News About Town: The January 10 Board of Commissioners meeting agenda is available online. To watch live, the meeting is available via Zoom (link here, the early meeting begins at 5:30 and the regular meeting starts at 7 pm). A livestream of the meeting will also be available via the Town of Matthews YouTube Channel. To listen live, call toll free 888-788-0099 and enter meeting ID 865 4038 3569. For more information, including the process for public comment, visit the town website.

The early meeting is the second informative session for the new Board of Commissioners. Jay Camp, Town of Matthews Planning Director, will provide an overview of the Planning Department and the processes involved in development in Matthews.

Interesting items during the regular meeting include:

• Changes to the Unified Development Ordinance related to NC Senate Bill 300, a bill that prohibits municipalities from using criminal penalties of land use regulations.

• Discussion of the Micromobility Ordinance, which regulates the use of shared mobility (think electric scooters) within the Town.

• An early and significant discussion of the Fire Station 3 design process.

News Around Town: The NC Wildlife Resources Commission has sent out an alert to all Mecklenburg County residents to be on the lookout for 9-banded armadillos.

Armadillos have long been native to Central and South America, but as temperatures continue to warm, the armored mammals have wandered this way.

Report observations to armadillo@ncwildlife.org and include: 

• a photo of the armadillo;

• the date, and time it was observed;

• and the location where it was observed (GPS coordinates are best, but a detailed location description is acceptable).

One Good Thing: On January 16, the local faith community will lead the 6th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. The celebration will begin at 2:30pm at Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, 381 Crestdale Rd., for an educational presentation on civil rights and a peaceful march to Matthews Town Hall on the Crestdale Heritage Trail.