December 14, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes  HAMLET CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS ROOM 201 MAIN STREET, HAMLET, NC: 28345 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2021  7:00PM MINUTES  Governing Body Present: Mayor Mayor Pro Tem Council Member Council Member Council Member Council Member Staff Present: City Attorney City Manager City Clerk IT Finance Officer Police Chief  Bill Bayless Jesse McQueen Eddie Martin Maurice Stuart Oscar Sellers Abbie Covington TC Morphis Matthew Christian Gail Strickland Zach Garner Jill Dickens Dennis Brown  Others Present: Margaret Williams, Wanda McQueen, Kendale Robinson and David McCall  1. Call to Order 2. Moment of Silence A Moment of Silence was observed. 3. Adoption of Agenda was 5-0. 4. Approval of Minutes  Mayor Bayless called the Meeting to Order at 7:00 pm.  Council Member McQueen motioned to adopt the Agenda with the addition ofl Item Number 13A- Second Quarter Budget Amendments. The: second was offered by Council Member Covington. The vote  Minutes from the November 9, 2021 Regular and Closed Session Meetings were approved by motions of  Council Members Sellers and Covington. The vote was! 5-0.  5. Comments from Attendees  Mr. Kendale Robinson, president of HBDA, thanked the City Staff, Council and Manager for their Mr. Gerard Morrison had requested to be contacted by phone for Public Comments. He announced: a Kwanzaa Celebration at the Hamlet Senior Center December 29th from 11:30 am -3 3:30 pm, announced the. John Coltrane Event will be October 2022 and wished everyone al Happy Holiday. He suggested Council look at a true representation oft the citizens of Hamlet by dividing the City into districts.  assistance with Hamlet's Old Fashion Christmas.  1    December 14, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes Reorganization of Board  6. Oaths of Office to Mayor and Re-elected Council Members  Mayor Bayless turned the Meeting over to City Clerk Gail Strickland. Oaths were administered to re- elected Mayor Bill Bayless and re-elected Council Members Jesse McQueen and Eddie Martin. Council Member Martin nominated Council Member McQueen to serve as the Mayor Pro-Tem. The  7. Nomination and Appointment of Mayor Pro-Tem  second was offered by Council Member Sellers. The vote was! 5-0. 8. Appointment of Council Representative to Hamlet ABC Board  Council Member Martin nominated Council Member Stuart to serve as the Representative to the Hamlet  ABC Board. The second was offered by Council Member Sellers. The vote was 5-0. 9. Appointments of Council Representative and Alternate to Lumber River COG  Council Member Covington nominated Council Member Stuart to serve as Council's Representative to the Lumber River COG. The second was offered by Council Member McQueen. The vote was 5-0. Council Member Martin nominated Council Member Sellers to serve as the Alternate to the Lumber River COG. The second was offered by Council Member McQueen. The vote was 5-0.  New Business  10. Adoption of 2022 Regular Meeting Schedule Member Stuart. The vote was 5-0. 11. Appointment to Hamlet Planning Board  Council Member Covington motioned to adopt the Schedule. The second was offered by Council  Council Member Covington motioned to re-appointment Mrs. Amy Guinn to the Planning Board fora3-  yeart term. The second was offered by Council Member Martin. The vote was 5-0.  12. Mayoral Appointment to Hamlet Housing Authority Board  Mayor Bayless appointed Mr. Calvin White to fill a vacancy on the Board with the term ending  September: 15, 2024. 13. Approval of Taxi Releases Member Stuart. The vote was 5-0. 13A. Budget Amendments  Council Member Covingtonmotioned to approve the Tax Releases. The second was offered by Council  The City Manager reported the amendments in the General Fund are primarily adjustments in the police department fori filling part time positions. The amendments ini the Enterprise Fund are the front end of the WWTP project. Mayor Bayless inquired on the Tsunami cameras. Police Chief Brown explained the company could no longer provide the City with the needed service. They are purchasing a pod: system that the City will own. It allows 16 cameras to link to the one. Cameras can be added all overt the City. The motion to approve the budget amendments was made by Council Member Covington. The Second  was given by Council Member Martin. The vote was 5-0.  Other Business 14. City Manager's Report  2    December 14, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes  City Manager Matthew Christian reported on several City Christmas events that were successful. He thanked the community for their support. He added Old Fashion Christmas was great and it got people into the businesses. The Manager offered thanks to the employees that have worked throughout the year. He announced the Planning Board is meeting next week to begin the development of the City's Comprehensive Plan. Announcements will be made for meetings that will engage the community. Once the plan is prepared, it will come back to Council for adoption. The timeline is 6 months.  15. Comments of Council  Council Member Martin offered appreciation for the cards and phone calls he received as he recovered from hiss surgery. He stated all of the Christmas Festivities were great. Mr. Martin announced that Post 49 held a camp with coaches from other colleges present. As a result, 2 of the players have signed with Methodist College and 2 have received offers from other colleges. He wished everyone al Merry Christmas and Happy New' Year and thanked the citizens for allowing him to serve on Council another Council Member Sellers thanked the City employees for the great work they do and his colleagues for the support they are giving to everyone. He asked everyone to remember the tornado victims in their Council Member Stuart thanked the City employees for working hard during the pandemic and thanked his colleagues for the support they offer him. He wished everyone a Merry Christmas. Council Member Covington welcomed Mayor Bayless and Council Members Martin and McQueen back. to Council ini their re-elections. She thanked everyone that had anything to do with the parade, saying there was sO much commitment from the participants; everyone went above and beyond. Mrs. Covington thanked the employees for the yearsofcommitment they have made to the City. She wished Council Member McQueen thanked the voters fort their support and thanked Council fort their confidence to re-elect him as Mayor Pro Tem.. He offered thanks that the Council was able to work together to get things done. Mr. McQueen stated the parade was the highlight of 2021 for the County. He thanked the City employees that have worked during the pandemic the last 181 months. The Councilman congratulated Mayor Bayless and Council Member Martin on their re-election and wished  term.  thoughts and prayers and wished all a Merry Christmas.  the citizens al Merry Christmas.  everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  16. Mayor's Comments  Mayor Bayless thanked the citizens for his re-election. He advised the City has several projects ongoing. He thanked Council and the City employees for making the City run smoothly. The Mayor asked citizens to give Council a call ift they! have a problem. He congratulated Mechelle Preslar for her hard work on all the Christmas events. He encouraged everyone to visit the shops in Hamlet. Mr. Bayless reported donations of water and can goods for the Tornado victims are being accepted at any Fire Station through Saturday. He wished everyone al Merry Christmas and Happy New' Year. 17. Motion to go into Closed Session per NCGS $143-318.11 (a)(3)(6) for Attorney-Client Privilege and At7:41 pm, Mayor Bayless asked for a motion to go into Closed Session for Attorney-Client Privilege and Personnel and read the Statutes. Council Member Covington provided the motion and Council Member  Personnel  McQueen provided the second. The vote was 5-0.  3    December 14, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes  Return to Open Session  At-7:58 pm, Council Member Sellers provided the motion to return to Open Session and Council  Member Martin provided the second. The vote was! 5-0.  Clarification of COLA  During Closed Session, Council discussed the need to clarify the Police Department would not be included in the 2.5% Cost of Living Adjustment approved at the Special Meeting since Council approved the Police Professional Officer Certification Program. Council Member Covington provided a motion to exempt anyone from the COLA adopted earlier that is covered by the new Police Professional Officer Certification Program. The second was offered by Council Member Sellers. The vote was 5-0. At7:59 pm, Council Members Stuart and Covington provided the motion and second to adjourn the  18. Motion to Adjourn meeting. The vote was 5-0. Respectfullys submitted, dae Motekbnk Gail M. Strickland, City Clerk  MALE E AL  . NORI  4