Clear your Monday. On Oct. 5, Council holds a public hearing on pausing data centers until late 2027, then another on borrowing up to $11 million with City Hall itself pledged as the collateral. It also takes a second run at the scooter ordinance it pulled off the consent agenda and tabled last month, and someone wants to give the city a small triangle of downtown, conditions attached. Meanwhile the Sept. 8 minutes are out: every vote unanimous, veteran parking signs at about $110 apiece, and a longtime city employee asking why the people at the top of the pay scale missed their raise.
MONDAY'S BIG NIGHT
The data center pause gets its public hearing Monday
Planning · Data Centers | City Council · Monday, Oct. 5 · 6 PM
Council did not vote on the data center moratorium Sept. 8, but the minutes show it gave staff the go-ahead to bring one back. Planning laid out the gap one more time: the Land Development Code does not regulate data centers, they are excluded from commercial uses, and they would most likely be classed as industrial, which is allowed in the BC-D district within workplace buildings. The minutes add one useful fact. There are no data center applications on file. This is a pause in front of an empty doorway, with nobody knocking.
On Monday, state law requires a public hearing before Council can adopt the ordinance, so the hearing comes first and the vote after. As drafted, the city would stop accepting, processing or approving any application for data centers, cryptomining facilities, server farms or other "high-impact digital infrastructure," from zoning permits through building permits. Vested rights are preserved. The pause runs until 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2027, and can be extended if the rewritten Land Development Code is not adopted by then. Before it ends, Planning and the city's code consultant, Freese and Nichols, must study data center impacts and send a recommendation through the Planning and Zoning Board to Council.
The ordinance's findings cite significant demands on electrical and water infrastructure, plus noise and heat. Staff's recommendation on the hearing item is simply that Council will advise staff how to proceed, which leaves the floor open for whoever shows up.
For context, a regional water planning presentation elsewhere in the same packet lists, among the changes coming to the Catawba-Wateree basin, "a new data center planned for the Lake Wylie area."
Up to $11 million in borrowing, with City Hall as the collateral
Borrowing · City Hall | Council Workshop · Sept. 21 · Regular Council · Monday, Oct. 5
At a half-hour workshop on Sept. 21, the city's bond counsel, Parker Poe, walked Council through how Belmont plans to borrow. On Monday the public gets a say: Council holds a public hearing on an installment financing of up to $11,000,000, then considers the resolution that starts the process.
The money would cover buying the Stowe Family property downtown, fire engines (two, per the workshop minutes), and design and engineering for City Hall improvements and the North Fire Station.
The structure takes a diagram. A new city-created nonprofit, the Belmont Public Finance Corporation, issues Limited Obligation Bonds, a bank buys them, and the city repays through an installment contract. The nonprofit's board would be the City Manager, Assistant City Manager and Finance Director. The loan is secured by a deed of trust on City Hall at 115 N. Main Street. Bond counsel's slides graded the alternatives with real candor: the Stowe land and the fire station site are vacant, and the fire engines are "rolling stock; low value." City Hall is "good collateral because 'essential.'" The nonprofit creates a "collateral pool," so the city can come back later for City Hall construction and the North Fire Station itself, borrowing against the same building without the first bank's permission.
The resolution is candid too. It concedes this route should cost more than a general obligation bond, but says those require a costly special election, and the projects do not earn enough for a revenue bond. The city's taxing power is not pledged. It also states that "any future property tax increase, if necessary, to pay installment payments ... will not be excessive." The resolution does not propose one.
Monday is a first step. The resolution would authorize negotiating with a bank still to be chosen, applying to the Local Government Commission, and forming the nonprofit. Final terms and annual payments come back later, and the LGC has to sign off. At the workshop, the Mayor asked the Finance Director whether he had any concerns. He had none, and said this option allows the most flexibility.
The scooter ordinance comes back with an age limit for Main Street
Ordinance · Public Safety | Regular Council · Sept. 8 and Monday, Oct. 5
Last issue, Chapter 75 was sitting on the consent agenda, ready to pass in one motion with the rest of the consent items. It didn't. On Sept. 8 Council pulled it, talked it through at length, and voted unanimously to table it until Oct. 5 so staff could draft amendments.
Mayor Jordan addressed chatter on social media, saying some language in the updated ordinance "was included by mistake." The discussion did settle the biggest question: the Downtown Dismount Zone, Main Street from East Woodrow Avenue to McLeod Avenue and Myrtle Street, applies to sidewalks only. Walk your device on the sidewalk there. Riding in the street is allowed. One council member named the trouble with moto bikes plainly: poor lighting and high speed.
Council also settled on an age line. Riders 16 and older can use their devices on Main Street in the zone. Younger riders walk. The version coming back Monday writes that in: no one under 16 may ride a motor-driven bicycle, a micromobility device such as a scooter, or a human-powered "device of the like" on the stretch of Main Street inside the zone. E-bikes are not named in that sentence, and a separate section says nothing in it bars lawful bicycle or e-bike use on streets in the zone.
Helmet violations would become violations of the chapter itself, with a parent or guardian facing up to $100, and new language lets the city send a written notice on a first offense and waive the penalty once the family shows it has bought a helmet. The impoundment section was rewritten after Council asked for a simpler process. Fines stay at $100, then $200, then $500.
This time it is on the regular agenda, where it gets its own discussion and vote. Staff recommends passing it as presented.
A free triangle of downtown, some assembly required
Downtown · Land | Regular City Council · Monday, Oct. 5
Property owner Arch Lineberger has offered to donate the small triangular parcel where North Main Street and North Central Avenue split. His terms, from an email quoted in the staff memo: "Upon my approval of a plan to develop a civic structure on the small parcel at the intersection of N Main Street and N Central Avenue, I will donate the parcel to the City of Belmont contingent upon the execution of the approved plan within six months."
On an Aug. 24 call with the City Manager and City Attorney, he confirmed he intends to donate, said there are heirs and he can work to consolidate the property under his name, said he requires approval of the final design, and allowed that the six-month deadline "is not set in stone." A resident the memo credits as instrumental in bringing the idea forward plans to attend in case Council has questions.
The cost is listed as "to be determined." Neither design nor survey is in this year's budget. If Council says go, the city would hire a designer for a landscape and hardscape plan, possibly a surveyor too, get the plan approved by both Council and the donor, price it, budget construction in a future year, then draw it up for bidding. A budget amendment for design, survey, attorney fees and closing costs would follow at a later meeting.
Staff is asking Council for direction and making no recommendation. A very generous gift, and also very much a project.
HOW SEPT. 8 ACTUALLY WENT
The longest-serving employees missed the raise. The city says it's working on it.
City Hall · Workforce | Regular City Council · Sept. 8 · CityWorks Center
During public comment, a city employee of nine years raised a problem with the 2% cost-of-living adjustment. Several long-term employees did not get it, because they had already reached the top of their pay scale. He asked Council to reevaluate, or at least explain.
The City Manager answered on the spot. Current personnel policy bars a COLA for employees who are maxed out on pay, staff recognize that is a problem, and the city is working with the NC League of Municipalities on a new policy to bring to Council for approval.
The timing was apt. The same night, the City Manager walked Council through the follow-up to the workplace climate survey we covered last issue. He went topic by topic through what the employee task force flagged: attitude toward the organization, emotional exhaustion, morale, and silence. Personnel policy changes are underway but "will take time," he said, calling the process "eye-opening" and a work in progress. Mayor Jordan called a task force member, a police captain, to the podium, who said staff is making good progress and acting on the suggestions.
Telling your most experienced people that their reward for staying is no raise is a tough fit with a survey that flagged morale and emotional exhaustion. The city says the fix is coming. Watch for the new policy.
AROUND THE BOARDS
A bridal shop for the old Belmont Electric building, and a social district still on the table
Downtown · Main Street | Main Street Advisory Board · Sept. 16 · City Hall
The Main Street Advisory Board's committees met Sept. 8 through 10, and their summaries carry most of downtown's news. A bridal shop is expected to lease the former Belmont Electric building. The former White's Restaurant property is expected to become offices for a construction company. A new toy store has opened.
The possible Downtown Social District is still under discussion, boundaries and participating businesses included. Nothing has been decided. Staff has written a feedback survey for downtown businesses and is looking for volunteers to help collect responses, so if you have opinions about carrying a drink down Main Street, there is a job for you.
The Design Committee wants to revisit the Façade Enhancement Grant guidelines "following a recent application involving work completed prior to approval." Downtown property owners, the order of operations is apply, then renovate. The same committee, after extreme heat at the Literary Festival, talked about fans, hydration stations and keeping outdoor programming out of the hottest summer months where possible.
The Organization Committee spent most of its time on money. The plan is to move from event-by-event sponsorships to an annual DBDA sponsorship with tiered levels, year-round recognition, and lower tiers so small businesses can join. Its other top priority is a shared elevator pitch answering "What does the DBDA do?" Each board member will be asked what the public, businesses, partners and Council should understand about the organization.
📌 Quick Hits & Good to Know
One police chief out, another in. Chief Boyce "Corky" Falls retired Oct. 1. He joined Belmont PD in 2012, rose through the ranks and was appointed chief on Dec. 5, 2022, and the city's resolution credits him with CALEA reaccreditation, the Faith & Blue initiative, expanded community policing and the Vision Zero program. Monday's agenda recognizes him and swears in Chief Arthur Pullen. A consent item would declare his badge and two service weapons surplus so they can be presented to him, a standard retirement honor.
Veteran parking passed, at about $110 a sign. A Belmont police officer presented the proposal Sept. 8 as her Advanced Leadership project: one veteran space at each of nine parks and facilities, at about $110 per sign. She told Council Belmont has 998 veterans, 15 of them in the Police Department. Council approved it unanimously, and members also said they'd like signs at CityWorks and the Davis Park tennis courts gravel lot.
Want a seat on a city board? Council holds a special meeting at 5 PM Monday to interview candidates for the ABC Board, Environmental Sustainability Board, Keep Belmont Beautiful, Main Street/DBDA, the Parks and Recreation Citizen's Advisory Board, the Planning and Zoning Board and the Transportation Advisory Committee. Appointments come later.
The Center City plan is filling its roster. Main Street, Parks and Recreation and Planning and Zoning all had steering committee appointments on their agendas Sept. 16 and 17. On Monday Council is set to appoint its two members and pick a downtown business owner from the applicants. The committee kicks off with a site tour Oct. 12. For everyone else, the dates that matter are a public open house on Nov. 12 and a public design charrette Feb. 17 to 19, 2027.
No trolley on the Planning Board agenda. The Belmont Trolley group told the tourism board in its late-August update that it expected a Planning Board hearing on Sept. 17. The board's Sept. 17 agenda had two items, both committee appointments, and no hearings.
Grab a trash grabber Oct. 17. Keep Belmont Beautiful, the volunteer group behind the semi-annual cleanups, Yard of the Month and the plant sale, makes its Buzz debut with a fall cleanup on Saturday, Oct. 17. Its Sept. 24 agenda also asked for a board secretary and for leads on the tree lighting, the Christmas parade float and the Festival of Trees. If you have strong feelings about tinsel, they have a role for you.
Halloween closures. Council will consider closing Assembly, Lexington and Blueberry Streets in Eagle Park from 6 to 9 PM, and Clark Hill Drive and Victoria Blake Lane in South Point Ridge from 5 to 9 PM, on Saturday, Oct. 31, for safer trick-or-treating.
It's Walktober. Monday's proclamations name October Pedestrian Safety Month and Wednesday, Oct. 14, Walk to School Day. The pedestrian proclamation reminds drivers that "pedestrian crossings exist at every intersection, whether painted or not."
Veterans Day gets $7,500 more. A budget amendment on Monday's consent agenda would add $7,500 from fund balance for an enhanced Veterans Day celebration honoring the America 250 anniversary.
$400,000 to map the pipes, no match required. The state awarded a $400,000 grant to inventory and assess the city's water and sewer system, with no local match. The city's only cost is a $6,000 closing fee. WithersRavenel would do GIS mapping, condition assessments, a hydraulic model and a 10-year capital plan, finishing around early 2028.
A 231-mile line of dump trucks. Council will consider supporting the Catawba-Wateree Water Management Group's regional water plan. Its presentation calls sedimentation the basin's biggest water-quality threat at 742,000 tons a year, which it converts to a line of dump trucks stretching from Richburg, SC to Knoxville, TN, five exclamation points included.
Pick up after your dog. Among a council member's Sept. 8 remarks: more dog waste in and around Stowe Park, with a friendly reminder suggested (consider this one), plus a growing crop of A-frame sandwich board signs crowding downtown sidewalks. The Mayor suggested businesses hang them from a hook on the building, as other towns do.
A newsletter summarizing public meeting activity in Belmont, NC. Content sourced from official meeting agendas and minutes posted at cityofbelmont.civicweb.net. Coverage: September 16 to 30, 2026.