth Areas, which encourages the extension of utilities and growth of development in areas that are already in the growth process to maximize effectiveness. As such, the requested Land Use Plan amendment is consistent with the 2035 LUP's vision. The Land Use Plan amendment, if approved, would allow for the site to be developed more consistently and appropriately as it relates to the proposed use and surrounding area. Management and staff recommend approval of the proposed zoning map amendment with the corresponding Land Use Plan amendment. It is consistent with the 2035 Community Vision Land Use Plan and is reasonable and in the public's best interest for the following reasons: 1) Although the requested zoning map amendment is not consistent with the 2035 Community Vision Land Use Plan classification of Rural Residential, the petitioner has opted to request a change of the Land Use Plan classification to Small-Lot Residential, which is more appropriate to the surrounding use, proposed use, and location. 2) The requested zoning map amendment with the Land Use Plan amendment is consistent with the 2035 Community Vision Land Use Plan's recommendations CF.1 - Invest in Existing Growth Areas. 3) The requested conditions effectively limit the future development so that it is compatible with surrounding properties. At the March 15, 2021 regular meeting, the Planning Board unanimously voted to recommend approval. Prior to the April 5, 2021 Town Board meeting, the petitioner requested to table the public hearing and consideration of the petition to the April 20, 2021 Town Board meeting. Since then, the petitioner has submitted revised conditions specifically with regard to condition #6 under the General Section which ensures all homes will include an enclosed garage. Public Hearing – The public hearing was opened. Beth Blackmon with Timmons Group, 5410 Trinity Road, Suite 102, Raleigh, NC, spoke in favor of the zoning map amendment and she expressed her appreciation to the Town for working with the Timmons Group through all the conditions and putting together a package that will build a future project that the Town, property owners, and the surrounding area can be proud of. Randy King with Pulte Group, 1225 Crescent Green Drive, Cary,  NC, 27518, spoke in favor of the proposed zoning map amendment, and expressed his gratitude to the staff for working on conditions that will assist in producing a quality project. Braxton Jones, 8421 Walter Myatt Road, Willow Spring, spoke in favor of the proposed zoning map amendment on behalf of the Saunders family. He stated that they appreciate all the work the staff has done to assist with this project. David West, co-owner of the property, 210 Lakecroft Place, Fuquay-Varina, spoke in favor of the proposed zoning map amendment on behalf of his wife, Debra Saunders West and her sister, Linda Saunders Blackwell. He stated that five generations of the Saunders family have lived on the property. They are pleased with the development plans and the theme proposed by Pulte Homes. There were no comments in opposition to the proposed zoning map amendment for REZ- 2020-20. The public hearing was closed. Discussion – Commissioner Gardner thanked the petitioner and Town staff for the attention to detail and the many conditions and amenities that have been enumerated in this petition. Recommendation – Approve REZ-2020-20, a zoning map amendment for a portion of 7621 S NC 55 Highway, from the Residential Agricultural (RA) Zoning District to the Residential Medium Density Conditional Zoning District (RMD-CZD), and the corresponding land use plan amendment from Rural Residential (RR) to Small-Lot Residential (SLR). The proposed zoning map amendment and corresponding Land Use Plan amendment are consistent with the 2035 Community Vision Land Use Plan and are reasonable and in the best interest of the public for the reasons identified by management and staff. MOTION: Commissioner Gardner SECOND: Commissioner Smith MOTION RESULTS: Passed Unanimously (5-0) PUBLIC HEARINGS 7A There were no public hearings for the April 20, 2021 Town Board meeting. CONSENT AGENDA 8A Voluntary Annexation Petition - WakeMed Property Services, 2400 N. Main Street - PIN 0677667648 - ANX-2021-03 Purpose – To consider the adoption of a resolution instructing the Town Clerk to investigate an annexation petition and to adopt a resolution setting a public hearing for May 3, 2021, following the  receipt of a petition for voluntary annexation of property owned by WakeMed Property Services, containing a total of approximately 18.623 acres. Recommendation – Adopt the resolution instructing the Town Clerk to investigate the voluntary annexation petition, and adopt the resolution setting the public hearing for a voluntary annexation petition on May 3, 2021, for property owned by WakeMed Property Services - ANX-2021-03 as presented and recommended. Resolution No. 21-1699 Resolution No. 21-1700 8B Special Event and Amplified Sound Permit - Carolina Copperheads 11U baseball team fundraiser at Fainting Goat Brewery - June 27, 2021 Purpose – To consider a special event and amplified sound permit request for the Carolina Copperheads 11U baseball team fundraiser at Fainting Goat Brewery scheduled for Sunday, May 2, 2021 as presented and recommended. Recommendation – Approve the special event and amplified sound permit request for the Carolina Copperheads 11U baseball team fundraiser at Fainting Goat Brewery scheduled for Sunday, May 2, 2021 as presented and recommended. 8C Special Event and Amplified Sound Permit - St. Baldrick's Foundation Fundraiser at Fainting Goat Brewery - June 27, 2021 Purpose – To consider a special event and amplified sound permit request for a St. Baldrick's Foundation fundraiser at Fainting Goat Brewery scheduled for Sunday, June 27, 2021 as presented and recommended. Recommendation – Approve the special event and amplified sound permit request for the St. Baldrick's Foundation fundraiser at Fainting Goat Brewery scheduled for Sunday, June 27, 2021 as presented and recommended. 8D Budget Amendment - Recognize Revenue - Water Tap on Fees - Public Utilities- $88,000.00 - BA-21- 29 Purpose – To consider approving a budget amendment recognizing revenue from the Water Tap On Fee revenue line item in the amount of $88,000.00 to purchase 500 additional water meter assemblies. Recommendation – Approve Budget Amendment BA-21-29 as presented and recommended. 8E Budget Amendment - Recognize Funds - Fuquay-Varina Junior Woman's Club - Fire Department - BA-21-30 - $1,000 Purpose – To consider a budget amendment to recognize funds from the Fuquay-Varina Junior Woman’s Club in the amount of $1,000. Recommendation – Approve Budget Amendment BA-21-30 as presented and recommended. A motion was made to approve all items (8A – 8E) on the Consent Agenda. MOTION Mayor Pro-Tem Massengill SECOND: Commissioner Wunsch MOTION RESULTS: Passed Unanimously (5-0) Mayor Pro-Tem Massengill stated that it was nice to see that some of the events and fundraisers are happening again in our town (as approved in the Consent Agenda). He also stated that he appreciates nonprofits who support the Town, and he recognized the $1,000 donation from the Junior Woman’s Club to the Fire Department. He urged Town Board members to think about making sure that we are fully funding some of these departments and not having to rely so much from nonprofits, as will be discussed in tomorrow night’s budget workshop meeting. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT 9A There were no items removed from the Consent Agenda for separate consideration. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS 10A There were no administrative reports for the April 20, 2021 Town Board meeting. OTHER BUSINESS 11A Town Manager’s Report Finance Department All Town departments have been working diligently to finalize a sound and balanced budget and five-year plan in advance of the budget workshop scheduled for tomorrow night. He thanked Finance Director JoAnne Crabtree and Assistant Finance Director Nicole Stevens as well as the Finance Department for their time and effort put into this process. IT Department The IT Department has been busy deploying new hardware and security upgrades which will continue through mid-May. They are also working on Town Board room upgrades to support continued live streaming even as we return to in-person meetings which hopefully will be completed later this month or the first part of next month. Parks & Recreation Department The Park, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department has started a new pilot program called the eSports Program, that is online electronic video gaming. The pilot program had 63 participants which had to be limited as it was a test pilot program. It was extremely popular, and we will be considering carrying this program forward into future programming. Summer Day Camp staffing is underway to prepare for eight weeks of summer camps which are now fully booked. Social distancing and safety measures are in place for the camp. The Parks & Recreation Department is also preparing for the Music On Main Concert this coming Thursday, which is a ticketed event that will provide pods for safe measures. This event is also fully booked. Arts Center Department Class registrations continue to be positive and dance recitals for Town dance programs and other dance studios will keep the theater active through early July. The Massengill Design Build Gallery will reopen with an exhibit reception on Saturday for Charlene Bowling’s Spring Again collection. The En Plein Air reception is planned for this Saturday. Town Manager Mitchell thanked Arts Center Director Maureen Daley and Arts Program Coordinator Jennifer Rankin and their staff for the great job they are doing to rebuild that programming coming out of the pandemic. Public Works Department The Public Works Department is in the planning process to secure a date later this calendar year for the Blue Star Highway designation ceremony and more information will be provided when it becomes available. Planning Department Interviews will be conducted soon for the Assistant Planning Director position. Economic Development The Economic Development Department hosted an open house tonight at the Arts Center for the Downtown Master Plan Project. The purpose of the open house is to gather public input on what the public would like to see to happen in our downtown. Public Utilities Department A resident customer, Judy White, took the time to write an appreciation letter to the Town recognizing three Public Utility employees for their help with her sewer service. She recognized Charles Pleasant, Chris Way, and Marcus Furmage and stated that their work exceeded her expectations. Inspections Department The Inspections Department has issue 116 single-family permits so far for the month of April. Police Department A native Fuquay-Varina resident, Duncan Howard, was sworn in as a Police Officer. Officer Howard was an Eagle Scout, and he was the first Coffee with A Cop recruit. Mayor Byrne stated that he had taken a picture with Officer Howard and two other young boys when he achieved his Eagle Scout designation, and he expressed his excitement to see young men and women from Fuquay-Varina join our Police and Fire Departments, or any departments in the Town of Fuquay-Varina. Police Officer Daniel Look (Community Outreach Officer) has been visiting and will continue to visit our downtown businesses as the weather has warmed up and there’s more activity downtown. Officer Look is also heading up the police department’s recruitment efforts.  All of our Police Officers are registered and scheduled for Cultural Diversity and Bias Training in May of this year. Engineering/Communications The Northwest Judd Parkway opening and ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for May 7, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., which completes the entire loop around Fuquay-Varina. This has been a vision of the community for 25 years and the Town of Fuquay-Varina has successfully completed the project that is the third in Wake County to have an entire loop around its core corporate limits, the other two being the City of Raleigh and the Town of Cary. We are expecting several dignitaries, and possibly Governor Roy Cooper to attend and celebrate with us in this event. Human Resources Department The HR Department is assisting department heads on working with a new software system to do performance appraisals for a workforce of 283 employees. Town Manager Mitchell thanked HR Director Wendy Moody and her staff on their work to implement the new system. Fire Department Recently filled two vacant positions in the Fire Department and Fire Chief Mauldin is busy working on a number of projects, and possibly working on a future fire station that would be located on the north end of town, north of I-540. Fire Chief Mauldin has also been working with management to put the final touches on a contract that will soon be presented to the Town Board as it relates to the design-build process for Fire Station No. 4. 11. B Quarterly Report – 3rd Quarter FY 2021- Town Manager Mitchell urged Town Board members to pay special attention to the development metrics contained in the quarterly report as it will be items for discussion at tomorrow nights budget work session. 11. C Budget Workshop – April 21, 2021 – 6:00 pm – Virtual Meeting 11. D Town Concert – Centennial Park - Spare Change (Band) – Thursday, April 22, 2021 – 6:00 pm 11. E Zoning Map Amendment & Land Use Plan Amendment – WakeMed Property Services – 2400 N Main Street – PIN 0677667648 – REZ-2021-02 – FIRST READING 11. F Zoning Map Amendment & Land Use Plan Amendment – Patrick Riley, Jernigan Commercial Properties, LLC – 3995 & 4001 Hilltop Needmore Road – PINs 0688121644, 0688120572 & 0688122812 – REZ-2021-03 – FIRST READING BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Mayor Pro-Tem Massengill reported that Homes.com rated Fuquay-Varina #6 in the United States of America as the best suburb to move to in 2021. He stated that not one other single town in North Carolina made the top 20. This ranking was based on what is in the community, affordability, household incomes, the number of homes for sale, how often there is turnover in the community, average size of lots, work from home accessibility, race and ethnic diversity, school district scores and crime index. Commissioner Smith – No comments Commissioner Harris first stated that he had no comments. After hearing comments made by Commissioner Gardner, he stated that he wanted to clarify what his comments were as it related to the April 5th meeting. He stated that Commissioner Wunsch also contacted him and at that time he requested that Commissioner Wunsch hold his recommendation to pause the work of the Public Safety Committee until after the committee members had an opportunity to discuss it first. He stated that was the nature of his concern because his request to first discuss the recommendation on the committee level was not even considered by Commissioner Wunsch, who is the committee chairman, especially since the committee had a number of meetings prior to that particular request. Commissioner Wunsch stated that he was glad to see the Growers Market back in downtown and he encouraged the community to support the market. He also stated that he was very proud that Fuquay-Varina was ranked #6 in the country as reported by Mayor Pro-Tem Massengill. Commissioner Gardner stated that she wanted to set the record straight as it related to several comments and emails suggesting that she was blindsided by the events of our last meeting when there was discussion about pausing the Public Safety Committee’s work. She stated that those comments were not true, and that Commissioner Wunsch (chairman of the committee) called her the day before the April 5th meeting and informed her that he was concerned that the Public Safety Committee could not fulfill the numerous requests from the public to engage in dialogue as it relates to strengthening relations between the public and the Town. She stated that Commissioner Wunsch conveyed to her at that time that he wanted to bring the matter to the Town Board to decide what the future of that might be. She stated that she still feels that the Public Safety Committee has work to do, particularly to receive information about what other municipalities in the area are doing on those issues, and she did vote against the motion on April 5th. She also stated that in some of her discussions with the public, she was not specific enough about the availability of the minutes on the Town’s website. She stated that the minutes have a delay for posting because they are not posted to the Town’s website until they are approved by the Town Board. She stated that the public may be interested to know that the recordings of the Town Board meetings are available online since March of 2020. She then reported that she attended the Downtown Master Plan meeting at the Arts Center this afternoon and there was a lot of activity and interesting ideas from the public. She also reported that artists will be painting this Friday and Saturday for the En Plein Air event in downtown, and on April 30th and May 1, there will be the opportunity for anyone to bid on the artwork. Funds raised for this event will go back to the artist and a portion will be donated to help support the Fuquay-Varina Downtown Association which is hosting the event. Mayor Byrne stated that Commissioner Wunsch also contacted him prior to the last meeting to let him know that he would be bringing forth a recommendation regarding the Public Safety Committee. He also informed members of the Town Board that they have been invited to the Wake County Mayors Association Summer Outing at the Carolina Mud Cats game in Zebulon on July 23, 2021. Mayor Byrne then reviewed other meetings that he attended in the previous week as well as upcoming events as follows: Past Events 4/2 - NC Metro Mayors Weekly Legislative Call 4/9 – NC Metro Mayors Weekly Legislative Call 4/15 – NC Metro Mayors Social with Governor Cooper 4/16 – WakeMed Cary – 5th Floor Completion Ceremony 4/17 – Ribbon Cutting – Growers Market 4/19 – Wake County Mayor’s Association Meeting Upcoming Events 4/21 – Campo Meeting 4/23 – NC Metro Mayors Weekly Legislative Call 4/27 – Lincoln Heights Environmental Connections – Award Presentation – Watershed Stewardship School Award 4/30 - NC Metro Mayors Weekly Legislative Call ADJOURNMENT A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 8:10 p.m. MOTION: Mayor Pro-Tem Massengill SECOND: Commissioner Wunsch MOTION RESULT: Passed Unanimously (5-0) The minutes from the April 20, 2021 Town Board of Commissioners regularly scheduled meeting are adopted this 3rd day of May in the year 2021 in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. FUQUAY-VARINA, NORTH CAROLINA John W. Byrne, Mayor ATTEST (TOWN SEAL) Rose H. Rich, Town Clerk