HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-12-24 Regular419
Dunn City Council
Regular Meeting
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
6:30 p.m., Dunn Municipal Building
Minutes
PRESENT: Mayor William P. Elmore Jr., Mayor Pro Tem. J. Wesley Sills, Council Members Raquel McNeil,
April Gaulden, Billy N. Tart, Alan Hargis, and Dr. David L. Bradham.
Also present: City Manager Steven Neuschafer, Assistant City Manager Billy R. Godwin, Finance Director Cary
McNallan, Chief of Police Cary Jackson, Parks and Recreation Director Brian McNeill, Human Resources Director
Connie Jernigan, Public Works Director Dwayne Williams, Water Plant Manager Ian Stroud, Wastewater Plant
Manager Donrie Dukes, Administrative Support Specialist Sydney McKoy, City Attorney Tilghman Pope, and City Clerk
Melissa R. Matti.
CALL TO ORDER AND INVOCATION
Mayor Elmore opened the. meeting at 6:30 p.m. Pastor Dennis Manuel gave the invocation. Afterwards, Council
Member McNeil led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mayor Elmore asked that the City think about the Dafford family - a local family in Dunn that's had a presence for
many years. Bo Dafford, a former Council Member of the Dunn City Council lost his wife Sunday morning.
AGENDA ADJUSTMENT AND APPROVAL
Motion by Council Member Bradham and second by Council Member Gaulden to adopt the November 12, 2024
meeting agenda by adding item #5.5 Special Event Permit #SEP-20-2024 - Another Barber Shop to hold Customer
& Community Appreciate day. This is a Pre -Thanksgiving Meal and clothing giveaway at 614 E Broad Street on
Saturday, November 23rd -10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Motion unanimously approved.
PRESENTATIONS
FY24 Financial Audit Presentation
Finance Director McNallan advised the Council that the City has wrapped up the FY24 Financial, and our auditor is
here tonight to give a presentation. There is an audit transmittal letter in the agenda packet, along with the
Independent Auditor's Report, and the Management Discussion and Analysis, which is also referred to as the
MDNA. The Audit was completed by October 31s, which is our deadline. It's been sent to the LGC, and the LGC has
accepted it So, it's been approved.
Finance Director McNallan said that as the Finance Director he gets a lot of credit for what comes out of the
Finance Department But he could not do it without the help of his staff, and they are a super staff. He
acknowledged Patty Rowland, Cindy Rodriguez, Alexa Kallesten, and Alex Abling. Those missing tonight are Libby
Tolly, Sandra Frazier, who is a part-time person and Holly Jackson. He said "Thank you so much for what they do. I
couldn't do it without you."
Finance Director McNallan introduced Austin Eubanks from the firm of Thompson Price Scott Adams and
Company, also known as TPSA who provided the presentation of the FY24 Audit. A copy of the FY24 Financial
Audit Presentation is incorporated into these minutes as Attachment #1.
2025 World Series for Diamond Youth Baseball
Carolyn Elmore, Dunn Boosters Club
& Jay Hardison, Diamond Youth Baseball
Carolyn Elmore represents the Dunn Area -Recreation Boosters and is the Director of the 2025 World Series for
Diamond Youth Baseball. She gave an update on the tournaments. These tournaments will bring 24 teams to our
city with opening ceremonies being held at the football stadium at Campbell University on July 24th. Games will
begin on July 25th at Tart Park. She explained that while she was in Louisiana at the DYB National Board Meeting
in August a meeting was held with discussion about the DYB having a six year World Series in the future. We're
excited to announce that Dunn going to host the first ever 6U World Series for Diamond Youth Baseball. That's
actually T-ball, but they're coach pitched. It will be held at Tyler Park on the same dates as the 8U tournament at
Tark Park. At this time, we are unsure how many teams will play in the 6U World Series Tournaments. There
should be between 14 and 24 teams. These four (4) World Series Tournaments will be a great asset for the City of
Dunn, Harnett County, and our neighboring communities. If you got any questions, Jay Hardison from the national
board is here.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
The Public Comment Period was opened by Mayor Elmore at 6:40 p.m. Having no comments, the Public Comment
period was closed.
CONSENTITEMS
• Minutes of the September 24, 2024 City Council Meeting
• Budget Amendment to close FY24 Vehicle and Equipment Capital Projects
• Special Event Permit - SEP-20-24 - Another Barber Shop - Street Closure
Motion by Mayor Pro Tem Sills.and second by Council Member Hargis to approve all consent items. Motion
unanimously approved. A copy of Capital Project Ordinance Amendment FY24 Vehicle & Equipment Purchases
Project, Budget Amendment (BA-2024-14), and Special Event Permit (SUP-20-2024) is incorporated into these
minutes as Attachment #2.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND/OR DECISION
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Budget Amendment
Fairground Road Utility Extension
City Manager Neuschafer explained that this a request to perform a budget amendment that would allow for a
small water line extension along Fairground Road. Not only would it serve future developments, but also one that's
proposed and has already been annexed into the city limits. The estimated cost for the water line extension is
$52,490.00 and we would just ask that this be approved.
Motion by Council Member McNeil and second by Council Member Gaulden to approve the attached budget
amendment to fund the water line extension across Fairground Road. Motion unanimously approved. A copy of
BudgetAmendment (BA-2024-16) is incorporated into these minutes as Attachment #3.
NC Youth Sports
Grant Acceptance
BudgetAmendment
Parks & Recreation Director McNeil; explained that in August, 2024 we applied for a Youth Sports Grant, which is a
grant through the North Carolina Youth Outdoor Engagement This is a new grant to the North Carolina that's
generated through the sports bet and funds that that recently started this past spring. Through that grant we
applied. This grant is intended for host sites to attract more regional tournaments to the state of North Carolina,
which that's exactly where our World Series following is. In August we applied for the maximum amount of
$25,000 and we were informed in October that we were awarded for the full grant amount That grant amount will
go towards the temporary fencing that would be needed for the tournament. That was one of the requirements for
the tournament, the temporary chain link fencing and the grant It'll go on to pay for the full amount of the fence.
That wouldn't be any anything from the City. That would be coming directly from the grant What I have before
you is a request to accept the grant, but also a budget amendment for those funds because those funds will not be
reimbursed until 45 days prior to the event. The event is July 24th, so this budget amendment is so we can go
ahead and purchase the equipment and have it on site and have it ready because it will take some time from the
time of us purchasing the equipment to have it the site. So, this will allow us to be able to have it in place and ready
prior to the event and then 45 days prior to the event, that's when we'll submit for our reimbursement
Motion by Council Member Hargis and second by Council Member Bradham to approve acceptance of North
Carolina youth sports grant in the amount of $25,000.00 and approve the attached budget amendment request for
$25,000 to be used for equipment for the 2025 DYBAA World Series. Motion unanimously approved. A copy of
the BudgetAmendment (BA-2024-15) is incorporated into these minutes as Attachment #4.
Consideration of Offer to Purchase
19.68 Acres of City Property
Assistant City Manager Godwin reminded the Council that back in August the City received an offer to purchase
from NVR Corporation that wants to buy this 19.6 acre lot that the city owns off Johnston St The following month
in September, they started going through the legal process. A resolution of intent to engage in the upset bid
process was adopted and without going through all of that again essentially when somebody makes an offer to
purchase city property one of the ways you go through the process is you advertise it and put out there what the
offer is and offer other people an opportunity to upset that bid that was done there were no upset bids and so once
that process is you get past the upset bid. Then the council then has to make the decision on whether or not to
actually formally they accept the offer and so the upset bid has passed and in the last 3 or four weeks Tillman and I
have been negotiating with the company that wants to buy the property to get the contract terms fine-tuned. What
you have before you tonight is the revised contract Offer to Purchase that sets out the specific terms of the contract
on the offer to purchase. We set out in the agenda abstract the principal terms, of course the purchase price for the
property is $250,000. Within that $250,000 they've already put down $12,500 of earnest money of which $5,000 is
non-refundable. $750 would is refundable up until the end of the due diligence. There are several conditions
attached to the offer that they made and one of those conditions is that the property has to be rezoned R-7 and
then the rezoning has to allow up to 10 units on the property of 10 lots. On the property there's an extended
closing date and we talked about this when we brought the resolution of intent before you. if you accept it tonight,
they're going to be closing in the next 30 days, more or less a traditional closing. This could take up to 180 days
during which time they'll be going through the zoning process, construction, subdivision process. Some of which
are already underway.
Motion by Council Member Bradham and second by Council Member Tart to accept NVR, Inc.'s offer to purchase
the real property identified as PIN#1526-08-5581.000 and authorize City Manager or his designee to execute the
attached Assignable Real Estate Sales Contract and any other documents necessary to close the property sale.
Motion unanimously approved. A copy of the Assignable Real Estate Sales Contract is incorporated into these
minutes as Attachment #5.
Consideration of Inspections
Contract Agreement
Assistant City Manager Godwin advised the Council that this item is a request to adopt an amendment to the
existing Building Inspections Contract that the City has with the county. Just as a brief history, several years ago
when the city was without a Building Inspector, a Chief Building Inspector, and or a regular Building Inspector in
order to get Building Inspections conducted, the City entered into a contract with Harnett County for Building
Inspection Services and that included plan reviews and the whole gamut of building inspections. Fortunately, we
were able to hire a Building Inspector a couple of months ago. Slater Johnson has been here. We've introduced him
to the council. As a result of that higher, the City's need for the County's Inspection Services have diminished.
There's a few things that the county will still do, one of the things that they'll continue to do is to finish inspecting
certain things that they've already started inspecting, so we don't switch building inspectors in the middle of the of
a project But, in essence what this contract amendment will do will end for the most part the City's Building
Inspection Services Agreement with the county. This is all been negotiated with the county and they're certainly
on board. They're waiting for us to approve it and then Harnett County Board of Commissioners will likewise
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adopt it. County will still conduct Fire Inspections for the City, but I think the county inspections does fire
inspection for every municipality. That will not change.
Slater Johnson is our current Building Inspector. He is a Level 3 Building. In the world of Building Inspections
you've got 5 or 6 different trades that you are certified in level 1, 2, or 3. Slater is a Level 3 Building Inspector. He
has a provisional or probational Inspection Certificate for level 2 Electrical. He's just passed his electrical, so he can
inspect anything other than requires a Level 3 inspection of Level 3 Electrical Inspection and if we needed one of
those, then we would have to and that's in the agenda package that we would have to hire that out on an as needed
basis until he gets his Level 3 Certificate. We've got a lot of hopes that with Slater with his credentials we'll be able
to do our own thing sooner than later and we'd still actually have a vacant building inspection position as well. He
added that that Slater Johnson was previously employed with the City for a number of years. He knows our system
and he knows the building inspections pretty well.
Motion by Council Member Gaulden and second by Council Member McNeil to approve Amendment #1 to the
City's contract with Harnett County for building inspection services and to authorize the Mayor, or his designee, to
execute the amendment Motion unanimously approved. A copy of the Building Inspection Service3s Agreement
Amendment #1 is incorporated into these minutes as Attachment #6.
Consideration of BRIC
Grant Agreement
City Manager Neuschafer reminded the council that we had a presentation not too long ago about our award of a BRIC
Grant, which is a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant. This Grant is going to be broken down into
two phases. The first phase being an engineering and administration phase. There is an agreement in your packet with the
state of North Carolina and for this first phase out of a $9 million project, this is a $1.1 million phase. The budget impact
for the City our share of that $1.1 million is about $330,000. We've already approved the budget for the project. So we
need to designate someone as agent for the city of Dunn for this grant agreement project. I decided that Billy Godwin
would be a great designee for the city of Dunn. This would authorize him to move forward and execute the North
Carolina BRIC Grant Agreement. We also have another part of this, which would be grant administration and engineering
components of this that we need to designate some contracts. Those portions will most likely happen next month, once we
get some proposals, and then we'll move on from there. Once we execute the grant, there are very specific deadlines
associated with that. Tilghman reviewed the document that are before you and pointed out several thresholds and
requirements that the City has to provide whether it's through sub -agreements, with the grant agreements, or engineering.
We still have a very specific timeline for all these things to take place. Once we do execute this, it'll be in motion to get
this first phase done in a certain specific timeline. We're all very comfortable that we've had the COG and Samantha help
us with the application and getting us up to this point where we actually have an agreement. Finally, it's taken almost a
year to get this far. This is certainly not a race, but this is the next step and the progress as we move forward.
Motion by Council Member Gaulden and second by Council Member Tart to direct Assistant City Manager Billy
Godwin to execute the North Carolina Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grant Agreement
Motion unanimously approved. A copy of the North Carolina Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities
Grant Agreement is incorporated into these minutes as Attachment #7.
Consideration of Acceptance of
A Small Rural Tribal -Macro Grant
For Body -Worn Cameras
Police Chief Jackson advised the Council that she had come to ask for approval of the acceptance of the Small Rural
Tribal Micro Grant for Body Worn Cameras. The Police Department currently requires the use of body worn cameras by
all officers as mandated by our Department Policy the policy follows State National Standards that align with those that
are required by our Kalia Accreditation. As you know, body worn cameras are a critical tool for gathering evidence,
providing transparency, and ensuring integrity and accountability in our department. Our current system, which is Watch
Guard Body Cameras was purchased in 2013. That includes the server for storage and both body warm and in car camera
systems. They've offered good, reliable service. However, many of the devices have become non -operational or damaged
requiring replacement and at the end of 2022 the Watch Guard Company was acquired by Motorola and currently they
only offer refurbished cameras to our department. We've been having to replace these cameras with cameras that are
damaged with refurbished ones. We've currently, as of January 2024, have replaced seven (7) of those cameras at a cost
of $3,500. It's $500 every time. Say one of those devices and receive a refurbished one. Therefore, it's necessary for us to
upgrade these devices to continue to comply with department policy and national standards. To help us to again maintain
that level of integrity and accountability in our community this award should it be accepted. This is a grant of up to
$16,338. It does require a match. You'll see me again probably next month coming before you. I would have proposal to
upgrade our camera systems with this grant; however, will provide up to that amount to help us with that effort.
Motion by Mayor Pro Tern Sills and second by Council Member Hargis to authorize the Police Department to accept
funding for the small rural tribal body worn camera micro grant program. Motion unanimously approved.
Consideration of Tentative Bid Award
For Effluent Line
Pump Station Bids
City Manager Neuschafer explained that this is a possible or tentative award of a Black River Wastewater Treatment
Plant Effluent Project. He reminded them that they discussed this at a work session as well as a special call meeting. This
is one project that was broken into two (2) contracts. Bid Contract #1 is the Piping Contract, which was the pipeline that
conveys the treated water from the wastewater treatment plant back to the Cape Fear River. Bid Contract #2 was for the
new electrical building and refurbishment of existing effluent pumps. We were able to receive bids. The engineers
recommendation is in your packet and what we'd like to have today is Tentative Award of Contract #1 - to Park
Construction and Tentative Award of Contract #2 to Jay Crombie Construction for the two projects. The overall project
budget is in the packet as well. The two contract awards add up to $14.9 million. The overall project is $17.6 million,
including engineering and other inspections. The tentative award is really to allow the state of North Carolina to evaluate
our bidding process associated approvals. There's other approvals that we have to have with this project as well
confirming our funding allocation for the project. Once their process is done and they feel confident that all the
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requirements nave been met, then they'll concur with our award and the project will be able to be moved forward. We
already have the budget in place. We've already done a project ordinance and the breakdown. What we're asking tonight
is for tentative award to move to the next phase of this project. You have a. resolution to that effect in your packet. Randy
McNeil from Davis Martin Powell's was here for any questions
Motion by Council Member Bradham and second by Council Member Gaulden to tentatively award Contract 1 TO
Park Construction of Morrisville, North Carolina for the Effluent Forcemain in the amount of $12,695,775 AND
Contract 2 to J. Cumby Construction of Cookeville, TN for the Effluent Pump Station in the amount of $2,283,000
and approve the related Capital Project Ordinance Amendment Motion unanimously approved. A copy of the
Resolution of Tentative Bid Award(R2024-45) and Capital Project Ordinance Amendment - Black River Wastewater
Treatment Plant Effluent Project (02024-27)is incorporated into these minutes as Attachment #8.
Administrative Reports
Goals &.Objectives
City Manager Neuschafer
Finance Director McNallan provided the following financial report for the period ending October 31, 2024:
• Finance Director McNallan provided the following financial report for the period ending October 31, 2024:
• The City has $10.3 million cash and investments, compared to $4.8 million last year. The reason this is up so
high and different from a year ago is because of these grants. These projects that we're building and then it
just takes time to pay the contractor. It takes time to get the money back from the State when we do our draw
request and you're going to. see more of that as we award a bunch of these projects. Here tonight we have that
staff that I introduced you to. I've got two people that does capital projects draws and they try to stay on top of
that. We try to submit them as quickly as we can to try to get our money back as quick as we can. That's why
you're seeing such a variance in the cash and then because we're in the middle of or the end of October, we're
at the 33% benchmark
• Property Taxes collected for March ate $361,000, compared to $519,000 last year.
• Today we've collected $844,000 Sales. Tax receipts. Our July receipts were $284,000 which was $8,500 less
than July of last year and we should be getting the next report probably tomorrow
• Building Permit Fees for the month of October $15,397 today we've collected $43,000, which is about 27% of
our budget
• General Fund expenditures for month are $950,098, with total expensed to -date at $10,987,116 or 78% of
Budget, compared to $11,080,768 in 2023. Revenues to -date are $11,507,150 or 81.7% of budget.
• Water'and Sewer fund expenditures for the month are $399,751, with total expensed to -date at $6,998,283, or
64.8% of budget, compared to $5,579,245 last year. Revenues to -date are $7,635,645 or 70.7% of budget
• Stormwater fund expenditures for the month were $8,236, with total expenses to -date of $399,542, or 93.8%
of budget Revenues to -date are $190,316 or 44.7% of budget.
• The benchmark for this period is 83.3% of budget
Reports were also received as follows: Planning and Inspections Report, Public Works Report, Public Utilities
Report, Parks and Recreation Report and Police Report.
Announcements/Information
Mayor Elmore announced upcoming events and activities.
With no further business to discuss, Mayor Elmore adjourned the meeting at 7:38 p.m.
Closed Session
Motion by Council Member Gaulden and seconded by Council Member McNeil to go into closed session for closed
session at 8:00 p.m.
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T°! `;Mayor
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Melissa R: Matti, CMC, NCCMC
City Clerk