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Home My WebLink About10-28-2025 - RegularDunn City Council - Regular Meeting Tuesday, October 28, 2025 6:30 p.m., Dunn Municipal Building Minute-8 PRESENT: Mayor William P. Elmore Jr., Mayor Pro Tem.April Gaulden, Council Members J. Wesley Sills, Raquel McNeil, Billy N. Tart, Alan Hargis, and Dr. David L. Bradham. Also present: City Manager Justin Hembree, Assistant City Manager Billy R. Godwin, Interim Police Chief Nick Simmons, Captain Matt Smith, Captain Jonathan Butler, Lieutenant James Reagan, Officer. Jonathan Hall, Adam Sikorski, CID Investigator -Johnny Faucett, CID Investigator Taylor Stuble, Parks and Recreation Director Brian McNeill, Collections and -Distribution Manager Billy Cottle, Water Plant Manager Ian Stroud, Code Enforcement Officer. Stephen Hodges, Code Enforcement Officer Alan Canady, Code Enforcement Officer Cindy ,Rodriguez, Administrative Support Specialist Christy Sweeney, City Attorney Tilghman Pope and City Clerk Melissa Matti. CALL TO ORDER Mayor William P. Elmore, Jr. called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, October 28; 2025, at the Dunn Municipal Building. He welcomed everyone in attendance and asked attendees to silence their cell phones to avoid interruptions during the meeting. CONSIDERATION & APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Motion. by Council Member Bradham second by Council Member Tart to approve the agenda. All in favor; Motion unanimously, approved. INVOCATION Joint Pastor, Reverend Grayson Dye from Divine Street United Methodist Church delivered the invocation. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council Member Tart led the Pledge of Allegiance. PRESENTATIONS Recognition of LieutenantJames Reagan and Officer Jonathan Hall, Dunn Police Department Major Nick Simmons presented certificates to -Lieutenant James Reagan and Officer Johnny Hall, who received the North Carolina Advanced. Law Enforcement Certificate; -the highest -level certificate awarded by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission. Major Simmons introduced Lieutenant Reagan, who began his employment with Dunn PD in 2023 and has been assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division. He previously served in the United States Navy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Noble Eagle, as well as working for Harnett County Sheriff s Office and the Angier Police Department. Officer Johnny Hall started with Dunn PD in 2022 and currently serves as a School Resource Officer at Harnett County Early College. He is completing his Advanced SRO Certificate Program requiring .400 hours of specialized training and has more than 20 years of total;law enforcement experience. - The certificates recognize their attainment of training and educational objectives commensurate with the role of professional criminal justice officers. Mayor Elmore thanked. both officers for their service and continued education for the betterment of the City. Diamond Youth Baseball Presentation Council Member Sills presented the plaque received from Diamond Youth Baseball for hosting the Diamond Youth World Series in July 2025. He acknowledged the efforts of Carolyn Elmore, the Baseball Booster Club, City staff, Harnett County Commissioners and EMS in welcoming approximately 2,600 people to Dunn. The event received positive feedback from participants who traveled from as far as Texas. The plaque was presented to Parks. & Recreation Director McNeil to display in the Parks and Recreation Department offices. Council Member Sills suggested Dunn should consider hosting the event again in the future. Veterans Day Proclamation Assistant City Manager Godwin read the Veterans Day Proclamation recognizing November 11, 2025-,.as Veterans Day in Dunn. The proclamation noted Veterans. Day as an annual holiday honoring military veterans on the anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I. It acknowledged the invaluable contributions of veterans and reaffirmed the City's commitment to provide support to veterans and their families. The proclamation encouraged the community to recognize veterans' valor and, through appropriate ceremonies. A copy of the Veterans Day Proclamation (P2025-6) is incorporated into these minutes as Attachment #1 PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD There were no public comments. Hearing none, Mayor Elmore closedthe Public Comment Period. CONSENT AGENDA The Consent Agenda included three (3) items: • Approval of October 14, 2025 Work Session Minutes • Budget Amendment for Various Operating Accounts, • Halloween Resolution. Motion by Council Member Tart, second by Council Member Hargis, to approve all Consent Agenda. items. All in Favor. Motion carried unanimously. Copies of the Budget Amendment (BA2025-11) and the Halloween Resolution (R2025-48) are incorporated into these minutes as Attachment #2. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION & POSSIBLE ACTION ANX-06-25 E. Johnson Street (Step 3) Re -Setting Public Hearing City Manager Hembree explained that there had been a miscommunication regarding this agenda item. Initially, it was reported that the Voluntary Annexation Petition for the -property on East Johnson Street was to be withdrawn. However, the request was actually to delay the Public Hearing until an upcoming meeting. The recommendation was to adopt a Resolution to set the Public Hearing for November 18, 2025, at 6:30 PM for the Voluntary Contiguous Annexation (ANX-06-25 East Johnston Street). Mr. Hembree noted that representatives from the petitioners were present at the meeting. Council Member Tart noted that according to the agenda, -the builders weren't quite ready to Proceed. Motion by Council -Member Hargis, second by Council Member Bradham, to adopt the Resolution Resetting the Public Hearing to November 1.8, 2025 at 6:30 PM for the Voluntary Contiguous Annexation Petition of ANX-06-25-East Johnson Street -Joe & Susan Godwin and CDL Properties LLC. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. A copy of the Resolution Resetting the Public Hearing to -November 18, 2025 at 6:30 PMfor the. Voluntary Contiguous Annexation Petition of ANX-06-25-East Johnson Street (R202549) is incorporated into these minutes as Attachment #3. Authorized Agent Ian Stroud, Water Treatment Plant Manager, requested approval to be designated -as the Authorized Representative and Successor to Execute and File an Application on Behalf of -the City of Dunn with the State of North Carolina for a loan or grant to aid in the study of the Lead Service Line Project. He explained that the City would apply for an additional $500,000 to complete the Lead Service Line Inventory for November 1, 2027, updated inventory submittal deadline. Once the completed Service Line Inventory is submitted, they would move toward the Service Line Replacement portion of the project. Motion by Mayor Pro Tem Gaulden, second by Council Member McNeil, to approve the Authorized Representative Ian Stroud to file an application on behalf of the applicant with the State of North Carolina for a loan and/or grant to aid in the study of the Lead Service Line Inventory project. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. A copy of the Resolution by Governing Body of Applicant (R2025-50) is incorporated into these minutes as Attachment #4. Capital Project Ordinance WWTP Maintenance Building Project Finance Director McNallan presented a Request to Approve a bid to Build a Maintenance Building. at the Water Treatment Plant and authorize the Finance Department to Obtain Bank Financing to Fund the Project. The building was included in the FY26 Budget Approval as part of the Capital Improvements Program. The project, with a budget of $210,230, includes reroofing an existing building adjacent to where the new maintenance building will be constructed. The new building will be used to store equipment and serve as a Maintenance Shop.. The building will be 40' x 50' in size. Council Member Wesley Sills noted that the cost of approximately $98 per square foot seemed in line with similar projects. Motion by Council Member Sills, second by Council Member Bradhain, to approve the Wastewater Treatment Plant Maintenance Building Capital Project Ordinance, related Budget Amendment, award the construction contract to AMAC Builders LLC, and authorize staff to advertise 'for bank financing. Motion carried unanimously. A copy of the Wastewater Treatment Plant Maintenance Building Capital Project Ordinance-(02025- 23) and related BudgetAmendment (BA-2025-10) are incorporated -into -these minutes as Attachment #5.' REPORTS & UPDATES City Manager's Report City -Manager Justin Hembree provided several updates: • Police'Chief Search = The City has retained assistance from an outside firm to help with the search process for a new Police Chief. Mr. Hembree and Godwin have a virtual meeting scheduled the next day to setup the process. He plans to reach out to council members individually about their involvement in the process. He anticipates the search will be completed between late Winter and. early Spring, noting that the holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year's is not ideal for recruiting. • Veterans Day Celebration - A Veterans Day celebration will be held at the Senior Center on November 7 at 9:00 AM, featuring breakfast and recognition of community veterans. • State of the Community Event - Mr. Hembree reminded Council Members about the State of the Community Chamber event, which will feature Representative Penny on a panel along with the County. Manager -and other Community leaders. • Street Paving - The paving contract has been signed and sent to the contractor. They are waiting to schedule a preconstruction meeting. The, first three or four paving projects are still on track to be completed in this calendar year as specified in the contract, with penalties assigned if the contractor fails to meet this requirement. Financial Report Finance Director Cary McNallan presented the financial report for the end of September (most numbers have been rounded): • Cash in the bank: $7,532,219 (compared to $10,101,914 last year) • Outstanding grant reimbursements: over $4,000,000 • East Side Pump Station construction account: $7,000,000 • Property tax collections through September: $405,000 (compared to $378,000 for September last year) • Year-to-date property tax collections: $1,100,000 • July sales tax receipts: $333,000 ($49,500 more than the same period last year) • Building permits and development fees for September: $27,000 (year-to-date: $65,000, about 36% of budget) Departmental Reports & Project Updates Code Enforcement Billy Godwin, Assistant City Manager, introduced the Code Enforcement team: Stephen Hodges, Alan Canady, and Cindy Rodriguez. He noted the team has expanded to three (3) officers and has maintained momentum on Code Enforcement efforts that began before the baseball tournament earlier in the year. Stephen Hodges presented new tools being implemented for code enforcement, including door hangers to provide earlier notification to property owners before formal letters are sent through mail, which can take 4-5 days to arrive. Alan Canady shared examples of recent code enforcement activities with photographs: • 104 Chelsea Lane where a junk vehicle . was properly covered and moved to the back of the lot after notification. • 803 East Harnett where a builder had cleaned out a house and left debris in the front yard, which was cleaned up within seven days after notification • The parking lot is shared by Tropicana, Rose's, and other businesses, which has been repaired after code enforcement action. Mr. Canady noted that approximately 75% of recent code enforcement cases:.involved junk vehicles, with around 100 such cases in the last 30 days. He observed that word-of-mouth about -enforcement is spreading, causing some property owners to take proactive measures before receiving official notices. Council Member Hargis inquired about a house at the corner of Fayetteville and Pope Street that was in litigation. It was reported that the court had affirmed the Council's decision, and there was a 30-day appeal period from when the order was entered, which had not yet expired. Council Member McNeil asked about businesses with non-functioning lights in their signage. Mr. Canady explained that this falls under Zoning code and can be addressed by Code Enforcement. ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Elmore announced the following upcoming events: • Trunk or Treat hosted by Dunn Police Department and Parks & Recreation: October 30, 5-7 PM on MacDonald Street • City Halloween observance: October 31, 5-8 PM • Cotton Festival Block Party in the 300 block of Broad Street: October 31, beginning at 6 PM • 25th Annual Cotton Festival: November 1, 10 AM-4 PM in downtown Dunn • Daylight Saving Time ends: Sunday, November 2 • No work session in November; the next regular Council Meeting will be on Tuesday, November 18 at 6:30 PM Mayor Pro Tem'Gaulden recognized Amanda Baker and Evelyn Muss for their work at the Dunn Senior Center, commending them for keeping seniors active within the City. Council Member Sills announced that Dunn Elementary School would host its Fall Festival on Thursday with food trucks and games as a fundraiser for the school and parent -teacher organization. He also reminded residents to observe the designated hours for trick -or -treating and noted that Police presence would be helpful on Watauga Street due to traffic congestion. Finally, he thanked veterans for their service, mentioning that both of his grandparents were World War II Veterans. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Council Member Dr. Bradham, second by Council Me er Sills to adjourn the meeting at 7:20 p.m. All in favor. Motion carried unanimously. r , n ®%```I4111111 CITY William P Elmore,. J . ®® �� ' , ® or Att s ' C, ORP0, G ®® '�jj, Z elissa R. Matti City Clerk .� C