October 12, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes  HAMLET CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS ROOM 201 MAIN STREET, HAMLET, NC: 28345 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2021 7:00PM MINUTES  Governing Body Present: Mayor Mayor Pro Tem Council Member Council Member Council Member Staff Present: City Attorney City Manager City Clerk Finance Officer IT Police Chief Fire Chief Asst. Fire Chief WTP Operator Police. Sergeant Police Officer Police Detective  Bill Bayless Jesse McQueen Eddie Martin Oscar Sellers Abbie Covington TCN Morphis Matthew Christian Gail Strickland Jill Dickens Zach Garner Dennis Brown Trey Goodwin Richard Lassiter Robert Brown Anthony Zeppetella Chance Capel Shawn Gagnon  Others Present: Ken Hawkins, Paulette Hawkins, Henry Smith, Bruce Goodwin, Howard' Wallace, Rob Mcintyre, Margaret Williams, Madison Brigman, Diane Samples, Tracey Goodwin, Dylon Goodwin, Jean Douglas, Beth Brown, James Wall, Gavin Stone and others that did not signi in  1. Call to Order 2. Moment of Silence AN Moment of Silence was observed. 3. Adoption of Agenda The vote was 4-0. 4. Approval of Minutes  Mayor Bayless called the Meeting to Order at7:00 pm.  Council Member Jesse McQueen motioned to adopt the Agenda with the addition ofl Item 11A, Closed Session for Attorney-Client Privilege. The second was offered by Council Member Sellers.  Minutes from the September 14, 2021 Regular and Closed Session Meetings were approved by  motions of Council Members Covington and Sellers. The vote was 4-0.  1    October 12, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes 5. Comments from Attendees  Ms.. Jean Douglas, resident of Pine St., thanked Council for the improvements to the area around West Hamlet Grocery and asked Council to consider demolishing more houses on Pine St. Mr.. James Wall spoke to Council to express concern that he attended last month's meeting and discussed safety issues in his neighborhood and the next day his name and his sister's picture were in the newspaper. He felt the publicity would stop people from coming forward and reporting issues. He thanked Council fori thei improvements to the areal but asked why the police department does not address people congregating on property marked with no trespassing signs. Council Member McQueen responded the property owner would have to charge the trespassers. He explained City Council Meetings are public meetings. He suggested anyone that is fearful of providing information to call the City Manager or Council. He reported the Police  Chief has a game plan to improve the safety of the area.  New Business 6. Oath of Office to Fire Chief  Mayor Bill Bayless administered the Oath of Office to Fire Chiefl Trey Goodwin. Council offered  individual comments of congratulations.  7. Bridges Street Bid Award and Delegation of Project Management.  Mayor Bayless read the 3 bids received: Frank Horne Construction $191,845.00, Columbus Utilities $243,675.00, and SKC, Inc. $295,175.00. He asked for ar motion to approve the lowest bid recommended by LKC Engineering. Council Member Martin inquired ift the lowest bid was the recommendation oft the City Manager. Mr. Christian confirmed. Council Member Sellers motioned to award the bid to Frank Horne Construction. Council Member Covington provided the second. The vote was 4-0. Council Member Covington motioned to provide City Manager Matt Christian the authority to delegate the management of the project untili iti is finalized. The Mr. Robb Mcintyre with LKC Engineering reported to Council that his firm has experience with Frank Horne and is he confident in their abilities to get the job done. He informed Council the current lead time to secure materials is 10-12 weeks so he hopes the work can begin in  second was offered by Council Member Martin. The vote was 4-0.  December. 8. Approval of Tax Releases  Council Member Covington motioned to approve the Tax Releases. The second was offered by  Council Member McQueen. The vote was 4-0.  Other Business 9. City Manager's Report  City Manager Matthew Christian yielded time to Chief Brown for recognition of officers. He distributed al Memo to Council with the officers' job descriptions and contact information. (Attachment A). The Chiefrecognized Anthony Zeppetella'sp promotion to Sergeant, Chance Capel's position as Animal Control Officer and Shawn Gagnon as Ordinance Detective. The Chief thanked Council for their support and discussed the Police Department's commitment to the community, saying the Department is giving 100% and they are working to make the  communities safer,  2    October 12, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes  Mayor Bayless inquired if the Richmond County Shelteri is accepting dogs. Chief Brown reported he and Chief Kelly previously met with the Shelter employees and an area was set aside for Hamlet and Rockingham. The Shelter has new administration: and no one with K2 has an euthanasia certification from the State. The Shelter is full, but Hamlet continues to take the dogs The City Manager announced Duke Energy willl begin tree maintenance the end of the year and advised any citizens that have an issue can call City Hall or Duke Energy. He reported basketball  toi the facility.  sign-ups will begin October 18th and the Seaboard Festival is upcoming.  10. Comments of Council  Council Member Covington expressed gratitude oft the 2 promotions and 2 new members to City staff. She thanked Mr. Wall for coming to City Hall, saying only by reporting willi things change, Council Member Sellers thanked Mr. Wall for his efforts in his community. He congratulated the Fire Chiefand Police Officers receiving positions and promotions. He encouraged all to attend the Seaboard Festival and asked anyone with questions or concerns to call the City Manager or Council Member Martin congratulated Trey Goodwin on his position as Fire Chief. He advised the Municipal Election will have passed by thet time oft the November Council Meeting. He reported Council Members and the Mayor are running unopposed but encouraged citizens to Council Member McQueen thanked the attendees for voicing concerns of the community. He reported he has visited the area several times and assured the residents the City employees want to do all they can to make quality of lifei issues better for Hamlet. Mr. McQueen commended the Police Chief for his new programs. He offered congratulations to Trey Goodwin forh his accomplishment and was pleased to see the all the attendees in: support oft the new Fire Chief. The Council Member, gave recognition to Richard Lassiter, stating he was the best paramedic in the area. He recognizedi the City Manager and Council for ongoing projects. Mr. McQueen reported the Seaboard Festival has worked tirelessly this year and asked citizens to  and also mentioned citizens can call the City Manager.  Council.  vote to show support for the Board.  support them by attending the festival or volunteering.  11. Mayor's Comments  Mayor Bayless congratulated Chief Goodwin and commended Richard Lassiter for his great work on Rescue. He announced the Seaboard Festival is approaching and asked all to support them. He expressed appreciation that the situation in the north part of the Cityi is better. The Mayor reported he is running for re-election and he feels current Council has worked well together. 11A. Motion to goi into Closed Session per NCGS $143-318.11 (a)(3) for Attorney Client Privilege. At7:33 pm, Mayor Bayless asked for a motion to goi into Closed Session for Attorney-Client Privilege. Council Member McQueen provided the motion and Council Member Sellers provided  the second. The vote was 4-0.  3    October 12, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes  Return to Open Session  At7:45 pm, Council Member Covington provided the motion to return to Open Session and  Council Member Sellers provided the second. The vote was 4-0.  12. Motion to Adjourn  At7:45 pm, Council Members Sellers and Covington provided the motion and: second to adjourn  the meeting. The vote was 4-0. Respectfully: submitted, gtaallgehbod Gail M. Strickland, City Clerk  )  MCAnSS  4