Residents urge council to confirm sidewalk cancellation, adopt extreme-heat protections and address short-term rentals

Several residents used the public-comment period at the July 15 High Point City Council meeting to press the council on pedestrian infrastructure, worker safety in extreme heat and the local effects of short-term rentals.

Jerry Korns asked the city to withdraw recent plans to add another sidewalk on James Road between Hope View Road and University Parkway, saying he and his attorney had previously been assured that no additional sidewalk would be built because an existing sidewalk already serves the area. Korns requested a written confirmation that the earlier decision to cancel a new sidewalk would be reaffirmed and asked the council to initiate a letter to him confirming cancellation. The clerk asked Korns to provide his written materials for the record.

Wenonnah Merritt, speaking on behalf of the Climate Action Task Force of the Baha'i Faith Community in High Point, thanked the council for the city’s All‑America City award and urged the city to create an extreme-heat plan. Merritt said EMS responded to 55 heat-related calls last month, compared with 23 the prior June, and asked whether outdoor city employees and other vulnerable residents have adequate access to water, shade and cooling. She offered handouts to staff to support planning.

Kirby Heard raised housing concerns tied to short-term rentals near his neighborhood and the university, saying he counted at least 18 short-term rental properties in a 12-block area and expressing frustration that out-of-state LLCs own many of the houses and reduce homeownership opportunities. He also repeated a request for a stop sign at Ferris and Hamilton because of crash concerns.

Council members acknowledged the comments and asked staff to accept handouts and follow up, but no formal agenda action on these specific community requests (sidewalk cancellation confirmation or a formal extreme-heat policy) was taken that evening.