Regular Town Council Meeting *NOTE THURSDAY*

Yeah. Okay. So, we Yes.

All right. Good evening. I would like to call the meeting to order for a regular town council meeting Thursday, September 10th, 2026. Tonight, we're blessed to have members of the Apex Police Department, Apex Fire Department color guard to present the colors. If you would please stand with the post of the colors. Come on. Reset colors. Please join me for the pledge of

allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Oh, the colors. Alter. Out

seat. Before we continue tonight's meeting, I would like to take a moment to recognize the significance of September 11th and to honor all those whose lives were forever changed by the events of September 11th, 2001. We remember the nearly 3,000 lives that were lost, the survivors and their families, and the first responders, service members, and countless individuals who demonstrated extraordinary courage, compassion, and selflessness in the face of unimaginable tragedy. At the front of the room this evening, we have placed a rose and a candle as a simple expression of remembrance. The rose represents the lives we continue to honor. And the candle serves as a symbol of remembrance, hope, and the enduring life of those whose memories remain with us. As we reflect on that day, may we also remember the unity, kindness, and shared humanity that brought people together. In the days and weeks that followed, we honored those we lost. We remain grateful to those who served and responded. And we continue to stand with the survivors, families, and communities who carry the memory of September 11th with them every day. May we never forget. I would like now to call upon Pastor Summit Church, Apat Campus, Pastor Trevor Forbus, if you would come up and deliver an invocation.

Good evening. Uh, thank you for allowing me to be here. uh council and uh people of Apex. Um I'm I'm really grateful for the opportunity to be able to open us up uh this evening um in the most fitting way uh through prayer. And uh I'm I'm reminded just through uh tomorrow being uh 911. Um, it often makes you take a

step back and realize what is important and it creates an opportunity for us this evening to remember among all of the things that will be discussed tonight what is most important and that is truly the the gift that we are able to breathe and have life. Um, so I'd love to to be able to open us up in a word of prayer. And as I do, um, would also cause you to to consider as well the fact, um, few months I'll be headed across the world into an area where a meeting like this would never be allowed to take place. And so as we consider the own things uh that are on our own heart uh within our own city, u may we just approach it with a sense of gratefulness um that we're in a place and a country in which we can do that. Uh so if you would join me as we pray together. God, thank you so much for the opportunity uh for all of us to be here this evening. What a gift it is that you give us a demonstr demonstration and a a representation uh of you as a good God through local government. Lord, we thank you uh for our government. We thank you for our law enforcement. And and Lord, your word in First Timothy calls us to pray uh for those that are in uh positions of authority. And we do just that, God. We ask um that you would go before um our local city government and also our law enforcement and first responders um throughout our city. Um Lord, that you would protect them, God, that you would guide them. Um that you would give them discernment and clarity. We pray God that you would give um the council and the mayor of Apex wisdom. God, would you give them discernment and would you give them ears to hear uh the the people of this town and uh and just judgment and and being able to continue to lead in a manner that reflects you. Um Lord, we thank you for the cross. We're grateful that we have the privilege and the opportunity to know you and Lord, we just ask that you would go before us in this meeting. We pray in

Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. Thank you, Pastor Forbis. All right. And thank you again to Apex Police Department, Apex Fire Department. All right, we'll move now to announcements and petitions by the governing body. We'll start with Mayor Promp. Uh welcome everyone. Thank you for coming on this uh special Thursday edition of uh the Apex Town Council meeting. Um want to, you know, thankful for all the great weather we've having, all the stuff I've been seeing getting done around Apex. It's exciting. I just want to remind you I I had my office hours this morning, uh every second Thursday, 9:00 a.m. at the senior center. I'm there. If any of y'all want to chat about ending apex, love to see it. Thanks. All right. Thank you, Council Member Gray.

Thank you, Mayor. I want to say thank you again to my colleagues for uh once again uh participating in our uh 911 remembrance tomorrow. Um it means a lot to be able to take the time to reflect as a community on those days. I say days because on one day we lost 3,000. Over the course of the wars afterwards we lost over 4,500 servicemen and women. And even after that we lost countless when they came back home. I'd like you all to just take a moment to when you are taking a moment to remember tomorrow. Think about those who didn't just perish on that day but perished on the days after and perished as a result of the effects after and the impact on their families. Unfortunately, when I said that we lost 4,500 service members, many, many more have passed away after their service due to injuries internal and external. Take a moment to reflect on those folks who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. and take a moment to check in on those folks in your neighborhood and your neighbors and just check to see if they're doing okay. It pains me to say

that unfortunately one of the things that we've learned is that suicide is something that is very prevalent in the veteran community and it's something that we deal with a lot. Something I had a unfortunately the opportunity to get a reminder of last week. It's important to check in on each other. It's important to ask each other how they're doing. And it's okay to tell people it's okay to not be okay. As you all remember, we had a suicide awareness prevention um proclamation last month, but it's important to remember that these proclamations aren't just for the day. There's something that we need to continue to remember, and I'm proud of a town that continues to do that. So to my colleagues, thank you for all that you do to keep these memories intact. Thank you, Council Member Gray. Council member Zaggerman.

Um, I think most of us are old in this room are old enough to remember where we were on the day of se September 11th, 2001. Um, I think enough has been said on that. Uh, but I do want to invite everybody to the memorial service tomorrow morning in uh in downtown Apex. Um, but do we remember where we were last night? What we had for dinner last night? Um I was at the uh multimmoal transportation advisory board's committee meeting last night. Um this was the first or second meeting that we had invited uh the public or added in a public forum to to the committee meeting. Uh very excited to see somebody actually showed up and and spoke to us. Uh some other highlights from the meeting last night was uh we got an update from staff on the 2035 Wake County bus plan uh which you know which includes some additional services that will serve as the the apex area. also very excited to see that the um advisory board has broken itself into subcommittees each with a specific focus and that they've been busy over the summer, you know, focusing on things like the the safety on the uh the Apex go one bus, uh some infrastructure

improvements and capital investments that they would like to recommend to to council uh and um focusing on public outreach to promote uh public transit as well as alternate ways of of transit like bicycle and pedestrians, you as we continue to grow out our um pedestrian facilities and bike facilities uh in and around town. So very productive meeting last night. Um again these are open to the public. So the next one is scheduled in November and love to get more public comments at that session as well. Thank you very much.

Thank you council. Council member Mood.

Yes. Um first I would like to um echo my colleagues um words to for 911 we uh show respect and remember all the lives we lost and to rem and remind us that our first responders are at the front lines. protecting our residents every day. So they risk their own lives. So I want to show my respect to our first responders, our public safety personnel. The second thing I want to mention is that um our peak resilience and well-being task force there are lots of uh work behind the scene. We are having our second workshop focused on suicide prevention both for adults and for the young generation. So like my colleague Ed Gray said many you know adults many veterans they are suffering from uh you either PTSD or you know some other situations. So

this workshop we have one important portion specifically for adults suicide prevention. We have another portion for youth suicide prevention. I talked to our public school system um the director in charge of uh mental health. She gave me some really alarming numbers there, you know, uh about the suicide, the lives we lost both with students and staff. So I think um it's important job for town of Apex to help our residents, help the young generation. Our um we are expanding our crew member team. We are also building a youth team. So our application form is live online now thanks to Alan. So please if any of you are interested in learning about the knowledge, learn uh how to recognize early warning signs and would like to become ambassadors and volunteers to help reduce stigma to provide the knowledge how to fight um you know u mental struggle. So, please go to our website, fill in the form, and join us. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much, Council Member Ree.

Thank you, Mayor. Uh, speaking of our first responders, I want to on behalf of this board and all 86,000 residents of this town, plus, we thank you so much for your quick action this morning at Apex High School. um when there was uh a lockdown. Um and

it was um so assuring especially as someone who has a sophomore on CA that campus to know that our first responders were there um and had uh had handled the situation appropriately. And so we just extend our deepest appreciation to APD and AFD and any other first responders who were there. Uh then speaking of I want to say that our Chamber of Commerce is recognizing first responders at an appreciation event next Thursday morning, September 17th at 8:30 uh in the morning at the depot. Um and then lastly, I just want to say um in remembrance uh echoing my colleagues on um uh encouraging folks to join us at the ceremony tomorrow morning downtown. If you are looking to do something with that energy, we have Think Apex Day on Saturday that you will see. Um, there's a QR code that's going to show up here in a moment. If you've got time at 8:30 in the morning, we've got an event. If you got time at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, we've got an event. If you got time at 4:00, we've got something going. So, please uh consider um participating in uh acts of service during our Think Apex Day. Thank you.

Thank you. Um, I got three quick things. The first thing I'll say is reiterate what council member Reese just talked about the uh, response to Apex High School this morning when I heard the incident. Um, I have full confidence and that it will be handled professionally and with utmost care because I know who's over there at Apex Police Department and Apex Fire and all first responders. So, thank you so much for what you do every day keeping this town safe. So, thank you for that. One thing I do want to bring up, just an update. Um, couple of updates I would like to see. Um, the yard waste grass clippings. I'm getting a lot of questions. Where are we with the grass clippings as far as I know we're trying to work with a I don't know, private company maybe. I don't know what's going on with that.

So, yes, sir. On that, uh, we will, we talked about it today. We had an item or will have an item scheduled for the 22nd,

uh, but we've also added it to the agenda for the 15th.

Okay. which is our work session so that we can talk through some of those items before it comes on the 22nd.

Great. Great. All right. And then my final thing is maybe this can come back as well. May be more um Mayor Pro Tim, you may speak to this. Um the data center subcommittee. It's my understanding that we have some subcommittee members that may be rolling off or or resign or something. So I would like to have an update on that um maybe by the next meeting. Um because we're like seven months in now, five months in.

We have an EAB meeting, a full meeting uh coming up top.

Okay.

All right. Thanks. All right. And that's all of the updates and announcements I have. We'll move now to the adoption of the meeting agenda. Are there any recommended changes or add-ons?

Hearing none. Is there a motion to approve the meeting agenda?

Approve. Mayor prom motion.

Second. Ziggger. All in favor say I. I.

Oppos. Motion carries. Consent agenda. Mr. Clerk. Proposed changes.

No changes.

No changes. All right. With that, any other

motion approved?

All right.

Motion is it? Ziggger. All right. Motion Ziggger. Second. Moved. Any discussion?

All right. Here. All in favor say I. I.

I.

Oppose. All right. Motion carries unanimously. We move now to town manager report, Mr. Bosber.

All right. Thank you, mayor. Good evening, council members. I have a brief report to give. I will start with our utility billing update. Um, as you know, we are heading into our first round of potential disconnects that uh that has been suspended for quite some time, but those will occur the week of September 21st for cycle one customers uh and the

week of October 5th for cycle 2 customers. Uh we've already been sending out uh letter notices and have set up the automated phone calls, so people should start to receive those. Uh the first round for each cycle has gone out in each of of those methods. Uh we've got additional written and phone notices that are also scheduled to go out. In addition to those initial notices, uh billing and collection staff, they've set up additional support staff. Uh they're receiving assistance from other departments. Uh we also have some part-time staff that we've used to to bolster our resources there. Uh we have an operations plan. Uh Sean and his team and portfolio have been working a lot to get a plan ready um as we head into this to see how we can avoid as many as possible um and then kind of work through it as it happens um and how we can hopefully get people reconnected uh but also to ensure that payments can be made and payment plans put in place. Um the plan includes regular meetings that have ident that'll identify patterns and concerns as we get into it and we can make adjustments and and try to pivot. Uh we've had multiple meetings with billing, customer service, field staff to discuss our process, our communications plan. Uh comms has been great at working with us on that and trying to get the word out. Uh we have additional workstations set up to assist customers during peak times to minimize weight times at town hall. We are looking at extended hours and more information will come out on this. But right now, uh, September 23rd and 24th, we will have some extended hours um, so that people can come in and, uh, work with us on their account, either make a payment, set up a payment plan ahead of any disconnects with round one or cycle one and cycle two, uh, we're looking at October 7th and 8th to have extended hours here at town hall. Uh, so we can do the same for for cycle two. Uh we're currently still encouraging everyone if you have a balance that you cannot pay, please come in and work with us, please work to set up a payment plan um so that we can minimize disconnects as we head into uh this period. We also kind of dovetailed with that have started as the notices have started to go out, our call

volume has picked up with Ask Apex. Um and as usually is the case, it's Murphy's law. We had an employee that resigned from that department and we've got an employee that's out on on extended leave. Uh so we have hired some additional temporary employees to bring in and we've got offers out to um a couple positions on that. They've accepted that. So we're working through that process to bring them on board. Uh so we're getting those resources, but I would let the the residents know that we are experiencing some extended call times. You heard me report meeting after meeting we were around a minute with our weight. That is not the case right now. Uh the last report I saw, I think our average was 13 minutes on a wait. Uh so we are having people call in, they're waiting five, six, seven minutes, hanging up, calling back, doing the same thing, getting in the queue. We've all been there on customer service items. Uh so please have patience with us as the call volume has picked up significantly. Uh we are working through a couple of other ideas that um are close to implementation. Uh, one, I'll mention it. It's not implemented yet, but it's the where it can hold your place in line and we'll call you back. So, we are working to implement that with our new technology that we have in place. Uh, so hopefully we can get that up and running. U, but please also remember that when you do reach the ask Apex staff, they're here to help. Uh, and they they want to help you work through this as well. Um, so please kind of take it easy on them. And I know that a lot of frustrations are around that, but they are really trying to to help and bridge that gap and see what we can do. So, uh, we'll continue to monitor that and report. Um, I do feel good that we have a plan in place. Uh, and we're but we are going to experience high call volume and we're not using a call center that's outside of Apex where we've got 50 people that it's rolling to. Uh, it's our Ask Apex staff that works for the town. Uh, so please have some patience with us because we're not a robust call center. Um, but it's a lot better than a lot of jurisdictions have who don't have a call center. So, uh, they are doing their best with the staff that we have on that. Okay. Any questions on that before I roll? Just a quick question. Um, forgive me. The only time or two I ever had to call Ask Apex, I got through

pretty quickly. It's not a sales pitch. Um, my question is when you call and you have perhaps a 13 minute, is there any indication when you go on hold your approximate wait time is I know that's a advanced feature.

I'm g ask Sean if we have that in play. I know we've talked about that. Yeah, Demetri is out right now, but um I don't we have our staff here from Ask Apex. We have community engagement. Um I don't know that it has the your wait time is five minutes or that estimate. I believe we also have an option where you can opt to leave a message. We may have that um reinstituted. We had that for a time, but I don't think it gives you an active weight. But right now, I can put it out there that it's been about 13 to 15 minutes on average. uh whereas before like when you called it was probably 51 seconds 54 seconds um so they are significantly higher but that's what I can report.

Thank you.

Yes sir.

Any other questions on that before I move to the next okay uh heading into Apex Answers which I mentioned at our last meeting that is now live on the town's website. Uh so again mentioning it's your source for clear timely explanations. Um it'll have rolling topics. We're loading additional information on there. As other hot topics come, we'll put those on. You may have some that get archived, but that is the best place for some of the hot topics that are out there. Uh, and we have, I think, about six or seven topics on that list right now. So, make sure you check that out on our town website. Uh, it's been mentioned Patriot Day celebration or ceremony, sorry, on the uh 25th anniversary of 911. Uh, that'll be tomorrow at 9:30 at station 1 and that's our American Legion Post 124. that was heavily involved uh in the um planning for that event. Also, we um if you recall, I came before you and asked for an additional allocation for our downtown. Uh so, I'm pleased to announce that we have started under our love local brand uh fall into downtown

series. So, it'll be the third Friday and we're talking uh September, October, and November. So that leaves dates of September 18th, October 16th, and November 20th. And those are all from 5 to 8:00 PM. So the first event will be uh next Friday. And we are pleased to announce, and it's on our website, that it's going to be Kane's hockey night. Uh I'll put it out there because we've gotten a lot of questions. This will not be where the cup comes. Uh we are still though, we're still working through that. Uh that'll be somewhere hopefully between the 18th and when the season starts on the 29th. Uh because they have to give the cut back when the season starts is what I've been told. Uh so they're trying to get it to the towns before the season starts. Uh so we are very close. I got another email today, actually this afternoon, uh that we should have some finalized details by tomorrow. Um that way we will have a couple weeks notice to put out. Uh so the cup, I'm hesitant to say will be coming to Apex. Um but I can I can say that tentatively. Um, but the night on the 18th from 5:00 to 8, uh, it'll be in the Depot parking lot in downtown Apex. And it's a kickoff to, like I said, our our new fall into downtown series. Uh, it'll be a night with the Carolina Hurricanes. And, as you know, we have an ongoing relationship with them related to street hockey, and they were great sponsors of our street hockey rinks at our community park. And so continuing that relationship with the Carolina Hurricanes, uh they are bringing an entire event to us and um it'll be downtown. We want you to support our shops. They're going to have the mascot there, Stormy. Uh they'll have street hockey games. It's a kickoff to the registration for street hockey which starts on Monday. Um so they're here to celebrate that partnership with us and to get people excited about signing up for street hockey. Um I'm told you'll be able to do street hockey there. Don't bring your gear. They're going to bring all the gear. They're bringing a truck full of gear for people to use. Uh for safety purposes, you have to use their gear and not bring your own. Uh where they're going to be inflatables. They're going to have a DJ with music playing.

So, it's going to be a great time. And hopefully people will take the opportunity of being downtown to then support our downtown businesses. Uh we've been working with the small uh group of the task force and they are excited. They've been communicating with the businesses as well as through our economic development staff and everyone is doing different promotions. They're going to get excited about hurricanes. You'll see jerseys maybe hanging up in different store windows. Uh so there's a lot of synergy around this event and it's going to be a great time. So please come out to the event, support our downtown uh restaurants and retail as well. Uh so that'll be the first. We've got exciting things planned for the subsequent dates in October and November, but I'll have more to come on that soon. So that's a big event for us next Friday. The Peakway Connector, again, exciting news. They've given me all the activity that's happening there. I won't go into the retaining walls and everything that's being done. We are still on track for October/n November. I don't have a firm date on that yet, but as you can imagine, they are going through that punch list of getting things done. Uh but we are still looking for a fall opening of the Peakway connector. So, that is exciting news as well. Uh the Salem Streets Skate project continues on. There was um people some people have asked about there was a brief stop of work. um that happens in the course of of a project. Uh kind of there was a little initial when they opened up the road. It's like, "All right, let's assess what do we have. We've got some older pipes in here. We've got some surprises in here. Let's work through that. We had some special lines from one of our utility providers that were there and it wasn't where it was supposed to be." And so anyway, we've been working through a lot of those things. Uh but work does continue. They did also some side work of putting in a line on um Chadam. And so there's been a lot of stuff that's happening uh related to the project, but they are back on and um as far as I'm aware, there are no additional delays to that project, but they continue to work. So don't get scared when you don't see people out there every day. Um they also are a company working on multiple projects, so they may prioritize another project that day or have to get

something done. It doesn't mean that we are significantly delayed on our project. So um that continues. I believe they've put in the foundations for the light poles. Now, on the phase 2 side, uh we are very close to getting some of the benches and outdoor furniture on the phase one side. So, you'll start to see that very soon. Uh and so that is rocking along and continuing. All right. And I'll say it again, remember downtown is open for business. You don't have to wait for our event on the 18th. You can come down and come as often as you'd like to the downtown to support our businesses. And I believe that is all that I have. Thank you so much, Matt.

Yes, sir.

Any questions for Mr. Bossberg?

Hearing none. Thank you. All right. Town clerk's report.

Yes. Good evening, mayor. I have three items. Uh, one is just a reminder to the council that the North Carolina League of Municipalities has begun its legislative goal setting process. Uh, Mayor Pro Tim spoke about that at the last meeting. Uh, we will have an item for discussion at the work session next week to discuss um some of the goal setting. uh this is an early prioritization exercise and this is more for the town to contribute to the larger statewide process. Um so just wanted to put that on everyone's radar. We also have two u council committees that have been scheduled and I think there's been some confusion with the dates. So I want to make sure that that's put into clarification. The responsible development council committee is scheduled for September 18th which is a Friday at 8:30 here at town hall. and the public safety council committee is scheduled for October 1st at 3 PM here at town hall as well. And then we're also getting a lot of questions and comments about the columbarium. Um and if individuals would like to reserve a spot there, they can reach out to me and we've got a waiting list. We're hoping to open that later this year. No other updates.

That's it.

All right. Good stuff.

All right. Thank you for those reports. We'll move now to uh proclamations and special presentations. We have Five proclamations tonight. This is

great. All right. We'll be doing a lot of reading. It's all good. We'll start um out front as we normally do. You would please join me out. All right. The first proclamation tonight is Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15th through October 15th. We're excited about that. Pastor Jose, good to see you here, sir. And Reverend Charles Tiner, the man. Good to see you also. Um, we'll kick this off. It'll be Council Member Ziggger. I think that's what I have. Okay.

Thank you, sir.

All right. This proclamation for Hispanic Heritage Month, 2026. Whereas, National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated each year from September 15th to October 15th to recognize the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans with ancestors from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. And

whereas September 15th marks the beginning of the observance as it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16th and September 18th, respectively. And whereas more than 6% of Apex's

population is Hispanic, and those individuals strengthen the town that successful business owners, artists, scientists, teachers, civic, and faith leaders, and so much more. hand.

Whereas Hispanic culture is beautiful and vibrant and we are fortunate as a town to have incredible residents that are willing to share that culture and with everyone. And

whereas the town of Apex is proud to host a bilingual story event, Spider Stories Store SD Aronis on September 16th at Hunter Street Park as well as Latino Arts Festival on September 26th here at town hall to further share and celebrate Hispanic heritage and culture. Now therefore, Ajac K. Gilbert, mayor of Apex, North Carolina, do hereby proclaim September 15th through October 15, 2026 Hispanic Heritage Month in the town of Apex. Come on, y'all. Act like you're excited. All right, there you go. We're not done yet. We're not done. I just had to get a hand clap. This is exciting. And I extend my gratitude to the Hispanic community in Apex for their passion for the success and growth of our town and its resident signed on this 10th day of September by yours truly. Come on up and get the proclamation.

Take a picture first. Right here you go. It is an honor for me to represent Christ in our community. of Apex recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month. This month gives us an opportunity to celebrate our history, our culture, our faith, our traditions, as well as many other contributions of the Hispanic Latino community. It also reminds us that our community is stronger when we recognize, value, and celebrate the gifts and stories of all our neighbors. We thank the town of Apex for this recognition and and for celebrating the Hispanic and Latino community,

which is an important part of the life and diversity of Apex. Apex,

we invite you to join us for the Apex Latino Festival. taking place on Saturday, September 26 from 3 to 7 p.m. to come together and celebrate our culture, music, food, and community.

I hope to see you there.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Thank you.

All right. Our next proclamation is National Senior Center Month 2026. Council member Moo. Whereas National Senior Center Month observed each September is a time to recognize and celebrate the vital role senior centers play in strengthening our communities by providing opportunities for older adults to remain active, engaged, connected, and independent. And

whereas the Apex Senior Center serving adults aed 55 and older provides a vibrant and inclusive community where residents can participate in a diverse array of fitness, wellness, arts, educational, social, recreational, and travel opportunities designed to support active and fulfilling lives. Whereas the Apex Senior Center exemplifies the evolving role of senior

centers centers as vibrant community hubs where older adults are not defined by age or stereotypes but are empowered to remain active, pursue new experiences, force friendships, share their knowledge and talents and continue to thrive. hands.

Whereas in recent years, the Apex Senior Center has experienced tremendous growth with a 229% increase in monthly visits and a 92% increase in the annual program registrations from 2022 to 2025. And whereas the town of Apex is proud to have a state-of-the-art senior center for our seniors to utilize and is grateful to all of our staff members whose dedicated work ensures it can be used to the fullest extent possible.

Now therefore, I Jacqu K. Gilbert, mayor of Apex, North Carolina, do hereby proclaim the month of September 2026, National Senior Center Month in the town of Apex, and encourage all Apex adults aed 55 and over to visit our senior center to see all of the things it can offer to you. And this is also from the only senior on the town council. It is my honor to present this proclamation. So, So, I would like to call up the following people. Please join me for the presentation. Megan Russian, recreations program supervisor. Ali Pilleski, senior center manager. Jamila Godfrey, assistant parks recreation and cultural resources director. Chris Lindseay, Janine Chavis, Terry Edwards, Mary Lee Blford, Mark Blatchford, Lorraine Galcowski, Jim Galcowski, Landon Fan,

and Donald Hassinger. Please come up. Can't tell you how much we love this. It's incredible.

Yes, sir. Appreciate that. Thank you.

It feels good.

Thank you so much.

Craig Ceser, parts and rec director.

Yeah. Come on up, buddy. What's up? He's on Two. Thank you. Appreciate

Next proclamation is Patriots Day 2026. Patriot Day 2026. Whereas 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, which brings difficult and painful emotions, memories, and reflections for millions of people across the country. And whereas Patriot Day serves as an annual reminder of one of our nation's greatest tragedies and an opportunity to remember and honor the over 3,000 lives that were lost on that day in this horrific attack, including nearly 500 first responders. hand.

Whereas since then the FDNY World Trade Center program reports that over 9,000 people have died from illness linked to the attacks and their aftermath, including one of the largest rescue, recovery, and cleanup operations in human history. And

whereas even a quarter century later, the toll exacted by these horrendous attacks of want and violence remain heavy with the health impacts from ground zero conditions extending to thousands and emotional burdens from loss extending to millions. hand. Whereas the town of Apex honors the lives lost 25 years ago and the lives still impacted today and invite all

residents to join us in remembrance for the annual Patriot Day ceremony on Friday, September 11th, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. at the downtown service memorial. Now therefore, I, Jacqu K. Gilbert, mayor of Apex, North Carolina, do hereby proclaim Friday, September 11th, 2026, Patriot Day in the town of Apex, and urge all residents to join me in our responsibility to keep the memory of those who perished, those who survived, and those who bravely responded alive. I would like to ask members of the Apex Police Department, Apex Fire Department to join us up here to receive the proclamation. Thank you.

Also, I'd like to call up members of the Apex American Legion Post24. Please come up. Thank you so much.

Thank you. That way. Let's do this right here. One more picture. Our next proclamation is think Apex Day 2026. Think Apex Day 2026. Whereas Think Apex Day was established in 2017 through the vision of former council

member, Mayor Prom Nicole Doer as a communitywide day dedicated to bringing people together through volunteer service and projects that strengthen and enhance the town of Apex. And Whereas this year, Think Apex Day will host projects across the community, including Think Clean, Think Golden Games, Think Green, Think Create, Think Refresh, and Think Reuse. And

whereas through these projects, volunteers across Apex will come together to beautify public spaces, support local nonprofits, engage with seniors, care for the environment, strengthen neighborhoods, and demonstrate the compassion and generosity that define our community. hand.

Whereas Think Apex Day serves as a reminder that when neighbors come together with a shared purpose, they can create a stronger, more vibrant, and more connected community for current and future generations. And

whereas every act of service, whether large or small, has the power to make a lasting difference, inspire others to get involved, and strengthen the connections that make Apex speak of good living.

Now therefore, I, Jacqu K. Gilbert, mayor of Apex, North Carolina, do hereby proclaim Saturday, September 12th, 2026. Think Apex Day in the town of Apex and encourage residents to participate in one of the many service opportunities. And always remember, there is nothing we can't accomplish when we work together. And I would like to call up to receive the proclamation, Brienne Gil, community

engagement manager for the town of Apex. Jimmy Torres, community engagement specialist. Donald Hughes, community engagement specialist. Megan Stevenson, Pleasant Park operations supervisor. Jason Jones, park operations supervisor. Emily Bet, Habitat for Humanity Restore. Elizabeth Workman, Spring Arbor of Apex. Terrence Bernie, Senior, Apex First Baptist. Brienne Esbil, Cambridge Village of Apex, and Regina Sanders White Oak Foundation. Please come up. and the man himself, Reverend Dr. Charles Tiner, Senior. Go back to 86.

Oh yeah. One or two. Perfect. Thank you. Appreciate y'all. Final proclamation for tonight is United States Air Force 79th birthday. And our very own Council Member Gray, United States Air Force.

I promised I wasn't going to sing the Air Force song, but you know, it might strike me. Might strike me. just might. Whereas the Department of the Air Force was created when President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947. And the Air Force was officially established on September 18th, 1947 with the swearing in of its first secretary, Secretary W. Stewart Simington. And whereas prior to this change, the roles now fulfilled by the Air Force were performed by the United States Army with military use of aircraft beginning in the early 1900s and being critical throughout both World Wars. hands.

Whereas after World War II, it was obvious the air power would need to be a significant part of military strategy to aid in the nation's defense and deter war, giving rise to the air force as a separate entity. hand.

Whereas through its entire history, the United States Air Force has played a significant role in protecting our country and its people, as well as pioneering significant scientific and technological breakthroughs which have had applications far beyond the military. And

whereas the town of Apex is grateful for our country's armed forces and its members across all branches and wish a very happy birthday to United States Air Force.

Now therefore, I Jacqu K. Gilbert, mayor of Apex, North Carolina, do hereby proclaim September 18th, 2026, the 79th birthday of the United States Air Force, and extend my gratitude to all individuals who have served our country in the United States Air Force, including Council Member Ed Gray. All right. So tonight I would like to present a proclamation to Council Member Ed Gray and also a surprise. I would like to invite up Air Force veteran Karen Dean Doll to receive the proclamation. Please come up.

Surprise, surprise.

Thank you so much. Oh, I'm so happy to see you every time. All right.

You wore a good shirt today.

Very close. That's three. That's

surprise. All right. Congratulations to all the recipients. Thank you colleagues for joining together to read the proclamations. We'll move now to public forum. And looks like we have eight signed up. Mr. Clerk, can you read

The town clerk announced process.

Thank you.

The current public participation policy states individual comments are limited to three minutes. The public forum comment period shall not exceed 36 minutes or 12 individual speakers, whichever comes first. If the signup list exceeds 12 individual speakers or 36 minutes per the adopted policy, the town clerk will prioritize the list of speakers by those who have not spoken in the last 30 days. After those individuals have spoken, the list will continue in the order an individual signed up until the 12 individual speakers or 36 minutes is reached. Individuals who wish to speak will still be given an opportunity to do so at the conclusion of the business portion of the meeting immediately before close session.

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. All right. I would like to call up Robert Warham. And looks like he's indicate he has a group. You have four more people here with you tonight.

Yeah, the whole group.

Okay, great. All right. Nine minutes, please. Thank you.

I'll take it.

All right. Um, appreciate the opportunity to speak with you folks today. Um, not really that much as far as public speaking, but I'll try to get through it the best what I can. Uh, my name is Robert Weirham. I'm the president of the HOA of Amherst and our subdivision is is um back behind the post office and the Apex Peakway, which we're excited to have that opened and ready to roll, actually splits our subdivision in half. Okay. And it's been like that for a number of years, but we've had one side of the subdivision going to the u the

other side via a crosswalk. Um our pool is our amenities is on the um Brian Drive side. So the ones that are on the other side have to go across the crosswalk uh to access the pool and vice versa for for the other folks. Um, what we are concerned about is as far as the peakway goes is not the traffic count because I'm sure there's been traffic count studies will be traffic count studies on the Apex Peakway. For us, the concern is not the number of cars that come through, but the safety of our residents to go from one side of the subdivision to the other side of the subdivision to access, you know, the amenities or or whichever. Um, you know, the the sign which we'll have posted for our residents um doesn't depict traffic, it depicts safety. Currently with even with that current uh crosswalk that we do have, we still have incidents of people not paying attention to the crosswalks, but I'm sure everybody is has seen just in driving. There's drivers that will go and not pay attention to crosswalks and go right through it or turn right in front of people, pedestrians trying to cross over the crosswalk. Safety is our concern. Um the remedy that best fits is to put a traffic light at that intersection. the alternatives that were have been suggested when we talked to uh folks I guess down at the DOT or whatever was okay well we can have our residents walk down to the which is a/4 mile down and cross over Chapel Hill and then come back and then walk this way back over which is an impossibility because once they do that there's no sidewalk that comes back down. Um,

the other alternative is to leave the the crosswalk as is, which is with the increased traffic that we're expecting. I I'm not a traffic person, but I'm expecting at least 30% um increase in traffic, which is going to make that much more dangerous to go through there. The other alternative is to eliminate the the crosswalk completely, which is going to make that even more dangerous because we will still have residents trying to cross from one side of the subdivision to the other side of the subdivision regardless if there's a crosswalk or not. And that's going to make that even much much more dangerous. What we are proposing, what we're asking is not so much um what would relate to again like traffic studies as far as traffic, but the subjective side of things is that we need to secure the safety of our residents as they negotiate that particular crosswalk. Um we have 115 homes. We've got over 626 residents that are split by the apex peakway there. And where we need your help is uh that this this decision cannot be dependent on traffic studies. It needs to be more subjective to the safety of our residents there. And that's why we're why I'm here today, why I'm representing the um our HOA and you know and and addressing you folks today. So, thank you very much.

Thank you for speaking. I do want to help you out a little bit. I think that town council at apex.gov if that's active. We don't

Oh, okay.

Thank you.

Okay. Just

I appreciate it and I can address. Thank you.

Thanks for speaking.

Next speaker is uh Bill Welch.

Three minutes. Yeah.

Good evening, mayor, council members, town staff, and members of the public. My name is Phil Welch. I live at 1471 Big Leaf Loop in Apex. An objective of the 2021 H affordable housing plan and last year's update to that plan is to encourage an increase in the inventory of homes which are affordable to low and moderate income households. What I've realized recently that in addition to encouraging the building of new affordable housing choices, we also need ways to find ways to preserve Apex's naturally occurring affordable homes, also known as Noah. Earlier this week, I spent a couple of hours on Google Maps and the county's property tax system IMAPs. I was identifying streets in our traditional neighborhoods around the downtown where Noahas have gradually are gradually being replaced by lovely large homes which are not as affordable. In some cases, these replacements were due to the existing homes being unsafe and/or unhealthy. Our goal should be to make sure that the owners of existing naturally occurring affordable homes know about the Apex CARES housing rehabilitation programs. These four programs provide loans and grants for incomequalified homeowners and some small landlords to make critical repairs on their homes. From my very brief look at the traditional neighborhoods, I estimate that we may have several hundred naturally occurring affordable homes with homeowners that would qualify for the Apex Cares program. This would allow the homeowners to make accessibility upgrades such as wheelchair ramps and grab grab bars, weatherization improvements to make

homes warmer and more energy efficient, emergency repairs such as roof or HVAC replacements, and other major repairs up to $40,000. The problem is that many of our neighbors don't know about the Apex Cares programs and similar programs from the county, state, and local faith communities. I have flyers explaining the Apex Cares programs. I've attached these to the copies of my talk for everyone in the DAS. I ask the mayor, council members, town staff, and members of the public to help get out the word on this excellent program so our neighbors can continue to live here in safe, healthy homes. I have extra copies here for members of the public and I'd be glad to distribute them. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Welsh. Melinda Salter. Three minutes. Mr. CL.

Hey everybody. Um, hi Mayor Gilbert. Hi town council members. Um, I just want to use this time to introduce myself again. I'm Melinda Salter. I live in the Groves. In fact, I live on the south side of the Groves on the east side right in the middle. So there is something coming up the application that's come through that's 26 CZ13 these guys as you know uh the first time this came up um you denied it then there was a switch and it uh was then approved which was fine. It was for 30 town houses just like everybody else has on that street. It was formerly a donut. There's a small portion of it as I recall is commercial and the rest of it is residential. So, they were planning on putting in 30 units for sale. Um, they've sat on that for a while. The zoning the zoning passed and then they've come in uh with their neighborhood meeting and uh they filed

their application on August 3rd, I think. Um I think I've I jumped the gun on some stuff and communicating for this. So, this is part of the reason I want to reach out. Um, so where they stand now in this application is that on that property behind my house, which I don't have a buffer, by the way. Um, they want to put in four large apartment buildings for affordable housing, which is fine. I've got no problem with that. I support it. I want more of that. So, that's not part of the conversation, but I do want I'm aware of that. Um, but there are four big buildings on that spot. They're going to have 132 apartments, four walk up buildings, no elevators. So, we're talking about center street traffic, um, utilities. There's a whole lot of aspects that I will come back over time and try to build awareness around this case, um, application, I should say. So, um, yeah, so I've helped, um, catalyze some people, um, quite a few people actually in the group Groves. I don't represent all of their points about their reasons they don't like it, but I think that generally as a neighborhood and those around there were pretty like-minded. I like the environmental stuff a little bit more, but I think we all know that it's going to boil down to traffic and the egress and ingress with Myrtle Grove Lane right right across the street. We've got 122 units together. As you guys talked about last week, there are no parking rules. These guys are talking about 132 apartments, one uh parking spot per unit, but there's no public transportation. So, if they have to park uh offsite somewhere, they can't get there. So, there's a lot of things going around this. I just wanted to introduce myself, say thank you to um everybody who's helping me on this learning curve because it's just a crash course and I really appreciate that. So, that's it. But I'll reach out to you all independently so we can talk more about this project. But thank you very much.

Thank you for speaking. Thank you.

Jennifer.

Good evening.

Hello again.

Uh Mr. Mayor, council members and neighbors. Thank you for the opportunity to speak here again about ALPRs and warrantless surveillance. We've spoken at length about how troubling Flock is, but swapping Flock for Axon isn't a fix. No ALPR is the fix. At its inception, Axon built an ethics board of 12 outside AI experts. In 2022, when Axon pushed taser armed drones in schools despite the ethics board's vote against them, nine of 12 experts resigned. The people Axon hired to police its own ethics quit over their prospective tactics. Right now, agenda item CN4 asked this council to extend Axon's contract to 2030, including drone software. The software Axon ethics board resigned over. You'd be signing a surveillance contract with a vendor whose own adviserss walked out. Axon built an AI that writes police reports from body cam audio, then deletes its own draft so no one can tell the officer's words from AIS. Investigators have called it designed to defeat an audit. One Washington state's prosecutor's office refuses to accept a single report that it's touched. But that's who you'd put in charge of surveilling us. Remember the Ring Lost Dog Super Bowl commercial? After public backlash, Ring canled its contract with Flock, but kept one with Axon. So, a neighbor's doorbell is another camera in a network, and people have no idea their private footage feeds warrantless surveillance. Axon sells the whole mass surveillance package. Their platform pulls ALPRs,

body cams, drone cams, fixed cameras, interview rooms, Ring doorbells, and AI analytics into one screen. One company, one database watching from everywhere. So, one breach, one abused login, one bad actor, and it's everything on everyone exposed in one place. Every foreign adversary is hoping we're this this careless. The gravest danger in data is aggregation. When ALPR, body cam, drone, and doorbell footage all flow into one AI system, you've crossed the line into a full surveillance state, not the foundation of one. The ACLU put out a newsletter warning cities, Axon is not safe. And the Supreme Court ruled in Carpenter versus the United States that tracking your movements over time requires a warrant. Axon is not less surveillance, it's more. It's consolidated. And it's with a company whose entire business model is becoming the for-profit operating system of warrantless surveillance. Swapping vendors just changes the logo on the camera and who you're making richer.

Thanks for speaking.

Thank you.

Right.

Don Kazalino. Don Kalino.

Bless you. Kenneth Misilla.

Hi. Good evening. Uh, my name is Kenneth Misilla. I live at 602 Lton Hall Court in Apex and I am the vice president of the Amherst Homeowners Association and I'm speaking uh behind Bob. Um, point of the matter that we are really looking at here is that we have a real safety concern. Now, you all have plenty of decisions you've got to make and you've got upsides and downsides of each decision.

We need to get a traffic signal at that corner. And the reason is uh my wife was taking a run today and she almost got hit. Uh I hear it time and again from many of our residents just trying to pull out to go to work or take your kids to school or go to town. It's extremely dangerous. And this is with the lower flow of traffic that we now have. This is uh really this is kind of a no-brainer. You guys can make a decision and we're going to continue to lobby you and bring this to the forefront, but you can make a decision that has no downside and will just help protect a whole bunch of people uh from serious harm. Uh in my day job I'm for the past 40 years I've uh provided customized wheelchairs for people and I have put way too many people in chairs from vehicular accidents and especially when it's a car against a human. The results are horrific and I don't want to see that. I don't want any more customers. I'm busy enough and I I uh I I believe that we have a real solution here and it's it's simple. It's a traffic signal will slow the people down. It will create safe passageways for the people across the streets. And uh there really is no downside. When uh when I have a problem that I bring to my boss, I usually like to bring a solution. And uh really I've lived there for 20 years and I cannot remember a time that I've seen a police officer out on the street giving tickets. I'll tell you, you put some cops out there between 5 and 7 at night and 8 and 10 in the morning, you're going to garner a whole lot of money in in traffic fines because people speed down that road. There's a lot of lack of attention. There are pedestrians. There

are people turning onto and off of the roads. This is a a real serious situation right now which will only increase and I know that nobody wants to go home at night and say you know what I could have saved that little kid if I had voted to put a traffic signal there. You have a you have a real opportunity to do something really good here and we will continue to lobby you and we will continue to push because uh this is that important.

Thank you. So, thank you all for letting me and thank you for all you do.

Thank you. Thank you.

Osman. Good evening everybody. Kesha Osman, 3181 Mantel Ridge Drive in Apex. And uh today I just want to come up and um acknowledge um the great job that Peak Academy has been doing. We have one more class until we graduate in in a couple weeks. And I just want to talk about the great job that the entire town staff has done. You know, starting with Kendall and Sandy and organizing everything and then meeting with every department. Yesterday, we were at the parks and wreck in Pleasant Park and it was packed. It was it was a great time and we've gone through every department. And I just want to thank the council for their dedication to this project. I want to thank Randy and the entire town staff. It's it's a lot of time. It's it's long hours. And this uh this year we have two cohorts. So, it's not just twice a month, it's four times. It's you can tell the amount of dedication that the town staff puts in and I know I'll get up here and complain about things and so today I wanted to get up here and shout out the great job that Peak Academy does and everybody who's associated with it. So it's any of the residents who haven't taken it, you should. I know Karen has been there and she's a she's a tough one uh to break sometimes, but I think I think Randy you you may have won her over. I'm not sure. May may some some smiles every now and then, but uh

a little bit a little bit. But joking

aside, it's a great program. I've learned so much about this town. Uh but the best thing that I've learned is the dedication the staff staff have brought to the town. They really really uh love working for a the town of Apex. Uh they're really open to resident feedback. And so I just want to again thank thank the entire leadership for keeping this program and investing in it. and then I recommend it to to everybody. So my my family makes fun of me. They call me they call it night school that I got I'm like I got to go to school and and and they wait for me to come home and tell all about it. So it's been a great experience. So thank you very much.

Thank you for Thank you for speaking. Thank you.

All right. John Leer.

Good evening.

Good evening Mayor Councilman. Sorry I have a speech problem. So I'm sorry. Um, I did modify my speech a little bit, but uh, my name is John Lair. I live over at 2024 Evil Pearl Drive in Apex. I I I had a stroke recently and but I'm here to talk about the children that are over at um, Norris Park. My son plays football over there and that and your guys are planning on taking away the 13 acres away from there for their practicing. Uh I'm sorry uh but uh I want to ask you uh to take away what why do we need to take away the kids uh field when already when they have plenty of empty apartments around here like uh over by uh TJ Maxx the the Henley they've they've had they're brand new they're Their t the price t on it is

25.40 a month. All right. You got the ballast which is right there on US1. Right. They're up to uh $2,650 at a month and they're given two free months because they can't keep any in there. Same thing goes for uh Depot499 which is right there at Apex uh uh barbecue. Same thing. They're at uh 2,000 a month for two bedrooms, but they're also offering two free months. They can't get anybody to get there. And then you got the new one that's coming up on uh over by uh Crossroad Ford, right? The one for 400 plus uh apartments and condos. That's that why do we need more of these places? All right. It just seems like we just keep building and building and we're taking all of our spaces smaller and smaller. I know I'm deviating my area here. Uh but I've never really done public talking. Uh but uh it it just seems like we cannot afford to get these places. A lot of the people that you know it's great if you live in the triangle and you work in the triangle. That'll be great. You're making that. What about the people that live here in Apex? You know, the people that are are are restaurant people and that that take care of our people here or people working our grocery stairs. They they can't live $2,000 a month and that's not ruining food, water, electric. How can we afford it? And then then you guys want to add more and take away the fields for our kids. I I just don't understand how we could just lose that. And I'm I'm sorry I just kind of went off on it on a little bit. But I hope I hope you guys didn't get a list of what I did send

though. Thank you though.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you.

All right. Mr. Lair was our last speaker. We'll go ahead and close public forum. Thank you to all who came out tonight to speak. All right. We're going to roll on. Everybody good? Okay. All right. Let's move now with the public hearings. We have one public hearing tonight. Annexation number 8312412 Chapel Road. Miss Diane Ken, planning director.

All right. Good evening. So, this annexation is out on all of Chapel Road kind of in our western portion of our area. Uh it is a uh single family home. They are requesting annexation to gain access to town water and sewer and and uh services. So staff recommends approval. Happy to answer any questions.

Questions for Miss K.

Hearing none. I'll go ahead and open up public hearing for comment. No one signed up to speak. Public hearing is closed. Is there a motion?

Motion to approve.

Second. Motion second and second. May prom discussion. All in favor say I.

I. This motion carries unanimously. Thank you.

Okay, we move now to uh two close session items. Is there a motion to go into close session today?

All right, mayor pro Tim.

Second.

Second. Gray. All in favor say I.

Motion carries. Moving into close session. Thank y'all. Thank you for being here.

I like things.

All right, let me just save.

All right. Um

okay motion motion to adjurnn

second. Yes.

Yeah.