(FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.) - The Fayetteville City Council met May 1 at 5 p.m. in the City Hall LaFayette Room for the monthly work session to discuss matters relevant to the city with regards to their strategic plan.
The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. followed by the invocation was offered by Council Member Brenda McNair followed by the Pledge of Allegiance lead by Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Dawkins.
There were several ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RECOGNITIONS made by the Mayor Pro Tem and Council.
Councilwoman Shakeyla Ingram spoke about the upcoming Fayetteville Beautiful neighborhood cleanup. She also acknowledged splash pads are open throughout the City.
Councilwoman Courtney Banks-McLaughlin spoke about community safety micro-grants applications being accepted by the City’s Economic and Community Development Department.
Councilman Derrick Thompson spoke about the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival’s great turnout. At the request of council, City Manager Doug Hewitt reported no significant calls of service were made to the Fayetteville Police Department in the downtown area. Councilwoman Shakeyla Ingram added the City’s presence was noticeable, including Fayetteville Next.
Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Dawkins read and presented a proclamation on behalf of the Mayor and City Council to City Clerk Pamela Megill and Deputy Clerk Ms. Jennifer Ayre recognizing Professional Municipal Clerks Week.
Approval of the Agenda:
Councilman Deno Honduras made a motion to approve the agenda, it was seconded by Councilwoman Kathy Jensen. The motion passed.
Other Items of Business:
The City Council discussed changes proposed from the City Council Policies Review Committee. These recommendations come after several committee meetings held in City Hall. The intent is to provide a collaborative engagement base across all City functions and ensure policies are updated and relevant. There was consensus to move the all the reviewed policies to a consent agenda at a Regular Council Meeting except for Policy 120.9 - Public Forum. Policy 120.9 will move forward as an Item of Business during a future meeting. You can read more about this item here.
The City Council received a presentation on the American Rescue Plan Act Workforce Development and General Funded Youth Mentoring Proposals from Mr. Chris Cauley, the City of Fayetteville Economic Community Development Director. Several organizations applied for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding which are recommended by City staff for two to three years of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) instead. City Council provided consensus to support funding the proposed initiatives for Workforce Development and Youth Mentoring and move this to a Regular Council Meeting for action. You can read more about this item here.
The Fayetteville Police Department presented an update to council concerning Public Safety Strategic Items. This presentation discussed various programs and tools used by the Department to work towards the Council’s strategic goal of making Fayetteville a safe and secure community. These items included the use of License Plate Readers, Spot Shotter progress, Mental Health Training for Officers and FUSUS, a volunteer citizen camera program which is also completely anonymous. Additionally, the Community Assistance, Response, Engagement and Stabilization Program, known as the CARES Program, was also discussed. You can read more about this item here.
Assistant City Manager Jeff Yates led a Budget Discussion and a Revised Calendar ahead of the upcoming the budget presentation for Council to discuss and approve. This discussion was to discuss what the current fiscal situation is as the city progresses into the new budget year. Other items discussed were projects and considerations on the “Parking Lot” items, those that the City Council want to discuss further for the upcoming budget.
Council Member Hondros proposed that the City Council begin the PWC Commissioner Appointment Process early to ensure adequate time is allotted to deliberate and appoint a PWC Commissioner. The City Council had a split vote (7-2) to move this to a Regular Council Meeting. Council Vote was the following: Yay- Dawkins, Jensen, Benavente, Banks-McLaughlin, Hondros, Ingram; McNair; Nay- Haire, Thompson. You can read more about this item here.
Council Member Jensen proposed to develop an Office of Community Safety and Mental Health. She recognized that other municipalities are facing similar challenges and wanted to discuss an update on the efforts to provide the cost related to the implementation of a community mental health program similar to the Durham HEART model. She requested to have staff develop a cost-effective mental health response model. Council voted unanimously in favor to move this item into the “Parking Lot” to be considered as a budget item and voted on in the future. You can read more about this item here.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:23 p.m.
The next City Council Regular Meeting will be held on Monday, May 8 at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers in City Hall. Meetings also air live on Spectrum Channel 7, at FayTV.net and on the FayTV app available on your streaming device. Meeting agendas, supporting documentation and minutes are publicly available here. For more information about the Fayetteville City Council, please visit fayettevillenc.gov/citycouncil.
