City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

545. Appreciate everybody's patience. As everyone is aware, there was a special call meeting just prior to this to be able to discuss budget matters. And that was, of course, a successful meeting as all of them are. So with that, we will move forward with our 530 agenda will begin as our as is our tradition with invocation followed by Pledge of Allegiance. If our police chaplain probably Wiley would lead us in invocation.

Let us pray.

Gracious, loving, and almighty God, we give you thanks for the abundant blessings of this life. We thank you for gathering us together here this evening. We thank you for the gift of the city of Goldsboro and for those that you've called to lead this city. Father, we ask that you be with us during our time together. Bless everything we do and everything we say that it might be according to your will and to your glory. And Father, we ask that you bestow wisdom upon this council and those that are scheduled to speak before it, that they may speak from the heart and speak truth to those that need to hear it. And Father, we ask that you send us forth to do your work in the world when we leave this place. All this we ask in the name of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Amen. If you join us in the club. Madam Clerk, if you would please conduct a roll call. Mayor Gaylor.

Present. Mayor Pro Tem Weeks. Present. Councilwoman Jones. Present. Councilman Boyette. Present. Councilwoman Taylor. Present. Councilwoman Matthews. Present. Councilman White.

President. All right. Thank you again, everyone. It's been a busy, very busy month. Appreciate everyone being able to be here this evening and realize that does come with significant family sacrifice and oftentimes it's very on local moments, but I appreciate everyone's commitment. Council, we have an agenda that is presented to us, a piece of which was resolved in the meeting just prior. Items 8.1 and 8.2 already having been resolved could be stricken from the record. Mr. Livingston, or could be stricken from this agenda, not from the record by any means. Mr. Livingston, are there any other requested changes to the agenda as presented?

No, sir, Mr. Mayor.

All right. So council without an entertain a motion to adopt the agenda as modified with the modification be to remove items 8.1 and 8.2 as they have already been resolved. So moved. All right. Motion has been made and properly seconded to adopt the modified agenda as discussed. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, we will vote electronically. Or do you want to?

Well, there's only three people.

All right, if you would please vote by show of hands. All in favor, please raise your hand. All opposed, same sign. Seeing none, motion passes.

I'm good. Thank you.

All right. All right. Let's do something fun. Item 4.1, Caribbean American Heritage Month Proclamation. So let me grab a quick sip of water. So the way that, as council will recall, the way that we will do these proclamations is I will read them into the record. These are proclamations, not resolutions. They do not require a vote. And after the proclamation has been read, those who are directly impacted by the proclamation feel free to join me at the podium and give them the microphone for a few moments to be able to address the council, after which time we can take pictures if anyone's interested in doing that. Or not. It won't hurt my feelings. It's okay. Caribbean American Heritage Month Proclamation. Whereas June is recognized nationally as Caribbean American Heritage Month, a time to honor and celebrate the rich history, culture, traditions, and contributions of Caribbean Americans throughout the United States. And whereas Caribbean Americans have made significant contributions to the cultural, economic, educational, civic, and spiritual fabric of communities across our nation through leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship, public service, military service, arts, healthcare, education, and community advocacy. And whereas the diverse nations and cultures of the Caribbean have enriched communities through vibrant traditions of music, dance, cuisine, literature, faith, and language, while continuing to inspire generations through resilience, perseverance, and unity. And whereas Caribbean Americans continue to play an important role in strengthening communities, fostering cultural understanding, and contributing to the growth and prosperity of cities across the nation, including the city of Goldsboro. And whereas Caribbean American Heritage Month serves as an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the lasting impact and enduring legacy of Caribbean people and their descendants, while encouraging all residents to learn more about the history and heritage of the Caribbean community. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Goldsboro City Council does hereby recognize June 2026 as Caribbean American Heritage Month in the city of Goldsboro and encourage all citizens to recognize and celebrate the many contributions, cultures, traditions, and accomplishments of Caribbean Americans within our community and throughout our nation. And witness whereof, I appear to set my hand in a fix to seal the city of Goldsboro this the first day of June 2026. If you'd like to, if you'd like to introduce yourself and discuss why this proclamation.

All right. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, City Council. My name is Natasha McKnight, and I'm new here to Goldsboro. And this, I appreciate the proclamation so much. Thank you for giving us this, because Caribbean Americans are kind of, we don't, we're not on the census, and we don't, there's no numbers and statistics on us other than there are a lot of famous Caribbean Americans that people don't even recognize or don't even know that they are Caribbean American. But there are some, like Harry Belafonte, and everybody knows his name, and Colin Powell. So we've done a lot for America as a people, and we just add fun, culture. And it's especially important to me because my dad, he was a community leader in Orlando, Florida. he went to Washington to get it started where Caribbean American Heritage Month it has been recognized so in keeping his legend alive and you know just doing something to keep his name and what he's done for Caribbean American people. I especially want to thank the city for giving us this proclamation. So we're also going to be starting a Caribbean American nonprofit soon in the city of Goldsboro. And so these are going to be some of the members here. This is my daughter. And this is Gonzo. He's active duty. And Ethan, who is also active duty, as you can tell. So they're here to support. We had some more people, but I think the rain might have detained them. So thank you again. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we'll have item 4.2 on our agenda. Is there anyone here from Fayetteville State to come forward and receive the proclamation? Okay. This one will be presented at their 70th anniversary event in just a few days. Proclamation recognizing the 70th anniversary of the Goldsboro Wayne Fayetteville State University Alumni Chapter. Whereas the Goldsboro Wayne Fayetteville State University Alumni Chapter is celebrating its 70th anniversary, marking seven decades of dedicated service, leadership, scholarship, and community engagement throughout Goldsboro, North Carolina and beyond. And whereas the chapter has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to supporting Fayetteville State University through mentorship, advocacy, fellowship, and educational opportunities that have positively impacted countless students, alumni, and families. And whereas generations of members have carried forward a proud legacy of excellence, resilience, and Bronco pride while working to inspire future leaders, encourage academic achievement, and strengthen the bonds within the community. And whereas the chapter's longstanding dedication to education and public service has helped enrich the cultural, civic, and educational fabric of the city of Goldsboro and surrounding communities. And whereas the city of Goldsboro recognizes and deeply appreciates the chapter's 70 years of faithful service, leadership, and continued commitment to uplifting others through education and community involvement. now therefore be it proclaimed that the goldsboro city council hereby extends its sincere congratulations to the goldsboro lane fayetteville state university alumni chapter on the celebration of its 70th anniversary and encourages all citizens to join in recognizing the organization's many contributions enduring legacy and lasting impact upon the goldsboro community and witness whereof i am here to set my hand and affix a seal the city of goldsboro this the first day of june 2026 and that will be delivered in just a All right. Next, we will move to our public hearings. We have one public hearing this evening. Mr. Livingston, I will hand it over to you, and you can then call forward whomever will be presenting.

Thank you, Mayor. We do have a special use quasi-judicial public hearing this evening, SU 0526 for Place of Entertainment at 143 North Center Street. I believe Mr. Towton is here to give us the overall brief.

All right, Mr. Lawrence, do you mind this one being special use we it is the quasi judicial. So we have the four of the four part test, the evidence of admissibility of evidence and the things that need to be considered not not considered. Do you mind just briefly reminding council?

And just a reminder that anything that comes from the podium can be relied upon as evidence. You cannot do your own investigation can have communications outside of the meeting with any one of it. It's just like a court proceeding. The judge can't go out and hear and do his own investigation.

All the evidence presented was considered. It's the same concept here.

As far as real estate values or traffic those are two specific things that are witness testimonies required on so people have anything about my same when I'm probably going to do this they can you can't consider it they could say it but can consider listen appraisals here to get an expert testimonial stuff like that it just like we have a lot of people going through all the traffic will without actually a traffic engineer given the testimony then you can't rely on that either

OK. Council, any comments, questions? I know that we do them a lot, but I always like to ask Mr. Lawrence for an update whenever there's one right in front of us. So with that, Mr. Talbot.

Mayor, good evening. Council, good evening to all of you tonight.

Good evening.

Tonight. We will be looking again as the manager said special use permit issue 5 dash 26 place of entertainment with ABC. Permits for a special event center. This property is located on the West Side of Center Street between West Mulberry and West Walnut Street. The owner of the property is Mr Antonio Williams and Miss Akita Moore Williams Miss Moore Again, the applicants, Mr. Antonio Williams, the current zoning is central business on the district with the store and social district overlay. The existing land use is that the subject property is a two-story commercial building. The second floor is currently occupied as a residential apartment consisting of approximately 920 square feet. The land use designation is mixed use downtown. The request again is for a special use permit to allow for a special event center. With ABC permits at 143. North Center St employees, depending on the event, could be anywhere from 3 to 8. employees per shift, days and hours of operation. Again, depending upon the event and what has worked out between the owners and the operators, anytime between Tuesday and Sunday between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. So the approval criteria for a place of entertainment with ABC permits in the downtown business district is the following. Within the area of the CBD bounded by the south side of Ash Street, the east side of George Street, the north side of Elm Street, and the west side of William Street, there shall be no minimum separation distance from residentially zoned or developed property. 50 foot separation distance shall be required for freestanding churches and schools number two there shall be no more than two such establishments with the exception of microbreweries located per city block defined as the length of the street between two intersections three in the CBD there shall be no minimum separation distance between two such establishments and or within the area. The CBD bounded by the south side of Ash, the east side of George, the north side of Elm and the west side of William. There shall be no minimum off street parking requirements. Lastly, all outdoor activities associated with the place of entertainment must be specifically be approved as part of any associated review and approval process at the time of review. The viewing body may impose conditions on outdoor activities as necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare. According to the applicant submitted floor plan, the proposed event center will be a place of entertainment for users to reserve the force first floor commercial space for birthday parties, anniversaries, wedding receptions, retirement parties. private and nonprofit socials, etc. It will consist of interior and exterior assembly areas and restrooms for users of the spaces. The applicant has stated that users of the space will be responsible for obtaining ABC permits for events where alcoholic beverages are to be served and consumed. if the special use permit is approved by city council the site will be required to meet the developed regulations of the city of goldsboro's unified development code lastly a building permit and final inspection will be required for the up fit of the existing tenant space to ensure that all life and safety codes have been satisfied before occupying the facility As you can see, in the area with the blue outline, there is the subject property. You'll see West Mulberry Center Street. This is our proposed land use map. Here is a picture of the property. Currently, again, the occupied space upstairs is for an apartment. The bottom space will be for the event center. The red door to the left, if I'm not mistaken, that is the access to the apartment upstairs. And the two double doors will be for the assembly area. There will be an exit at the rear of the site or the rear of the facility. And of course with the building code. As you'll see here. Is a floor plan of the proposed facility. At this time you'll notice a large assembly area here at the front of the building. And of course there will be one at the rear of the facility. Let's see. At this point in time, when you open the public hearing, if Miss Moore, I believe she'll be available for comment, but that will either be an outside assembly area or an interior assembly area. Regardless, a second means of egress will be required for emergency purposes outside of the building. At this time to go ahead and tell you that there is a access to the back of the building. It's approximately 5 to 6 feet in width, which exits out onto West Mulberry St. Again. This is a part of a required means of egress. You'll have one at the course at the front of the building. This will serve the rear of the building. And again, all this will be evaluated by our building code team, and they'll make sure that the building itself and the facility are in accordance with the state building code before any occupancy of the facility takes place in the future if this special use permit is approved. If any questions of the space.

Mr. Town, I have one. Yes, ma'am. Can you tell me what the occupancy will be for the second floor?

second floor, the second floor at this time is residential. I'm sorry, I don't the bottom floor bottom floor will be an assembly occupancy. I cannot tell you what that assembly occupancy is. With the building code. There's several different classifications.

Is this square footage about 920 square feet?

I want to say, manager, I believe that was for the apartment. I was looking for that information in the actual right up here.

I think our note said 1694 for the.

That is correct. Yes, ma'am. So part of the presentation, the second floor is currently occupies resident apartment consisting of 920 square feet. The first floor will consist of approximately 1694 square feet. Or a total of $2,600.

And then one more question. Yes, ma'am. First, the top floor, will it remain as a residential unit?

To my knowledge, yes, ma'am.

So the fire code question, that's just a math question, right? However many square feet and isn't that how that works?

That's right. They have their own methodology for determining what the occupancy load is based off of seating, number of chairs and tables, or open space just with individuals only. So it all just depends on how the facility is going to be used.

I was trying, honestly, the reason I was asking is I was kind of curious if it's assumed to be an open space, and this is going way down in the weeds, but I'm just curious. If it's assumed to be a wide open space, do you get a fire occupancy that's a total cap, a maximum, regardless, and then if you put tables and chairs and obviously it self-resolves, is that right?

That's exactly right, yes, sir.

Based on 1,600 square feet or whatever it is, do you have any idea what the maximum would be?

I don't I know that there have been discussions with our chief building inspector and the applicant. And there have been some determinations made. But I can't say any more than that, because I'm not exact on those, those numbers.

The on the application was at a typo. It was at 10 p to 118. It's only three hours or a few days. That's a that's a slim window. Is that a typo? And obviously the applicant, I should have said this, the applicant will be invited up. And I could have saved that question for her if she's so inclined.

Looking at it, I would like to say it is a typo from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. That makes a lot more sense than 10 p.m. And I would think that they would want a wide window to be able to. Exactly. And it all is going to depend on what type of venue it is and, you know, those uses that are appropriate for each one of those venues. Okay.

All right. Counsel, comments, questions? All right, it has been our practice that we invite the applicant up. Miss Williams, would you like to, as part of the application, would you like to come up and speak on behalf of the application?

No, I think everything is fine.

All right, cool. Yes, ma'am. All right, then we will move forward with the public hearing, and we will open the public hearing. Anyone wishing to come forward and speak, please approach the clerk. This is a public hearing for item 5.1 on our agenda, special use 526, a place of entertainment with ABC at 143 North Center Street. Anyone wishing to come forward to speak, please approach the clerk. Third and final call. Anyone wishing to come forward and speak on SU 526, item 5.1 on our agenda, please come forward. Hearing none, we will close the public hearing. Council, we'll invite staff back up. Are there any questions in the last few seconds you have thought of?

No, yes, sir. How do we address the type of so far that we put that in a motion to make sure that covered or staff doing that.

I think that's a good question, Councilman Boyette. Again, as I've stated before, in conversations with the applicant, each venue is going to dictate different time durations. One may be for a two-hour venue, the other may be for a party lasting anywhere from 9 p.m. to 1 o'clock a.m. in the morning. Again, I think if you are going to at this point in time, you could set that those hours of operation could be anywhere between the hours of, you know, whatever the applicant thinks is reasonable and you think is reasonable, whether it be 7 a.m., no more than 7 a.m. is earliest, to late in the morning hours of 1 a.m. But again, if there's something that an applicant wants to have a birthday party, at 5 o'clock p.m., you know, is that something we want to consider? And that's something I really need to ask.

Yeah, I just want to make sure whatever we approve is the wishes of the applicant.

Is that correct?

I don't want to have to.

Hold on one second.

Yes, sir. I see y'all having a sidebar. I know y'all are parsing on something. Well, I think the question is whether or not that matters. If he was looking for that 10 a.m. to be, or 10 p.m. to be amended to 10 a.m., my question was, I don't think that matters in the application. I think if you approve it as a special use permit, and Mr. Townsend can expound upon this, but I think otherwise, like he was saying, the event could be one day it's going to be from 12. The issue is 1 a.m. cutoff, the ABC issue. But as far as when they started, I don't think that's part of the special use permit, specifically limiting the time to 10 p.m. So that part really doesn't matter at the end of the day. That's what I'm trying to find out.

And that was actually the reason for my inquiry was if the application – I didn't want to approve an application that had a typo that – then to the detriment of the applicant. Right.

You know what I mean?

Okay. We don't think it matters.

And, Mayor, to be quite honest in clarification, we've always had that as a – uh one of those boxes that needed to be checked in an application process just to give counsel and other interested persons uh you know whether it be council or adjacent property owners an idea of what those hours of operation would be as a courtesy but so far as like the councilman i mean attorney lawrence said we uh i don't know that that's ever been a requirement okay in the court of law okay

Then with that council, this one, if we are ready for a vote, we have two options, either move forward with the four motion test or to move forward with a motion table if there remain any questions. Are there any remaining questions? All right. And with that, there is a four motion test, motion number one. I'll just read it and then someone can state if they make the motion or not. But a motion that the use would not materially endanger the public health or safety. So moved and seconded. So moved by Councilwoman Matthews and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem. Was that? I thought that was the word I heard. That it would not maturely endanger the public health or safety. Ms. Getz, do you want us to vote electronically or by show of hands?

If everybody's logged in, I think they are.

All right. If everyone's logged in, we'll do that. motion for is that the use would not materially endanger the public health or safety. Is there any debate on that motion? Hearing none, we will call the vote. Please vote electronically if possible.

Not popping up. Not for you.

The first one? I voted. I was waiting on it. It disappeared. You're good.

You're good. I'm waiting on Councilwoman Jones. It didn't pop up. It's not popping up. Would you state your motion? There we go.

All right, perfect. So motion, all votes being cast. Ms. Goetz, if you would. Yep. All right, perfect. Motion passed on the 7-0 vote. Number two, motion that the use will not substantially injure the beneficial use of adjoining or abutting property.

So moved.

Seconded.

Alright, motion has been made and properly seconded that the use would not materially not substantially injured the beneficial use of adjoining or abutting property. Is there any debate? Hearing no, we'll call the vote. Would you like us to make my show of hands? I will vote electronically electronically if possible. All right, although it's having been cast motion passes on a seven over. All right on motion number three, motion that the use would be in harmony with existing development and uses within the area in which it is located. So move. All right, motion is made and properly seconded that the use would be in harmony with existing development and uses within the area in which it is located. Is there any debate? Hearing none, please vote electronically if possible. All right, all votes haven't been cast. Motion passes unanimously. And fourth and final motion, a motion that the use would be in general conformity with the City of Goldsboro Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Motion is made and properly seconded. Is there any debate? Hearing none, we will vote electronically if possible. All right, all those haven't been cast motion passing unanimously all four motions being passed to the good for the sake of the special use permit. The SU 0526 is granted. Thank you. Thank you. All right, now we will move to item six, our public comment period. As always, speakers are asked to be civil and courteous in their language and their presentations at all times speakers are asked to refrain from personal attacks and or threats directed towards any council member the mayor staff city staff or members of the public and as always vulgar profane language or gestures cannot be tolerated just remind that periodically so with that we will move to our public comment period miss gets who was our first speaker

Good evening.

Good evening.

Like our nation, state and county, We, the City of Goldsboro, has a system of laws. Our laws are in the code of the City of Goldsboro Code of Ordinance, and they can be found on the city's website. Under sections 96.010203050708 and 09 of our ordinance there are laws regarding public nuisances. For your review on the first and second pages of the handout there are copies of the applicable excerpts from those sections of the ordinance. The remaining pages in the handout are copies of pictures taken on May 26, 2026, of what I believe depict a public nuisance as enumerated in our laws. The pictures are of a private drainage ditch that is adjacent to the property jointly owned by me and my wife. When we had heavy showers last week on May 25, the ditch dammed up and the stormwater flooded onto our property. Since additional showers were forecast on Tuesday, which could have resulted in additional flooding onto our property, I took the liberty of cleaning part of the dammed up section of the ditch. I was informed last year by our now city manager that the property on which the presumed public nuisance exists is a private storm water drainage ditch and it was confirmed by GPS that it is not owned by us. I was also informed that The maintenance required for private drainage ditches is the responsibility of the owners of the private stormwater drainage ditch. I am therefore requesting respectfully or I am therefore respectfully bringing to the attention of council that public nuisance conditions enumerated in our ordinance exist and I'm asking that appropriate actions be taken to abate the public nuisance. I would also like to express my gratitude to our city manager and stormwater staff for making the promised improvements that have been made over the past year and a half in addressing the serious flooding issues that we have had to deal with in our Mimosa Park neighborhood. Thank you.

Mayor, that was our last our only speaker.

Okay. I appreciate public speakers that are able to come forward as always. And we look forward to taking a look at this and seeing how we can resolve this as well. It's actually timely given that the item that we'll be discussing after our consent agenda is our stormwater management plan and updating that plan, which I think there's going to be some some robust work that comes out of that plan. Mr. Livingston, I believe it is now time for our consent agenda. Would you hear any remaining questions on consent agenda items and deliver any kind of brief?

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. We do have a few items, mostly budget cleanup items for the end of the year from work that we've been doing. For example, the work downstairs at City Hall for the security and also for the engineering design that we're doing now. And a few other budget amendments in there, plus the normal things that we see during this time of year. Some upset bids that are typical purchase of an off-duty weapon by a medically retired officer, and a grant project fund ordinance amendment. And there's pretty routine items. We'd like to talk about any of them individually. I'd be happy to do so. Otherwise, we'd normally vote for the consent agenda under one motion. All right.

Council, are there any remaining questions on consent agenda items 7, 1 through 4? Hearing none, is there a motion to adopt the consent agenda as presented?

So moved. Second.

Motions have been made and properly seconded to adopt consent agenda as presented. Is there any debate? Hearing none, we'll call the vote and vote electronically if possible. So that will count as a roll call vote. Ms. Taylor. All good, all good. Got it. All right, although it's having a cast motion passing unanimously consent agenda item seven, one through four are approved. All right. So now all business having been resolved, we'll move to new business item nine dot one, the aforementioned stormwater management plan.

Oh, yeah, we'll have Mr. Arnold come and explain it. Since he's been working actively with his department there in engineering services on this.

Council, I'll just take a minute and introduce this topic tonight. We have Jonathan Bobby to go in more detail with him. If you remember at the start of the year, we did a pretty significant update with you all and what we're doing in the stormwater program. We're proud of how we're making those efforts and At that time we told you we had some things coming your way. And so tonight's the start of the things coming your way for consideration. This is a start probably of next month, we'll have a couple of other items, and then we're gonna probably by the end of the year have a few more items that we need to continue to look at and build upon to have our permit be robust for Goldsboro. As you heard a gentleman say, there are many of these elements within Goldsboro that we need to start addressing, and so we're looking forward to that. So this tonight will be kind of a workstation setting. You have the hard copies of information for you. You can carry this forward to the next meeting because you'll hear the final recommendation for both items will be to hold a public hearing on June 15th for both these items that need your approval. If you are so interested, we probably need the first one. Certainly in the ordinance, we are going to recommend also approval. So with that, I'm going to turn over to Jonathan for opening the comments, and he'll turn over to Bobby, and then we're here for your questions.

Thank you, Mr. Arnold.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. How's everybody doing? So the first item on the agenda is the stormwater management plan. So I did bring this a couple years ago. But when it got sent over to the state, Hurricane Helene came through and we just just kind of got lost in translation. So Permit coordinator with him it with the ms4 permit coordinator is coming back around and he's trying to get everybody squared away So there was changes Bobby's gonna go into a little more. She's got the presentation. She's gonna be going through the changes So that's pretty much it.

So Bob if you want to come on up I'd say you'll switch switch screens in just a moment We stand here awkwardly and look at each other until they're traditional.

OK.

You know, one day I'll get Apple Music subscription and get that queued up.

Do, do, do. I would say just go ahead and roll, but I saw Mr. Arnold walk out there to go get a person.

Not me.

I can't see his hand.

Hi, I'm Bobby Barnes, the stormwater administrator. So we have the stormwater management plan, and this will renew the permit for the municipal separate storm sewer system. Five years starting, the effective date is July 1st. It's similar to the last one.

Let me interrupt you just for a second. Council, so you can follow along. It is in Civic Plus. It is under this agenda item, and it is the PowerPoint presentation labeled SWMP June 1 Council Meeting. So you can follow along. And if you'd like to borrow my iPad so you can look at what you're looking at, you're welcome. That way everyone can follow along.

Thank you.

So the stormwater management plan, it is part of your MS4 compliance required under the Clean Water Act. And it is regulated by NCDEQ. The City of Goldsboro must implement six minimum control measures. The Stormwater Management Plan serves as a framework for meeting MS4 permit requirements. Oh, there we go. Do you want your iPad back?

You're good. Keep rolling.

The Stormwater Management Plan outlines programs and procedures to protect water quality and reduce stormwater pollution. The plan has been updated to align with the current NCDEQ regulations and permit requirements. Approval of the updated stormwater management plan will renew the city's permit for additional five years. Does anybody have questions? We're going to hold a public hearing on June 15th.

So what, break it down for us a little bit, a stormwater plan. There's, all over town you have concerns about ditches. You have concerns about private ditches that aren't necessarily part of the city system. How, what does this plan do?

So it's kind of it's a little complex, but the stormwater management plan. The ditches are adjacent because there are conveyances or stormwater conveyances. So the city has to maintain those. And if they're private, we have to enforce the maintenance of them. So even like he was saying earlier, the conveyances near his his home, those still have to be maintained. And if they don't, they become a public nuisance.

So there is, under the stormwater plan that has now been distributed and will have the public hearing on later this month, can a ditch that wasn't necessarily intended to be a stormwater conveyance be deemed a stormwater conveyance on private dirt that you then have to enforce maintenance of?

No. So even if it's a private conveyance, say a ditch in front of your yard, the homeowner or the owner is responsible for maintaining that.

Okay. So even the public ditches that are in front of people's yards are still their responsibility for keeping dug out?

We have right-of-way for certain ones. Each one has a different who's in charge of it, but it gets kind of complex.

last one one more question and then i'll turn it over you know we've seen over the last couple of years that as we've tried to go in and dig out ditches and i know mr perry can speak about this because i think he got yelled out more times than i care to think about but as we would go through and try to dig out ditches we would see that cable companies and data companies and everyone else had buried their lines where the ditches are because the ditches have kind of filled in How do we go about reclaiming those things and how does this plan help us get some of these things back in working order?

Well, I think it's going to be a very long process, but it's you know, everybody has their own responsibilities that they have to do. You know, there's there's a lot of learning and education to it. So the reason they fill in is because of garbage or people, you know, will sometimes put brush in there or not rake them out and stuff. So it's it's part it's a cooperation between the city and the community.

Council, I know this is the first time that the plan has been formally put in front of us, well, I guess Wednesday, when the Civic Plus was released would have been the first time. Are there specific questions that we have or at this point are we, the public hearing, it doesn't need a motion by us to set the public hearing. It's already been noticed and everything else. And so this is mostly just council being made aware of this thing that is out there that we need to learn about and who to call to ask questions for, right?

Mm-hmm.

that a fair synopsis, Mr. Lewinson?

Yes, sir.

Okay. Council comments, questions at this point?

I do have a question. Yes, sir. Go ahead. So, hypothetically, if there's a ditch and it's on a property, I don't know who owns it, maybe it's A.K. Grill on John Street and the ditches on A.K. Grill are faster right now? And every time it rains or whatever, it's a hazard. Who's responsible for that?

Who owns the parcel?

I guess it just depends on where the ditch is located. Now, obviously, I'm not trying to throw a whole lot of work on Public Works, and I don't know what their stance is. I mean, that's more of a question for them. They may have a kind of deciding factor on what they clean out. Now, I don't know that we'll actually go out there and clean out an entire ditch. You know, they may dig up around the end of the culvert pipe or whatever. It really all comes down to an ownership issue. It just depends on where that ditch is at. If it's at the back of the property, then, you know, and it's a private ditch, you know, we run the risk of tearing that property up to get around the back. So, I mean, that just opens us up for more liability issues.

So I guess my question is, once we start doing this and we start, like the mayor said, identifying the right-of-ways and those type of deals, are we going to do the work to see who owns the parcels, if it's their responsibility?

We make that determination anyway. If the claim comes in or the complaint comes in, we always look at it, and that determination is made up front anyway.

We do have a map that shows all the ones that we're responsible for maintaining. It's in the right-of-way. If it's our right-of-way or DOT's right-of-way, we definitely maintain those in the right-of-way, or we're supposed to. But the other ones, there's several orphaned ones out there that are just that. Okay.

Oh, yes, sir.

I was going to say, it would be an ideal, unless someone disagrees, it would be an ideal use for particular to the public that's watching of the 3-1-1 system. If it's a concern or something that you see as a concern, enter it in the 3-1-1 system, as I've talked about many times, and that guarantees you a response from city officials to whatever your concern is. It would be an ideal use of that. And then before it's acted on, of course, then the city proper personnel will determine whose responsibility it is and it can unfold from there.

We have also established a stormwater hotline to help with the problem.

something else is repeatedly been brought to me by constituents and it's probably a bit of a business angle to this but nonetheless I think it's a valid question is the mobile car wash folks that will go and if you own a car wash or if you operate a car wash I mean regardless of size or complexity or modernness or whatever you're required to have certain clean outs you're required to have certain catch basins in the engineering of your of your site of your facility or you can do one of the mobile ones where that they anything that they do that washes off of a car goes straight into a storm drain how how are cities from both an ecological impact standpoint as well as making sure you know what's going into your storm drains, which I guess may just be ecological rebranded, but how do cities keep that under control? What do they do?

So for the mobile car washes, it's really, you're not supposed to let anything go into the storm sewer drains, and it's against our ordinance, illegal discharge control 6.6. So a lot of times people will wash their cars on the racks, and that keeps it out of the storm water, storm sewer system, because it filters down into the ground.

That would be someone doing it at their own house. I guess I'm kind of talking about the folks that will show up in the middle of a parking lot to do a thing and do it quite well. It's certainly not a slight on them and their entrepreneurship in any means. It's purely from a stormwater management perspective. How do you enforce it, I guess, is the right question.

Well, I mean, it really depends on how the city wants to enforce it. But, I mean, they're really not supposed to do that because it all goes into the storm sewer system. And, of course, that's not treated.

It already is an ordinance piece. Now it comes to a matter of either code violation or whatever the appropriate claim is. Okay. Good to know.

Any more questions?

Anything else on item 9.1? When we have this next, will you all be prepared to do a little bit more of a deep dive into the plan to be able to give us an overview of, make sure we understand it the way you want us to understand it? I think that would be really helpful. Before we actually have the public hearing, I want to make sure we're explaining it to the public so they know what they're reading.

Okay.

Mr. Livingston, any objection to that? No, sir.

No, I think it's a great idea.

Okay. All right. Well, thank you so much. What do you and Jonathan, I'm assuming you're not not too much.

She's not too but I'm gonna do a little introduction real quick and I'm gonna let her get back to talking.

Mr. Livingston, anything to add on that too before we know sir. All right, perfect. There you get self explained.

Yeah, yeah. So this is the erosion segmentation control ordinance. And you know, she's gonna deep dive a little more into it. But this is something that already all developers, engineers, contractors, they already are doing this. It's all going through our local DEQ office at Washington. So now we're just taking that, bringing that into the city, and she's going to explain how we're going to be, you know, looking at all that review and everything.

Okay, so the City of Goldsboro's Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance 6.7, effective date is projected to be September 1st. So the City of Goldsboro Erosion and Sediment Control, this is control measure four for your stormwater management plan. It is construction site runoff controls. So it was reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission in February 2026. Erosion and sediment control ordinance received informal approval from the SCC, the Sedimentation Control Commission, on May 7th. We are expecting formal delegation approval in August 11th at the next SCC meeting. And the effective date will be September 1st. And this, we're adopting North Carolina's erosion sediment control standards. We're not changing the standards at all. The only difference between the state standards and ours is the threshold for the plea and review, which is we're going to move it down to 0.5 acres versus the state's one acre. So it enhances local oversight on construction activities and reduces sediment runoff and protects our water quality. And this is important. It's part of our stormwater management plan. We will be having a public hearing for this June 15th as well.

The June 15th meeting when we have both of those again, if you could just have a couple of slides, a little bit more of understanding so that sometimes when you read something, you don't really know the context. You're not really an expert on the subject matter. You can kind of read things into it or out of it. If you would, whenever we open up the item on the agenda to move into those public hearings, if you would have a few slides to be able to explain what it is exactly and some context around it, I think that would be very helpful. And then we'll obviously have the public hearings. And then at that point, council, I hope, will be in a position to formally discuss and adopt or modify the ordinance.

Do you guys have any questions now? Thank you. Good job.

Thank you. All right. That being all business items on our agenda, Our next thing is our city manager's report. Mr. Livingston

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just a couple quick things. I wanted to give you some feedback on the security downstairs and how it's working up here. I think it was a smart move on behalf of the city, and I think it's working out pretty well. I think the employees are happy with it, and I just didn't know if you had any feedback for me about it or staff. Kelly kind of ran that one, so I give him credit for setting it up and working through the process, but I think it's working pretty well. and i just wanted to report you know they're they're picking up some things and they're i think that everyone's generally safer than they used to be for sure so you know i'm glad we didn't have to wait until after something happened and i hope nothing does happen but i feel like we've made a good move there and i just wanted to see if you had any questions about that nothing for me as long as the employees are as long as the employees are saying that they feel a benefit from it then I think, yeah, I think they are. And I think moving the receptionist out there into the fine into the utility payments section has been a big benefit. She's she's happy there. So all around, I think it's been good and additional security appears have been working really well. So feel pretty good about that. The other thing is just to let the board know, I'll be out of town the rest of the week, family vacation down at Sunset Beach. I'll be available. But Kelly is the deputy will be the acting manager. So if you feel like you need to contact him for in city emergency management issue or something like that, he's here. So but you feel free to call me as well, if you want to.

That's all I got there.

All right, everybody. We will move to item 11 is there.

I did want to say thank you all for voting for the budget and supporting the whole process. I know it's been a long process, but I think we really did a good job with putting the budget together as a team. That means everybody up here. So I appreciate you.

So with that, we'll move to Mayor and Councilmember comments. It is the first meeting of the month. As is our tradition, I'll begin with the representative from Council 1, Councilwoman Jones.

Yes, I would like to say I'm very happy about moving along with the budget. Thank everyone for their input. Also, I would like to thank the staff and the Finance Committee as well. everyone who had an input and had questions. Thank you. I'd like to say the James and Pine Street project is moving right along. The building has been torn down. It looks really, really good. I'm very excited about that. And we're moving along with the BRIC campaign and many of you have received brochures regarding the BRIC campaign. And also we will have a mural competition for the area too. And I'm really excited about the movement of this project.

Thank you, ma'am. Councilman Forgers. No comment, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, sir. Councilman Forgers.

I'm going to start my first comment with you, Mayor. By serving in this tenure, I have seen over this last year just how much time you serve and how much capacity you give here. And on behalf of the city and the city council, I want to wish you a happy birthday. I hope you've had an amazing happy birthday. Also, thank you to our code enforcement department. You can see the work that you're doing down on the different areas. matter of fact I called councilwoman Hawatha Jones yesterday just to say I'm seeing a lot of great things taking place in her district and so thank you to her code enforcement department for that thank you for allowing us to be a part of the Dillard alumni parade I thought that was one of our best parades ever and we had great attendance so I was grateful to be a part of that and that's all I have for this evening

Councilwoman Flores.

No comment.

Thank you. Councilman Flores.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

I just have one comment. You felt that temptation, didn't you?

Yeah, no doubt. Just one comment. Central Heights Road, there's some... some people some people living out there that um witnessed this morning that uh 18 willows are speeding through central heights road as well as there are cars and things going out there so i asked that we just take a look at central heights road especially now that the uh school is out kids out running about um even when school is in but we need to try to to uh you know scratch that uh that problem because it's a continuing problem right now on central heights road I don't know if we can put some kind of traffic, whatever, but it's a continuous process.

That's all I have. Thank you, sir. I'm going to basically take the lead or take the heed the advice of all the other council members and just simply say thank you to everybody involved in this budget. Thank you to everybody who has put in so much time into bringing problems to staff and bringing bringing concerns. I think that we are making a notable difference in the city and beyond that. No further comment. Mr. Lawrence, going once, going twice. You've already said no. Don't take it back. No closed session. So no closed session. So with that, we'll entertain a motion to adjourn. Motion's been made. Is there a second? No debate on the motion to adjourn. We'll call the vote. All in favor, please vote by show of hands. All opposed, same sign. Seeing none, motion passes unanimously. We stand adjourned.