TTowynof Davidson College Town. Lake1 Town. linur Tinm.  November 9, 2021  VIRTUAL REGULAR MEETING  TOWN OF DAVIDSON BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS  The Town of Davidson Board of Commissioners held a virtual regular meeting on Tuesday, November! 9, 2021 via Zoom due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Present were Mayor Rusty Knox and Commissioners Jane Campbell, Matthew Fort, Jim Fuller, Autumn Rierson Michael, and David Sitton. Town Manager. Jamie Justice, Assistant Town Manager Austin Nantz, Town Attorney Mary Ann Swan,  and Town Clerk Betsy Shores were also present.  CALLTOORDER  Mayor Knox called the meeting to order at! 5:33 p.m.  Mayor Knox did a roll call to confirm that all board members were present.  CLOSED SESSION  Commissioner Fort made a motion to move to closed: session per NCGS $143-318.11. (a)(6)- Commissioner Campbel!, made a motion end the closed session and resume the open meeting  Personnel at 5:34 p.m. The motion passed unanimously (5-0). at 6:06 p.m. The motion passed unanimously (5-0). ANNOUNCEMENIS & PROCLAMATION  Communications Director Amanda Preston announced the Town of Davidson invites all community members to join commemorate Veterans Day on Thursday, November 11 at 11:00 a.m. fora ceremony ont the steps of Town Hall. The program will feature al keynote address from retired Colonel Aaron Charlotte Wateri is currently doing work on the water and sewer lines near the 251 South Street project. In addition, work on the parking lot began on November 1. Thej job of grinding and coring out the parking lott to prepare it for paving is the first phase. This will be followed by loads of gravel delivered by dump trucks. A rolling machine will then be used to flatten out and level the gravel so that the asphalt work can begin. Work on the parking lot should wrap up with asphalt binding (which willi involve dump trucks and as small roller which will cause: some ground vibration) from November 22 - November. 2. The Davidson Police Department kicked off the annual Angel Tree Program, a tradition which spans more than twenty years. The program has historically provided toys and clothing for children in need but expanded in recent years to include providing elder and disabled residents in need with gifts of grocery  Steffens, United States Air Force.    and gas gift cards. After the severity oft the COVID-19 virus in 2020, the Angel Tree Program has adapted to work through in-person contact, by phone, or digitally through email or our website. Those interested inj participating, either by becoming a sponsor or by making a monetary donation, are asked to contact Christmas in Davidson will be held December: 2- December 41 from 6:00p.m.-9:00 p.m. All activities will be held outside, and we encourage all attendees to observe COVID-19 protocols. Main Street will be closed from Concord Road to. Jackson Street to allow for pedestrians to spread out and enjoy the holiday  the Davidson Police Department at (704) 892-5131 during normal business hours.  fun.  Mayor Knox read a proclamation for Eye Donation Month.  CHANGES TO THE AGENDA  Town Manager Justice requested adding consent item c) to amend the 2021 meeting schedule to adda a  virtual meeting on Tuesday, November 23, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. TOWN OF DAVIDSON COVID-19 RESPONSE  Over the past two weeks, there has been a decrease county-wide of laboratory confirmed infections, hospitalizations due to infection, and a decrease in the average percent positive (5.5%). Mecklenburg County reports 61% of thet total population are at least partially vaccinated and! 57% of the total population are fully vaccinated within the county. There have been 27 cases recorded in our zip code from October 21 through November 3 and our zip code continues to have the second lowest COVID-19 Town staff has requested from Mecklenburg County public health and its partners to facilitate the availability of vaccine clinic here int town now that the Pfizer youth vaccine for ages 51 to 11 is available. We will: share more information with you all as soon as we are able and continue to look for  cases per 100,000 residents int the past 14 days in the county.  opportunities to enhance vaccine availability here in the community.  The Mecklenburg County public health rule currentlyi in effect that requires masks indoors countywide was amended last Wednesday, November 3 by the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners acting as the county board of public health. The main change is regarding the metrics used to determine when the public health rule is no longer needed and can bel lifted. The metrics included originally was that the community percent positive needed to be! 5% or below for 30 consecutive days, then the rule could be lifted. The amended rule state the public health rule and indoor mask mandate would be automatically lifted once the average positivity rate int the county falls below! 5%1 for seven days in a row. Click here for The town board had previously discussed waiting to return to in-person meetings once the countywide indoor mask mandate is lifted. Staff discussed with the board resuming in person meetings on Tuesday, December 7 for the regular meeting and Tuesday, December 14 for the ceremonial meeting wheret the outgoing board members are recognized, and the new boardi is sworn in. We will resume in person meetings assuming the public health rule andi indoor mask mandate have been lifted. Town Manager. Justice presented an update on the COVID-19 Employee Vaccine Incentive Program. Of the eligible Town of Davidson employees, 80% are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. When we. started the program we did not know how many employees were vaccinated and that helped to make the  more information.    program eligible for American Rescue Plan dollars. We did speculate that we thought we were somewhere int the 55-65% range. We were at 70% and we were: able toi increase our overall vaccination percentage by 10%, or 11 employees, because oft thei incentive program. Oft the 124 eligible employees, we now have 99 vaccinated. The presentation also compared Mecklenburg County vaccination rates with local government serving the community and town staff on a departmental basis. We will continue to advocate for eligible employees to get vaccinated and have proceeded with a weekly testing program  fore employees that have not shown proof of vaccination.  PUBLICO COMMENTS  The public comments period opened at 6:33 p.m. and closed at 7:17 p.m. Due to COVID-19, five people provided public comment on screen, seven people submitted voicemails, and Town Clerk Betsy Shores  read seven public comments that were submitted via email.  CONSENT AGENDA  Meeting Minutes from October 7 virtual special meeting, October 12 virtual work session, and Amendment to 2021 Meeting Schedule to add a virtual meeting on Tuesday, November 23 at 6:00  October 26 virtual regular meeting  Approval of Application of Assistance to Firefighter Grant  p.m.  Commissioner Fort made a motion to approve items on the consent agenda including item c) which was added under changes to the agenda. The motion passed unanimously (5-0).  OLD BUSINESS  (a) Housing & Equity Director Eugene Bradley, Davidson Housing Coalition Executive Director Gerald White and Board Chair Mark Washburn, and Mosaic Development Group Executive Director Kathy Stilwell provided an update on reported conditions at The Bungalows. Staff have been working with Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement to have the 32 units at the Bungalows inspected for minimum housing code violations. The presentation included a status update of the ownership situation, repair work that has already taken place, and the schedule of work to be completed moving forward. The board directed staff to work with Davidson Housing Coalition to continue creating a plan to address the (b) Housing & Equity Director Eugene Bradley and Charlotte-Meckenburg Community Relations Executive Director Willie Ratchford presented an update on a Non-Discrimination Policy for the town and proposed partnership with the Community Relations Committee (CRC) to determine a path forward for ordinance compliance. Next steps include ai recommendation from the Affordable Housing & Equity Board at their November 18 meeting and the board of commissioners will consider approval at the (c) Housing & Equity Director Eugene Bradley reviewed the proposed Davidson Cottages Affordable Housing Plan. Four of the residential units in the Davidson Cottages development are designated as affordable. Three units with 80% below the Area Median Income and one unit upt to 120% AMI. An Affordable Housing Plan was submitted on August: 12, 2021 by Saussy Burbank. The Affordable Housing and Equity Board gave positive feedback at their September 16 meeting and provideda  critical repairs and provide an update at the November 23 meeting.  November 23 meeting.    recommendation for approval tot the town board.  Commissioner Campbell made a motion to approve the Davidson Cottages Affordable Housing  Plan as presented. The motion passed unanimously (5-0).  (d) Livability Board Staff Liaison Gina Carmon and Livability Board Member Matt' Walt presented an update oft the FY2022 Non-Profit Grant Recommendations. The board ofc commissioners has historically appropriated. $50,000 for grants to be distributed among qualified, registered, town-based non-profits that apply for funding for activities the town does not provide and that serve town residents.  Commissioner Fort made a motion to approve the FY2022 Non-Profit Grants. The motion  passed unanimously (5-0).  (e) Senior Planner Lindsay Laird and Heritage Strategies Principal and Project Manager Elizabeth Watson presented an update on the town-wide historic preservation plan. The plan will serve as a guide for proactive preservation decision-making over the next 10-15 years by developing goals, strategies, and an overall vision for historic preservation in town. Public outreach to date has included a citizen survey, ongoing stakeholder interviews, focus group meetings, and periodic advisory board meetings. A draft historic preservation plan is anticipated in early 2022. There will be additional opportunity for public input once a draft plan is available including public workshops, advisory board meetings, and board of (f) The town board appointed citizen pedestrian safety task force completed its work and presented the  commissioner meetings.  report at the October 26, 2021 town board meeting.  Commissioner Fuller made a motion to accept the pedestrian safety task force report with thanks to the Pedestrian. Safety Task Force and move forward with next steps. The motion  passed unanimously (5-0).  The board will formally recognize the members of the pedestrian safety task force at the December7  meeting and discuss next steps for implementation ofa a Vision Zero Task Force.  NEW BUSINESS  (a) The Town of Davidson has five citizen advisory boards: Affordable Housing Board, Design Review Board/Historic Preservation Commission, Livability Board, Planning Board, and Public Art Commission. Appointments are made by December to fill the expiring terms. Each year, the town advertises for citizens to apply to serve on these advisory boards. A nominating committee consisting of the mayor, two commissioners, the manager, the chairs of the advisory boards, and the staff liaisons to the advisory boards reviews the applications and determines who to recommend for appointment. The board of commissioners receives the nominations and makes the final decision on appointments. Thei town board will consider approval of the 2022 recommendations for advisory board appointments and reappointment of Brian Bumann as Chair of the Design Review Board/Historic Preservation Commission and appointment of Shawn Copeland as Chair of the Planning Board at the November 23 meeting. (b) Project Manager Doug Wright presented an update on proposed right-of-way: sale of town owned properties for the Potts-Sloan-Beaty Corridor project. The project is being managed by the NCDOT, funded by Bonus Allocation (BA) Funds, and is int the right-of-way: acquisition phase. The NCDOT needs    toa acquire right-of-wayl from the town to construct the project. There are acquisitions from 81 town- owned parcels, totaling $462,925. The board provided feedback to staff about the proposed right-of- (c) Town Manager Justice and board reviewed upcoming agenda items for the November 23 virtual meeting, the December 7 virtual regular meeting, and the December 14 Ceremonial Meeting.  way sale and will consider approval at the November 23 meeting.  SUMMARIZE MEETING ACTION ITEMS Town Manager. Justice summarized the action items.  CLOSED: SESSION  Commissioner Fort made a motion to move to closed: session per NCGS 5143-318.11. (a)(3)- Davidson. Acquisition Company, et. al. V. Town of Davidson, et. al, at 10:17p.m. The motion Commissioner Campbell made a motion end the closed. session at. 11:17p.m. The motion  passed unanimously (5-0). passed unanimously (5-0). ADJOURN (5-0).  Commissioner Campbell made a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously  The meeting adjourned at 11:17 p.m.  Attest:  / Rusty Knox Mayor  fahryol Elizapethi K.Shores, Town Clerk