Whereas Kerry Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources enriches the lives of residents by providing highquality parks, programs, facilities, cultural experiences, and recreational opportunities that foster health, wellness, connection, and belonging.

Thank you for investing in the power of play. You see, play sort of goes as a theme through everything that we do in parks, recreation, and cultural resources. It's healing for our community.

Whereas Sister Cities International Day is a fitting occasion to commemorate the significant impact that the organization has made in building bridges across nations, cities, cities and communities across the globe in order to create and sustain world peace.

In a time of increased political tension and xenophobia, creating international connections and celebrating our shared humanity is more important than ever. These programs create meaningful impact in our community.

The Kerry Public Service Academy was created to help high school students learn how local government works while inspiring them to explore careers in public service and community leadership.

Early earlier tonight, staff provided an update on several utility items including work on a new utility billing system, long-standing year-round water conservation efforts, and our wastewater study with Holly Springs.

Tuesday night, we received our monthly revenue report and spent the rest of the meeting pretty much focused on council priorities. Council initiated items and process options for addressing some of the recommendations in the Womble Bond Dickinson report, which is next on tonight's agenda.

This review was commissioned by council to develop a fuller understanding of what occurred and identify the changes needed to strengthen the organization. Its recommendations provide council and staff with a clear framework for improving accountability, oversight, and workplace governance.

We looked at many many uh PECAR transactions and reimbursements... it is our conclusion that they were sufficient to give the staff opportunity to require further documentation from Mr. Steagle to require uh receipts to question transactions to audit those transactions and to decline to pay them. So we concluded that was an operational failure.

The problem in the system is that as long as that is the trusted partner manager functions that way then you will have the information to help make the right policy decisions and supervise the manner manager appropriately. But here many of the questionable matters related to Mr. Steagel's own personal actions and he had management and control over the reporting channels of information to the t to the town council. That's the vulnerability.

It would be inappropriate for me to sit here and say you know I don't have any culpability. It is I you know I am part of the machine that of failure here and you know as an individual as a as a council member that represents everybody here in Kerry you know it wasn't good enough to say that that wasn't an appropriate I'm not going to you know I'm not going to um participate in that or take that thing or go on that trip. What I needed to do was shout from the rooftops stomp my feet and make a really big deal. and I failed to do that.

The proposed density of approximately 1.86 units per acre fits this guidance. Surrounding lowdensity residential sub area developments are under two dwellings per acre with higher densities in the medium density sub area which includes the Carolina preserve at Amberly neighborhood to the east and to the south.

Peter's Road is very narrow... The area just below where this is being annexed is where the tobacco trail is. There are a lot of pedestrians over there and people cross those areas a lot. Uh my biggest concern would be whether the developer is going to invest in limiting the amount of traffic and making sure the pedestrians are safe.

I just wanted to urge the applicant to reconsider the two pedestrian safety recommendations by staff.

This existing apartment complex... is considered naturally occurring affordable housing or Noah, meaning that it is an unsubsidized unrestricted property offering below market rents. It currently rents at rates affordable to households earning approximately 52% of the Raleigh Kerry median in area median income or AMI which is about $57,000 with an average rent of 1510.

The folks who live in these properties are people who work, who are teachers, uh, child care workers and other essential workers who work in Kerry. And we want to make sure that those people who are living there now will continue to be able to live there through the housing authorities's efforts.

The proposed RHA resolution locks Kerry residents into a 30-year commitment that helps the city of Raleigh to the detriment of the town of Kerry. All current RHA developments are within Raleigh... the town of Kerry and residents of Kerry have no such appointment power to ensure that the town's interests are represented in RHA's decisions.

Amberwood sits inside a Lockmir homeowners association subject to the same architectural and landscaping covenants as every lockmere home... They would not bind the Raleigh Housing Authority... This tax exemption is the first step toward the Raleigh Housing Authority operating as a housing authority inside Kerry. If you approved this tax exemption, you would essentially be creating a town within a town, one that covenants and carry ordinances, they cannot touch them.

I will end with this one extraordinarily important point. When I reviewed the crime statistics for every Raleigh Housing Authority building within its jurisdiction, the violent crime recorded by police in Raleigh in the immediate quarter mile around those apartments exceeded national averages by staggering numbers.

I grew up under the Cambridge Housing Authority in Boston... similar situations, similar wanting to do good for the community and then rampid mismanagement. That mismanagement uh caused a lot of grief on my family. Uh, I have scars to approve that it was mismanaged.