LUMBERTON — As Monday’s Lumberton City Council meeting came to a close, so too did the term of Councilman Chris Howard, participating in his final meeting after the two-term member chose not to seek reelection.

The board recognized Howard for his service, with each member of Council giving kind words toward Howard and his family and thanking him for his time and dedication — before Howard stood from his seat near the left end of the dais and delivered a lengthy, fiery farewell speech.

Howard held nothing back in his 19-minute remarks on the “brief but long journey” during his eight years on City Council representing Precinct 6 in South Lumberton. His speech addressed the perception that South Lumberton is looked down upon by other parts of the city, including, he said, some on Council — including a contentious exchange with Mayor Bruce Davis after Howard claimed the mayor hasn’t cared about South Lumberton’s residents; gang violence in the city; and Councilman John Cantey’s accomplishments on Council serving South Lumberton’s other Council precinct.

He also talked at length about the impact of hurricanes Matthew and Florence specifically on the South Lumberton community, stating that he, Cantey and other community leaders were “making sure the community was straight” while others believed the community was “helpless” after the storms’ disastrous impacts.

“(During Matthew), no other area was affected, except poor old southwest Lumberton, that you looked at in demise,” Howard said. “And you didn’t give a (expletive) about us really, because we came up here and couldn’t figure out where to put us, because you had 10 places where you scattered all the residents at.”

Howard spoke with confidence about the role that Erich Von Hackney, who won the seat in last week’s municipal elections and will represent Precinct 6 starting next month, will play on Council moving forward.

“I wanted someone to come in the with the guts and the will to fight, for the precinct, to give it all,” Howard said. “I feel humbly grateful and super prayerful that he will fall in lockstep from what we’re trying to do here, from the services to his knowledge towards the core of guiding us through, not only for Precinct 6 but for the city.”

Howard also implored the Council to work together for the best interests of the city as he departs.

“May you each individually look into your heart or your soul, and may it not be about your personal reason or your values or for a position or power, but let it be for the people and the citizens of Lumberton,” Howard said. “And go forth and begin to work together wholeheartedly.”

Cantey, who has known the councilman since Howard was his Boy Scout leader as a child, gave the most meaningful remarks as the other members spoke about Howard, and presented him with an undisclosed gift.

“We know that it has not always been easy, and it has probably caused you a lot of sleepless nights, because you do care about the citizens in your precinct and the citizens of Lumberton,” Cantey said. “You will be missed, truly; your attention to detail, your tenacity for wanting things to be right and done right — words can’t explain it.”

Residents complain of proposed family care home

During the public comment period at the start of Monday’s meeting, two neighbors spoke out against a proposed family care home on the 400 block of Barker Ten Mile Road.

The proposed business has not previously been before Council, as the property is currently zoned as residential, and one of the allowed uses in that zoning includes a family care home; the proposed business has stated in documents that it plans to have that very function.

Residents, however, stated that they believe the business will actually be a youth mental health treatment center; this is not allowed in the current zoning and, in these neighbors’ view, is also unsafe in this particular community.

“If they are misrepresenting their intentions to City Council, that’s a problem,” Suzy Brady said.

Brady stated that traffic on Barker Ten Mile Road is such that safely riding a bicycle or walking down the street is difficult. She requested that Council verify the type of business and allow neighboring property owners to weigh in on the project.

Kyle Malcolm stated that construction plans that have been submitted to the city are “inconsistent at best,” with the business listed on some paperwork as a group home and on others as a family care home. She also stated that this particular business has tried to open a facility in two other cities, and those communities “shut them down for their shady tactics — yet we’ve been informed there’s nothing we can do by our city officials.”

No member of council or city administration gave a verbal response in the meeting — as is often the case during the meeting’s public comment period. City Attorney Holt Moore told The Robesonian after the meeting that the city is likely to request more information from the business to determine if they are in compliance with the existing zoning.

Firm picked for drainage project

Council approved the selection of The Wooten Company as the engineering firm for the First Street Drainage Improvement Project.

The Wooten Company was selected as engineer based on its qualifications and familiarity with the problem; once the project is awarded, the company will provide the city a proposal and fee schedule for the project, which will be brought back to City Council for approval at a future date.

The project has been in the works since even before hurricanes Matthew and Florence hit Lumberton. The city acquired two industrial warehouse buildings in the area, and has sought funding to fund culvert upgrades to improve street flooding in the area of First and Second streets near the CSX railroad spur, just east of downtown, Public Works Director Rob Armstrong said.

A hydraulic study, which was postponed by the two hurricanes, found that not just a major flooding event like the hurricanes, but a regular hard rain, could flood the area — even though it is not considered to be in a flood plain. The cause is a drainage bottleneck near those two warehouses, Armstrong said.

“Unless we address this problem first, anything upstream isn’t going to make much impact,” Armstrong said.

The city was awarded a $250,000 grant from the N.C. Golden Leaf Foundation to fund the project, and seeks additional funding for the project.

Speed limit reduced on portion of McPhail Road

Council approved for the speed limit to be reduced from 35 mph to 25 on a stretch of McPhail Road spanning from East Fifth Street to North Roberts Avenue.

The move comes in an effort to increase traffic safety with many motorists using the street to reach a senior center in the area.

“(Police Chief Michael McNeill) and I have already talked about this,” said Councilwoman Karen Higley, in whose Precinct 4 the street sits. “Hopefully we won’t have any accidents through there.”

Community Revitalization Funds

With Christmas on the horizon next month, many holiday-related items of Community Revitalization Funds were approved by Council, including:

— $2,100 for the Empty Stocking Fund.

— $1,800 for a Christmas toy drive in Precinct 2, $1,500 for a Christmas toy drive in Precinct 5 and $500 for a Christmas toy drive in Precinct 6.

— $1,500 for a Christmas toy drive in Precinct 5.

— $1,500 for Omega Psi Phi’s boys summer camp.

— $1,250 for the Sharing and Caring Holiday Program sponsored by former N.C. Rep. Charles Graham.

— $1,200 to First Baptist Church on West Second Street for a community feeding program.

— $1,150 for the Borderbelt AIDS Resources Training (BART) Christmas fundraising event.

— $1,000 for the Voices of Robeson County Community Choir to sponsor a family at Christmas and for a holiday toy drive.

— $600 to New Light Apostolic Church for a community feeding program.

— $500 for Oh Give Thanks Community Day in Precinct 2.

— $500 to McCormick Chapel for a community feeding program.

— $350 for Cruising Second Street, which will be held Nov. 26 in Precinct 4.

— Howard deobligated $1,225 in CRF funds that had previously been allocated for Community Watch.

Other business

In other business, Council:

— Approved the purchase of a $30,715.62 hardware and software upgrade for the city’s fuel pumps, as the system has gone down and replacement parts are unavailable, to be paid for from the the city’s Water and Sewer Capital Reserve Fund.

— Approved an amendment to the engineering agreement for the Raw Water Intake Flood Mitigation Project. The city will pay The Wooten Company an additional $35,000 in project management fees after the project has taken longer than planned and several unforeseen issues have arisen. This will also be paid for from the city’s Water and Sewer Capital Reserve Fund.

— Approved the purchase of three 4×4 half-ton pickup trucks by the Public Works Department. The purchase was budgeted and previously approved, but the city had a hard time finding trucks to meet their needs; this motion expanded the city’s preference to include Toyota Tacoma trucks, which are available quickly and nearly within budget; $35,000 was budgeted for each, and each costs $35,668.66, with the difference of $2,005.98 to be paid from the Water and Sewer Capital Reserve Fund.

— Approved a property transfer of the Hayswood Hut to Bethany Presbyterian Church at no cost. The facility is located at Wren and Peachtree streets near the Bill Sapp Recreation Center; as part of the agreement, the church will have to utilize the facility for public uses. Previous discussions to rename the building were tabled.

— Authorized city staff to submit a full application for the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission Grant to fund a project rebuilding the lift station off of highways 711 and 72 in West Lumberton; the city submitted a letter of interest for the grant, and has been approved by the grant organization to move forward with a full application. The estimated project cost will be approximately $500,000 and a 20% local match would be required if the grant is awarded to the city.

— Approved a change in the city ordinance to expand bereavement leave for city employees, who will now be allowed three days of paid bereavement leave after the death of an immediate family member, up from one.

— Approved the appointment of Sonya McGirt to the city’s planning board to represent Precinct 7; she will replace Jan Maynor.

— Approved the appointment of Sharon Smith to the Main Street Advisory Board, which oversees the city’s downtown revitalization; Smith, a downtown business owner, replaced Janell Carroll, who resigned last month. Carroll will continue to serve on Main Street’s Economic Vitality Committee.