City Council Regular Meeting

REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 8, 2023 VOLUME 26 PAGE102 MINUTES February 8, 2023 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OPERATIONS CENTER I 305 WILLIAMS ST. I 5:45 p.m. Present: Mayor Barbara G. Volk, Mayor Pro Tern Lyndsey Simpson and Council Members: Dr. Jennifer Hensley, Debbie O'Neal-RoW1dtree, and Jerry A. SmithJr.,].D. Staff Present: City Manager John F. Connet, Assistant City Manager Brian Pal1le, City Clerk Jill Murray, City Attorney Angela Beeker, Communications Manager Allison Justus, Budget Manager Adam Murr, and others. 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Volk called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. and welcomed those in attendance. A quorum was established with all members in attendance. 2. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG The City Council observed a moment of silence for prayer or reflection followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT Up to 15 minutes is reserved/or comments from the public not listed on the agenda. Vince Costello addressed City Council in support of the lighting ordinance. James Gorsuch addressed City Council as an attorney for Pisgah Legal Services and wanted to thank the City of Hendersonville for its support over the years and said I encourage you to support our current request for funding to support our work with the Hendersonville Connections Center. Our proposal is to staff a full-time attorney and social worker at the Hendersonville Connections Center and to provide access to Pisgah Legal Services for vulnerable members of the community. They would have access to the full range of our services including housing resources, domestic violence prevention, public benefits access including social security, disability, food stamps, access to health care, assistance with tax filings and social work support. Neil Brown addressed City Council regarding the lighting ordinance and said it's a good start but not perfect. He encouraged to drop the exemptions of government buildings and churches, as well as, making the amortization 15 years. Sharon Tirrell addressed City Council on behalf of Interfaith Assistance Ministry (IAM) as their new Board President. There has been a huge increase in services that we offer. We have served 19,116 families, a 59% increase. Total individuals, 47,736, a 96% increase. We provided food, rent and mortgage assistance, clothing and household goods, bus passes, gasoline and utility assistance. More than 40% of the families we serve are Hispanic and more than 50% of the families live within the City of Hendersonville and 581 contacts with us were reported as homeless. We have 250 volunteers who have come back to us after the pandemic and this means that we are providing a huge amount of services with a very small staff. Our proposal included a new space, an add-on to our pantry. In terms of community values, we hope that you believe, as we do, that poor and working poor citizens deserve to receive some direct help from the recovery funds. Rachel Ingram addressed the City Council as the Executive Director of the Hendersonville Connections Center and just wanted to say that she appreciates the thoughtfulness put behind --- designating the ARPA funds. Lynn Williams addressed City Council via Zoom electronic software and spoke on behalf of historic Boyd Park and mini golf and trying to preserve the historic parts of the course and then integrating them into the new park but there will be no way to include it if it is decimated in the demolition. Ralph Hammond-Green addressed City Council via Zoom electronic software and spoke to strongly urge Council to pass the lighting ordinance with the amortization in it. Ken Fitch addressed City Council via Zoom electronic software and spoke regarding Edwards Park. It is important to recognize the history of this site. Edwards Park was named for former Mayor Edwards. It would seem appropriate to add a plaque honoring Mayor Edwards and/or signage