Councilman Marc Seelinger

The next City Council meeting is June 1 (Monday) at 6pm. The agenda is available here: https://cityofbelmont.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=8213

The primary item on the agenda is the adoption of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. There have not been any significant changes to the budget since it was initially presented in May, however you can find the proposed budget and additional information here: https://cityofbelmont.civicweb.net/document/174861/4E0C93B8F65A441C8B829ECDC8E65AAE-.pdf?handle=D8975F5702204E938966A109C85064A1

We also also be reviewing the contract for solid waste and recycling collection which is scheduled to renew this year. Additionally, we will be reviewing options for the leased parking lots at Gantt Park and the Imperial lot behind Sammy's as well as the lease for Dwight Frady Field. The existing leases allow City use of the properties for relatively nominal rates under what is effectively a month-to-month arrangement. The net effect is to take the total cost of the leases for the three properties to about $111k per year, with the largest increase on the Frady Field property (increasing from $6600 per year to about $71k per year). All of this is currently anticipated and absorbed in the latest version of the budget. More information on the leases is available here: https://cityofbelmont.civicweb.net/document/174891/53BB6722126E47969E3943C22E5C6E32-.pdf?handle=28D0FA8AAF544CDA9578C711B3F2493C

Finally, we will also be considering a proposal to name a future park to be built on the McLean property after Mayor Turner.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to greet Eric Conrad as he stopped overnight in Belmont as part of his Original 13 Odyssey, which is a cycling tour he is taking through the original 13 colonies. He completed the first Odyssey in 1976 as part of the Bicentennial Celebration, and is now recreating the trip 50 years later as part of America 250. Belmont's Auten-Stowe American Legion Post is hosting him before he continues his trip north later today. You can learn more about his Odyssey here: https://bike13.us/

WSOC also stopped by and will be running a story about his trip over the weekend. So, keep an eye out for that! Thanks to Larry Mathis and the American Legion for inviting me out to be a part of this!

Mark your calendars for June 4th at noon for the unveiling of the new mural in downtown Belmont honoring the South Fork Boys.

The next Council workshop is Monday at 5:30pm at CityWorks. You can find the agenda here: https://cityofbelmont.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=8222

There are two main items of interest: the health insurance renewal for the city's employees for the upcoming budget year and the trash contract renewal. The health insurance renewal has come back with a 40% increase in the cost of the plan. So, we will be discussing various options to best manage that change. More detail is available here: https://cityofbelmont.civicweb.net/document/174500/FE6E8768F13A43178F091FF979B62F8E-.pdf?handle=0177AECC846A40FAA736C9F5C9484761

The trash and recycling contract is also up for renewal this year. The bids have also come back on that (also with substantial increases), so we will be reviewing those and awarding the contract for the next five years. More information is available here: https://cityofbelmont.civicweb.net/document/174518/903846B64DCE4D0C873CA91B22077110-.pdf?handle=17D612F13EFD4C229207A31373DAEACD

Let me know if you have any questions!

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the NC League of Municipalities' annual conference in Downtown Raleigh, which was a great opportunity to meet and learn from other local elected officials across the state.

While there, I received an invitation to speak to the middle school students at Cathedral School Raleigh, which is where I attended elementary and middle school. We talked about how local government works in NC, what the mayor and city council do, and the importance of citizen engagement at the local level. They asked a lot of really good questions, and we had a good conversation about how young people can get involved in local government. It was a treat talking with such an engaged group of students.

Celebrating all the amazing moms today. Happy Mother's Day!🎉

The next city council meeting is on May 4th at 6pm. The agenda is available here: https://cityofbelmont.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=8212

The main items on the agena are the public hearing for the proposed budget for next year as well as a rezoning for a proposed Quality Plus gas station on Wilkinson Blvd. The budget is scheduled to be adopted at our June meeting, so the next few weeks will be used to gather feedback and input on funding priorities for next year.

Feel free to reach out with any questions!

Exploring the sights and sounds of Garibaldi