Mayor & Council

11/4/24, 9:29 AM Paq MINUTES Town of Smyrna Council Meeting Bi-Monthly Meeting Monday, October 21, 2024, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Hybrid Members of the public will be permitted to participate in this meeting by teleconference by calling 309-208-3325 and entering Meeting ID number 837 4058 0572, Passcode 613152, or by joining via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83740580572? pwd=HjsjwvomVCmvaH7j1q9Rfz0np5KSEa.1 1. 7:00 PM - Call to order Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Johnson 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Roll Call Roll call done by Danielle. All were in attendance. 4. Additions/deletions to the published agenda Vice Mayor Rasmussen motioned to approve the published agenda. Councilwoman Gott seconded the motion. All approved. Motion passed. 5. Consent agenda Vice Mayor Rasmussen motioned to approve the Consent agenda. Councilman Pope and Councilwoman Gott simultaneously seconded. All approved. Motion passed. a. Council minutes of 10/7/2024 b. Executive Session minutes of 10/7/2024 6. Non-agenda items a. Mayor and Council Members Mayor Johnson - attended a Boys and Girls Clubs concert event on Sunday and a Rotary Club event over the weekend also. Talked about missing the walk through for the Library, he had a family event that day. He thanked everyone for coming to the meeting. Spoke to Jason on how good of a job he is doing in his new role, (Assistant Town Manager). Councilman Johnson - thanked Walt (IT Manager) for getting the speakers and microphones working for the meeting. Councilman Pressley - did not have anything Vice Mayor Rasmussen - he went to the Revolutionary War Day at Belmont Hall. There were about 200 people in attendance, which was about double from previous years. Finance Committee is meeting on Tuesday, 10/29, at 7:00 p.m. Mayor https://www.boardpaq.com/admin 1/12 11/4/24, 9:29 AM Paq Johnson asked about the budget and if Council will have it by November. Vice Mayor Rasmussen said that the plan is to have a draft budget to Council for review at the first meeting in November. Councilman Pope - thanked the staff for the Fall Clean up; said they were doing a great job. Thanked Chief James and the Smyrna Police for their support in the service for former (Fire) Chief Mood. Mentioned the Finance Committee meeting also. Councilwoman Gott - tomorrow is the monument meeting for the Veterans Park in front Municipal Park at 6:00 p.m. at the American Legion Hall. On 10/23 is the Parks and Rec meeting at the conference room at the Police Dept, at 6:00 p.m. Mentioned that a Thanksgiving dinner is being served in November; she'll provide more details later as she was at a meeting and this was mentioned. She believed it will be at Smyrna Elementary. December 1 is the Clayton Electric Parade. December 7th is the Pearl Harbor Day recognition and memorial at Lake Como. December 8 is Caroling on the Square in front of Town Hall. Let everyone know where they can find the events calendar on the website and asked if anyone has events to click the link to have them added. Councilwoman Dr. Upshur - thanked Chief James for allowing her to use the conference room at the Police Dept on Saturday for a dance against the disease; a breast cancer awareness event. She mentioned that this coming Friday at noon, in Philadelphia, there will be a flag raising to honor the independence of St. Vincent and the Grenadines; the 45th anniversary, which is Sunday. Mayor Johnson - added that the Town audit will be going out to bid for the 2025-2027 years. He has 2 names for the Audit Committee already: Mr. Walls, who has done finance at the River Bay Authority and Mr. Young, who had been the chairperson for the River Bay Authority. One staff person will need to be on this committee; Tyler or Travis. Councilwoman asked for clarification. Mayor Johnson said this is for the Audit Review Committee. The audit has to go out to bid and the committee members should have an auditing background. b. Police Chief Skipped over as Chief James was away at a conference. c. Town Manager 7. Old business, including discussion and possible action on the following items: a. Economic Development Incentives Jeremy Rothwell, Planning Director, presented on this. In summary, throughout the country it has been documented that businesses, (commercial and industrial), pay more in property taxes and other fees. Commercial business is usually a $.70-$.80 cost to the municipality for every dollar they pay in taxes and industrial is a $.30-$.40 cost to the municipality for every dollar they pay. Incentives are not offered for businesses along Glenwood Ave, like retail type (hair cutteries, tax offices, etc.), or in the shopping centers. Commercial development is dominated by national chains and they have a series of standards and metrics they look at and utilize as terms in whether to locate in a community. This that are looked at include median household income, percentage of the population with a bachelor's degree, purchasing power, and similar. They look at the demographics of those who have a 5, 10, or a 20 minute drive of where they are looking and if there is potential, https://www.boardpaq.com/admin 2/12 11/4/24, 9:29 AM Paq they will try to market. However, no matter the incentives, some businesses will not come to Smyrna; like Trader Joe's. He used Easton Maryland as a comparison. They have 16,000 people and 10 grocery stores. We have about the same in population but only 3 grocery stores. Why? They have three of the most expensive zip codes in the country and people there have disposable income. It's why they have a Joseph A Banks, a JC Pennys, wholefood stores like Costco and BJs. He mentioned Middletown and why they are attraching so much retail development; because their median income is over 50% higher than ours at over $100,000. Smyrna's is $68,000. He continued on with similar comparisons and why Smyrna is not attractive for larger chain businesses. Since 2019, incentives have been offered for properties within the Industrial Office Research Park Zoning District, (IORP), and Manufacturing, (M), and Limited Manufacturing Zoning Districts, (LM). Some properties, like Colette's, is in an Unlimited Downtown Zoning District. The other areas are like the Duck Creek Business Park, the Walmart Distribution Center, Smyrna Business Park. Incentives were revised in 2021, but they are tiered packages based upon the level of investment in the property. To qualify, at least $200,000 of work needs to be done, up to $6. million. Reassessment waivers are over the course of 10 years, based upon new improvements. He continued that incentives are not going to be the main reason someone locates in a community; it is basic needs. Some want to construct in a timely fashion, so properties that are shovel ready. Some compare proximity to routes like I-95, cities like Philadelphia, ports like Philadelphia and Wilmington. Some look at rail properties. Then businesses look at what municipalities and local governments offer in terms of the building costs. From a background perspective, and why this is competitive, between 2000-2010 approximately 70,000 factories closed in the U.S. and became a buyers market. These sites are sitting vacant and are now starting to see new activity. Discussed 4 projects: Harrington - a 50,000+ sq ft manufacturing facility that does metal manufacturing Milford - the Food Bank These two projects had incentives based on the number of jobs they could provide to the community. Harrington was 30 or more jobs, so all their impact fees were waived. Milford used a sliding scale. The downfall of this is that it's hard to track the actual number of jobs because of the market. He mentioned offering incentives to current businesses, if they want to upgrade, which would keep them and those jobs in the community. Seaford - does not offer incentives, however KRM owns property there and here, and in Seaford their permit and impact fees were $88,000. That same building would be more than double here. He brought up that many communities fees are low because they have not updated them in 20-30 years, so ours will seem high. Dover - their fees are close with ours, but they offer 50% waiver to existing businesses. He used the Dover mall as an example. If someone came in to renovate it, they would get a generous amount of impact fees waived. Those property taxes would be waived at year one, then gradually increase until reaching full market value at year 10. https://www.boardpaq.com/admin 3/12 11/4/24, 9:29 AM Paq Delmarva Corrugated Box - one of the larger facilities built in downstate Delaware, had permits of $168,000; if they were in Smyrna, those same permits would be over $1,000,000, even with the 50% waiver. The common denominator for these are the impact fees. The Town of Smyrna does not offer waivers on impact fees for Fire, Ambulance, and Municipal Facilities; which sets us apart and makes it more expensive. If Smyrna had a rail option, Delmarva Corrugated would be looked at 2 location options, and then base their decision on their cost of doing business. Mayor Johnson - asked if the fire and ambulance impact fees are a reason people don't come to town, because they are high? Jeremy - said that the Town needed to charge more for fire and ambulance, but there's a difference from a developer, KRM as an example, being charged $3,750 versus half a million, ($500,000). Mayor Johnson - said that if we're $100,000 higher than someone else, $99,000 is those two impact fees. (Businesses) he said are probably doing comparisons. Jeremy - said that businesses are doing comparisons, but that being high isn't going to remove us completely from the pile. Being significantly higher, however, probably will. Mayor Johnson - so essentially, going back to what Jeremy said, if they are going to come here, they are going to come here. Jeremy - advised that the Town needs to be competitive. Offer the same 50% impact fee waiver for fire and EMS to help mitigate. In the case of Delmarva Corrugated, if they were in Smyrna, their fees would have been $500,000 instead of $1,000,000. Asked if anyone has questions, he would be happy to answer. Councilman Pope - thanked Jeremy for putting together the comprehensive detailed report. He proposed getting numbers from the fire company, police, and ambulance. In the case of the police and fire departments there are equipment charges that they do on a regular basis annually that costs money. He would like everyone to look into that before making decisions. He would like to see this report from Jeremy in BoardPaq (agenda-type software that Mayor and Council can review the agenda and associated documents), and have reports from the Police, Ambulance, and Citizens Hose on their annual costs. In Citizens Hose case, the town is growing and response time is increasing. He let Councilman Johnson know he could also speak on this, because there's a lot that they (Citizens Hose) are behind on. Councilman Johnson - spoke up to say that they are behind on replacing their ladder truck, which should have taken place 4 years ago, and is about $2,000,000 to start. A heavy rescue truck is 6 years passed replacing and starts at $750,000. Jeremy - $1,000,000 divided by 0 is 0. If a company doesn't come, there's no money. Councilwoman Gott - spoke up and said when Tischler-Bise did the study they requested documentation from each agencies. She asked if the packet was available because that would provide them the dollars that were submitted. https://www.boardpaq.com/admin 4/12 11/4/24, 9:29 AM Paq Jeremy - said he can provide that because he worked with Citizens Hose and Ambulance 64 to get those numbers. He did mention though that Tischler-Bise didn't take the projected needs, they used a formula based upon other factors, like previous impact fees and projected growth; how much each new person cost. Councilwoman Gott - asked if it was realistic to ask the fire and ambulance if this is an option for them because the Town split the Tischler-Bise study three ways with them? Do they have a say or does the Town make the decision? Jeremy - (Mayor and Council) should consider their options because this is on their behalf too, but it isn't something that their blessing is require. He could talk with Gerald Manley (CHC/fire). He's already talked with Bradley G (Ambulance 64). Where they are making money is on the residential side. Simon's Corner apartments is getting ready to break ground on about 100 of the 270 apartments. Under the old regulations, they were capped at $3,750, but under the new regulations it'll be about $250,000. But with a commercial or retail business, it doesn't factor into their decision making; the impact fees do. Vice Mayor Rasmussen - brought up that the Tischler-Bise study ran numbers on the projections of impact fees, but he wasn't sure if it broken down by how much would be driven from residential, commercial, and industrial. Jeremy - knows how many vacant lots are in town and can offer a breakdown. For example on the Watson Farm, there's a water and sewer allocation that cannot be exceeded; 1200-1500. Vice Mayor - if there is a way to look at that number, say a projection of $10 million, what percentage is residential, commercial, and industrial? A breakdown will help understand it a little better. Jeremy - there's a permitted number agreed to by the State for the Duck Creek Business Campus and after going through all the hoops for stormwater management and DelDOT it's upwards of 1.8 million square feet. He can provide numbers in terms of the projected loss and the difference between that and the total number. Asked if there were any other questions. There were none. b. Update on the Duck Creek Regional Library Rick Horsey, part of the Duck Creek Regional Library board spoke on this. The DCRL is a 22,000 square foot building that will cost between $17 and $18 million. They have received bond money from the State at about $8 million, ARPA funds at over $6 million, and the rest have been private funding. The plan is to have the library paid for by the end of construction. There are currently 533 households who are members of the library, there are 465 who are not. The biggest impacts of the DCRL on the community are the meeting rooms: a 200 person capacity room that can be split in half and three meeting rooms that are 50 person capacity. They plan to host concerts, book clubs, craft events, computer classes, and social service support. While the current library is about 2,500 square feet. So there's no place for things like that. Last week they had a walk through. Clayton's Mayor and Vice mayor were there, as were 35 others from the Levy Court, Friends of Duck Creek and the operating workers. https://www.boardpaq.com/admin 5/12 11/4/24, 9:29 AM Paq The interior framing is 90% done. The roofing is 80% done. The window framing is complete with the glass scheduled to be installed starting at the end of next week or the first of the following week. The exterior brick has been started. The drywall has started. The furniture for the book collections and everything else is ordered and should arrive sometime in January. A construction meeting is held every two weeks with RYJ. The Superintendent's name is Bob Blindman. They have been told from them that the construction completion date has changed. They (DCRL) had a groundbreaking in October last year and construction was supposed to have started in November, but they couldn't get the easement agreements signed until January. So that placed them three months behind. The original completion date was set up for the end of December, then moved to the middle of January. A meeting was held with Mayor Johnson and Chief/Town Manager Torrie James. Now, however, they are unsure of the completion date. This is due to labor. Meeting with the Mayor and Chief/Town Manager, the closing of the library was to be at the end of December and then they would start moving the collections and training/hiring of new staff. Now they believe it would be in the best interest of the library and the patrons that they do not close the current library until construction is complete; but an exact date cannot be given. It will take 6-8 weeks once construction is complete to move everything over and have the staff ready to go. So if that is the end of February, then opening would be in April. They've been working with town staff, Wanda and Meghan, (HR), to hire a new library director and they have one; Pat Young. She has about 40 years of experience and knows the DE library system, operations, and grants. They would like to have the current library staff at DCRL also. Originally the salaries for the library staff would be the responsibility of the DCRL; there are 2 full time and 6-7 part time. They (DCRL) would like to suggest that they take over payroll but leave the library operating. They have the paid plans in place for the full and part time staff. They would like to also suggest that the staff package the collections and furnishing that the Town approves about 30 days before completion. The DE Division of the Library furnishes all the technology, and they (DCRL) are recommending that those items are transferred last. DDL told them that it takes about 2-3 days. The new library will have more computers and technology, but there will be things that have to be transferred over. They are also asking that the leftover operating funds form the State of Delaware that was provided to the Town be transferred to the new library after completion. The only operating expenses that the Town would have is the utilities. Three funds have been designated for the existing library and they would like those transferred also to DCRL when it's completed. He would like to ask that the Town Council approve to keeping the current library open and to approve the transferring of the funds from the State and the other 3 library funds; an estate fund, Kent County fund, and another from the State. Mayor Johnson - broke down the funding. For the 2024 budget it was $337,193. $187,589 is salary and fringe benefits like FICA, unemployment, disability. He asked if they were covering just the salaries or will they be taking the medical insurance? https://www.boardpaq.com/admin 6/12 11/4/24, 9:29 AM Paq Rick - when they take over the payroll, they (the staff) would be under the new DCRL pay plan. Right now the library director is $55,600 (through the Town), they will be paying $70,000. The new pay plans are higher, but they will not have all the benefits. For the full-time staff, they will receive a $600/month stipend. Mayor Johnson - $149,000 in the budget and if we (Town) are covering for about 3 months, it's a little over $4,000/month. Looking at 4-5 months, it's about $60,000. He asked what the Councilmembers thought? Councilwoman Gott - she mentioned that there are plans for the space once the library closes and asked if anyone has been in touch with them to see how far back this pushes the new plans. Rick - they have not communicated with anyone except Council. He felt it started with a Council meeting. Councilman Pope - would like to see another presentation on an upcoming agenda. Rick - mentioned that the State sends about $155,000/yr for operating funds in 2 payments; about $77,000 every 6 months. The Town could use that for operating expenses and the balance left could go to DCRL. Mayor Johnson - we received about $200,000 from Levy Court in April or May; we would take 8 months of that money and then 3 months of that money into the new year and the remainder would go the DCRL. Councilwoman Gott - asked if that was a one time thing. Mayor Johnson - this is what we have now. Grants are only obligated for the fiscal year, but in this situation, the money we got in April, will roll four months because they're still open. Rick - their two concerns were the payroll and the closing of the library too early. Mayor Johnson - it would cost us about $75,000 Councilman Pressley - we need to have Travis, (Finance Director), to have it all together for them at the next meeting. He wouldn't stop the DCRL from doing anything, but he wants to see the numbers before saying yes. Mayor Johnson - we should plan a number that we will be willing to give based off of that. Logically you're, (Rick), saying March or April, but that may not happen either. Asked Travis, (Finance Director), if he could get the numbers together. We have a library fund and without changing the budget, move all the library money into the library fund. It would keep it separate from the general fund. Councilwoman Gott - asked if the funds can be verified on where they need to be before committing to the numbers. Rick - they had a meeting with Torrie and Pat Young and there are three funds that are designated for the library for specific usages, but they're broad. Mayor Johnson - asked Travis if he could work on that for the next meeting. https://www.boardpaq.com/admin 7/12 11/4/24, 9:29 AM Paq 8. New business, including discussion and possible action on the following items: a. First reading of Ordinance 015-24, an ordinance to amend Chapter 70, (Utilities), Article III, (Electric Department Rules and Regulations), Division I, (Generally), to authorize the Assistant Town Manager to serve as an alternate Director to the Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation Board of Directors * Danielle read the ordinance into the record. Vice Mayor Rasmussen - asked Barrett Edwards, (Town Solicitor), that since this is a subjective change, if they could waive the three readings; making this the third and final reading. Barrett - there's no reason why it cannot be done. They will need to vote separately on the waiving of the three readings and state why and then vote on the ordinance. Vice Mayor Rasmussen - made a motion to make this the third reading, waiving the first and second for Ordinance 015-24. Councilman Pope - seconded the motion. Barrett - they have to state the reasoning on why the waiver. Vice Mayor Rasmussen - this is a change to add the Assistant Town Manager to this board. It's not a controversial idea and we need to make sure that we have somebody who is available and can attend these meetings regularly. Mayor Johnson called for a council vote and went down the list. Councilman Pope - his reasoning is to make sure we have representation by having the Assistant Town Manager be able to serve on the DEMEC Board of Directors. Councilwoman Gott - yes, based on the same verbiage that Vice Mayor Rasmussen said. Councilwoman Dr. Upshur - agreed as well, with what the others spoke on. Councilman Pressley - agreed with what the Vice Mayor said. Councilman Johnson - agreed with what the Vice Mayor said. Mayor Johnson - motioned passed 6-0. Vice Mayor Rasmussen - made a motion to approve this as the third reading of Ord. No. 015-24. Councilman Pope - seconded the motion. Mayor Johnson - asked if there was any discussion; there was none. He asked for in favor of and in opposition of; all were in favor and the motion passed. b. Yearly in May, at the Organizational Meeting, Council shall elect by a majority vote of the entire Council, a Vice-Mayor, who shall serve in that position for one year or until the Organizational Meeting the May following the next succeeding election. * https://www.boardpaq.com/admin 8/12 11/4/24, 9:29 AM Paq Mayor Johnson spoke on this. He was thinking that Council should choose who they want as their Vice Mayor and Council Secretary during the Organizational Meeting each May. He felt it would bring more cohesivity and asked for Council's thoughts. Councilman Johnson - he disagrees. That Charter was made to protect the Mayor. The Mayor picks who he trusts to have his back and to do what's right. Councilmembers could vote in someone who doesn't like the Mayor and who would undermine him. The U.S. President picks his running mate. He doesn't wait for the Senate or House. He feels it is a bad idea that the Mayor give up his right to pick who he wants to back him. Councilwoman Dr. Upshur - she agreed Councilwoman Gott - she agreed. Her thought was that worst case scenario if there was a young council or new council and they don't understand the structure or what the responsibilities are. When the Vice Mayor is selected, it is with hope that they are selected on the experience and knowledge they bring versus who's best friends with whom. Mayor Johnson - said okay and mentioned that Clayton's council decides, as does Harrington's, Milford's, and Dover's. He wanted to show that it is not an uncommon practice. Councilman Pressley - spoke up and said that he agrees with Councilman Johnson, he (the Mayor), has to pick his team. Barrett - reminded them that the Charter is subject to Council confirmation and there are still checks and balances. c. Annual report to the Electors of the Town - yearly in May, during the Organizational Meeting, Town Council shall present an annual report concerning the business of the Town for the past year, as well as plans for improvements to be made during the succeeding year. Notice of the report shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the Town at least ten (10) days prior to the Organizational Meeting. * Mayor Johnson spoke on this. He thinks that Council should do an annual report at the end of the year and make claims for the next year. There may be new Council people coming up, but he thinks that they should do a better job at planning and letting the public know what they've done, done well, and what they plan to do in the future. Vice Mayor Rasmussen - he thinks that some sort of yearly summary and report is not a bad idea. He talked about what could be included like a summary list of the ordinances, things that were voted on, and the like. He said that the actual structure and what's included matters because it talks about what is; a summary. He then mentioned about the timing of it. This talks about being in May, but the Organizational Meeting is a priority and in May. Councilwoman Upshur - also talked about the timing. Next year is an election year, there are going to be a couple of seats available, so the timing is not now. Mayor Johnson - this is a thought; it doesn't have to be in May. It can be in March, October, December. https://www.boardpaq.com/admin 9/12 11/4/24, 9:29 AM Paq Councilman Pope - he spoke up and said that this is good to have, even if it is a short list of things like what they've accomplished, what they are continuing on, and what they are aspiring to. Every journey has two things: a beginning and a destination. If you want to hit your target you have to see it and know what it is. The timing can be worked on. Barrett - spoke up and reminded them that changing the code is as simple as putting an ordinance together and then it takes a couple of weeks. Changing the Charter, depending on when it is, can be two months to eight months; depends on when the General Assembly is in. Changing codes offer more flexibility. Councilwoman Gott - asked if this could be addressed as a quarterly report because otherwise it could get lengthy, especially when it comes to including what our staff has done and are working on. Mayor Johnson - would like to summarize the information. It shouldn't be a 4-5 page document. Vice Mayor Rasmussen - spoke up and said that he's going to start making a list of the type of things that he would find important like a budget update, ordinances passed, updates on capital project, maybe something for Parks & Rec. Structure is what will make it manageable. Councilwoman Gott - mentioned about the ordinances and where they are on the website. She felt it would be interesting to see what's being changed and how it's being changed. Some things are changed several times over the years and some don't always know what the original was. Mayor Johnson - when State Legislators pass their bills, they have a short summary as to what they did, but you can click to read everything. Barrett - mentioned that every Ordinance has a summary at the bottom. Vice Mayor Rasmussen - it is just taking all the ordinances and their summaries and putting them into a document that people could look at. If they sat down they could come up with a list. Councilwoman Gott - asked who would be tasked to do this as Council doesn't offer consistency, but staff does. The question doesn't have to be answered now, but she's just putting it out there as a though on who the individual or team would be. Mayor Johnson - the Town Manager is considering getting someone to handle all the public communications, so that would be a good person to do this. d. Operating budget - Town Council shall adopt the operating budget on or before the last day of the 12th month of the fiscal year currently ending. If Town Council fails to adopt the budget by this day, the amounts appropriated for the current operations of the current fiscal year, shall be deemed adopted for the ensuing fiscal year on a month-to-month basis, with all items in it prorated accordingly, until such time as the Town Council adopts an operating budget for the ensuing fiscal year. * Mayor Johnson spoke on this. Last year's budget had taken forever to do, but they don't have anything in place if they run over into the next fiscal year. He talked about an operating budget being approved the last day of the year and that this would be if Council failed to adopt one, the amount appropriated for the current year would roll https://www.boardpaq.com/admin 10/12 11/4/24, 9:29 AM Paq over and then ensue on a month to month basis. They need to have something to document this. Councilman Pope - asked if this is could be a code? Barrett - said that looking at the language, there is nothing controversial. However, if this is one of 10 changes to the Charter, great, but if this is the only change, it can be in the Code. Councilman Pope - said that there could be a couple of more changes. Barrett - a Charter could be amended in Legislation because staff is in session, but realistically no one is going to look at this until maybe February. So there is time to review and make changes. Mayor Johnson - asked Council their thoughts. Councilman Pope - mentioned leaning toward Code changes versus Charter changes and he would hate to see one thing brought up and the come back to have two or three more. Councilman Pressley - spoke up and said that they can add this to the next Charter meeting for discussion and bring back what they talk about. Mayor Johnson - asked if they wanted to talk about the next one? Councilman Pressley - said no. Councilwoman Dr. Upshur - asked if E will be tabled. Councilman Pressley - yes, they are going to Charter. e. Terms of Office - the term of office for the Mayor shall be three (3) years with a term limit of three (3) terms, or nine years. The Mayor can serve terms consecutively. The term of office for each Council member shall be three (3) years with a term limit of four (4) terms, or twelve (12) years. * This was tabled during the previous item's discussion and will be going to Charter Review for discussion. 9. Presentation and public comments (3 minutes) Larry Strozenski - wanted to talk about a couple of points. He talked about 8c (annual report) and wanted to know if Council felt that was the number 1 issue. Instead, people want to know where their money is going. He talked about the Fire and EMS impact fees and how they should be on a cost per business. Insurers insure based on the level of dangerous. He used Amazon as an example and because of their high injury rates, would need an EMS building next to it. He talked about Jeremy's economic development presentation and agreed that the average income is not attracting business. He said Council should decide what type of population they are bringing and wanting. Mentioned that he can drive around apartment complexes and not find fancy cars like Range Rovers and Mercedes. He then talked about the library. The delays in construction equal cost and he wanted to know who would be bearing those costs. Mayor Johnson let him know that he could talk with Mr. Horsey and the (DCRL) Board. He also wanted to talk about the Mayor picking the Vice Mayor and if they have address succession issues. If the https://www.boardpaq.com/admin 11/12 11/4/24, 9:29 AM Paq Mayor was not able to fulfill his term how would that affect the Vice Mayor? Mayor Johnson let him know that it's already documented that the Vice Mayor would talk over. Pam Anderson - VFW 8801. Wanted everyone to be aware of the scholarships that the VFW has for students grade 9-12. They offer a couple thousand dollars and the students can complete applications on their (VFW) scholarship page. The competition is low. Vicki Blair - the impact fees presentation gave her a lot of insightful information. Asked if the 50% waiver could be adjusted but still be a positive draw. Brought up the impact fee study and they gave a number and 80% of that number was acceptable. If 50% was taken from that, then Fire and EMS are only getting 40%. Said it's just a thought to play with the numbers if a waiver is needed. Brought up the agenda and the corresponding Charter numbers, but couldn't find the Charter numbers. Asked if in the future the section numbers could be added to the agenda. She talked about the terms of office and asked how it would affect the current Council members. Her example was the 2025 election. Barrett - said that the language would be worked into the Charter, with specific dates say starting with the 2026 election; something like that. Mayor Johnson - asked if there was anyone else wanting to speak. There was no one. 10. Adjournment Mayor Johnson - asked for a motion to adjourn. Councilman Pope motioned to adjourn. Councilwoman Gott seconded. All approved. Meeting was adjourned at 8:33 p.m. Posted 10/14/2024 at 4:30 PM (#1) *Posted 10/17/2024 at 4:30 PM (#2) when the topic arose? NOTE: This agenda as listed may not be considered in sequence. This agenda is subject to change to include additional items, including Executive Sessions, and/or deletion of items, including Executive Sessions that arise at time of meeting. https://www.boardpaq.com/admin 12/12