City Council - Regular Meeting

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All right. All right. Good afternoon. I want to uh I  guess welcome everybody to the February 23rd,   2026 workshop for the Greenville City Council.  I'm Mayor PJ Connley. I'll be presiding over   the workshop. First, I'd like to call on our city  clerk for the roll call. Yes, sir. Mayor Connelly   here. Mayor Foreman here. Council member Jones  here. Council member Hardy here. Council member   Sully here. Council member Robinson. Council  member Willis here. All right. Mayor Connley,   you have a report. All right. Next, we'll move  on to the approval of the agenda. Mr. Manager,   any record here? Do I have a motion to approve?  Second. Motion been made by Council Member Jones,   second by Council Member Scoly. All those in favor  say I. Oppos say nay. Motion passes 5. move right   on to new business. Mr. Randler, thank you,  Mayor. Today, we have a very important exercise   for for city council. This is the exercise of  establishing the goals and priorities for the   next 2-year period. And this normally would  have been done at the planning retreat at the   uh at the end of January, but that was canceled  due to inclement weather. But nonetheless,   this is one of the most important things that  collectively the council gets to do together   that shapes the tone moving forward of this entire  city because the goals and priorities is basically   what we use as staff to create action steps to be  able to achieve your your goals and we also use   those goals and priorities to basically establish  a budget that is completely centered around those   goals and priorities. So when I say that it it  sets the tone for the city, it truly has a direct   impact on what we do to be able to achieve moving  the city forward. And so today, what we would like  

to do is uh to go back. Before you can go forward,  you have to go back see what we have accomplished.   Taking a look at our current goals and priorities,  take a look at what has been accomplished over the   last two-year period. At that point, then we will  turn it back over to you to take a look at each   one of those goals and priorities individually  to see if uh if there's any changes you want to   make. Do we want to basically reaffirm where we  are or do we want to go in a different direction?   Once council has made that determination of those  goals, staff will then take that forward to create   action steps of things that we will focus on as a  as a city to achieve those goals and priorities.   and then to start working on the next year's  budget which again will be just an overall uh view   of those goals and priorities. So to begin this  process of the look back period, we will have uh   our public information officer Brock Lechworth to  give us an overview of the last two-year period.   All right. Thank you, Mr. Manager. Um I had a nice  opening written and it was pretty much everything   he just said, so I'm going to ignore that. Saved  a bunch of time, right? Yeah. Uh so as you said,   we're here today to um I'm here specifically to  review the successes of the city over the past   council term uh two years. Uh in doing so, I want  to start by looking at what we currently have in   place, the goals and mission statement established  by the city council. So your mission statement   is the council outlining what the city's primary  purpose is and provides a reflection of the values   of the city council. Uh yours reads as provide  all citizens with highquality services in an open   inclusive professional manner ensuring a community  of progress and excellence now and in the future.   Um with that comes the seven goals that we're  going to walk through today. And when you look  

at the uh goals, as the manager said, these really  are the blueprint for everything we do as a city.   Each of our 13 departments use these goals uh as a  guide for what they do on a day-to-day basis. And   uh to review those really quickly, uh the first  one, enhance community engagement, safety,   wellness, and environmental responsibility. Second  one, deliver public infrastru infrastructure   improvements and execute existing opportunities  related to transportation networks, recreation   and parks, and storm water projects. Third, expand  the economic hub of Eastern North Carolina through   proactive, responsible economic development  and job creation. Our fourth one is building a   thriving and attractive community with affordable  access to vibrant neighborhoods. Expand artistic,   cultural, and recreational opportunities. Build a  high-erforming, diverse organization, govern with   transparency and fiscal responsibility, and tell  our story to the community and region. And then   finally, make Greenville a destination community  and a place for all people to call home. So, one   thing I will say before I start getting into the u  accomplishments and the actions taken uh by staff   is that so much of what we do is collaborative in  nature. So, what I've done is I've grouped them by   the goals and the actions taken by the city under  each goal. In the past, we've done it a couple   different ways. We've done it uh where we let  each department go through the things they did,   but really there so many things that multiple  departments may be involved in. And additionally,   there you're going to notice there several actions  and things that we've done that could apply to   numerous goals. And we've just kind of placed  them where we feel they're most relatable. So,   with that being said, as I go through these,  if you want to interrupt, certainly feel free   and I'll do my best to answer any questions. If  not, there are people in here smarter than I am   that can answer those questions. So, first  one, enhance community engagement, safety,  

wellness, and environmental responsibility.  So, we talk about safety, first and foremost,   public safety. And for our public safety  departments, we appointed new chiefs for fire   rescue and police. Uh, we added a new fire engine  at station two, and you can see the photo of the   push-in ceremony from that. And we increased  traffic patrols to make the road safer for all.   You'll hear more about those a little bit  later in your meeting tonight. A big one   was the establishment of the partnership with ECU  Health to seek the Duke Endowment Grant that would   uh provide for a medical training facility in farm  and pharmacy in North Greenville. Uh we hosted a   statewide GIS workshop uh called Hurry Up, which  uh was for hurricane preparedness. We also held   our annual trainings at the Emergency Operations  Center. And then not listed in text here, but you   can see on the page, we created a plan for crisis  communications, which we plan on enacting uh this   April when we go through our emergency operations  center training. H community engagement. So,   we raised more than $40,000 through our United Way  of Pit County uh campaign, the city's campaign,   and then our annual Operation Santa Claus  initiative that fire rescue uh kind of spearheads   uh I think a record this year, nearly $60,000 in  donations uh for Christmas gifts for local youth. We expanded our city's adopt a street program.  we've made more of an effort to reach out to those   that are signed up for the adopt a street program  to make sure that they are engaged and actively   uh doing what they agreed to do. Additionally,  we've uh done more to recruit other organizations   and groups to participate in the adopter street  program. Uh we've held our annual spring cleanup   of course the last couple years, hired the city's  first sustainability coordinator. And when it   comes to solid waste collection and disposal,  we have continued to follow the federal, state,  

and local regulations and guidelines set for that.  For the 36th year in a row, we were designated a   Tree City USA and once again held our community  tree day. Uh this past year, it was at Greenfield   Terrace Park and that's the photo uh that you  see there. We brought back the in good company   G. Well, we brought back the Citizens Academy,  but in a different form, and we branded it the Ing   Good Company Greenville Citizens Academy, which  uh started uh last February, ran for eight weeks.   Is that so? Sorry. And we'll start again two  nights from tonight uh on Wednesday for another   uh group of 22, I believe it is, to come in and  learn more about city operations. Once again,   continued our junior fire marshal academy. in July  held at station 7. Also continued our citizens   police academy and national night out over the  past council term has been moved to October   uh to as a you know way to encourage more  participation and and attendance for that. A   little weather's a little more bearable during  that. And then during fire prevention month,   certainly when you talk about community  engagement, that every day of October is typically   fire rescue engaged in some way with a local youth  group, schools, whatever it may be. Additionally,   uh we delivered community program at the outdoor  aquatic center for the Jackie Robinson Baseball   League and the Greenville Pal league. Uh we also  created a community engagement division in our new   uh community and development services department  and hired a community engagement manager.   Additionally, uh expanded participation in outdoor  exercise and wellness opportunities across the   city's park system, including seasonal wellness  walks, which tend to attract more and more city  

employees and GU employees. And then we went uh  offsite for our recreation and tried to bring   recreation to those areas that have limited access  to recreational opportunities. And we did that   through our wreck and roll mobile recreation unit,  which you can see some photos there of the wreck   and roll trailer and then some of the activities  that kids can be involved in as part of that. In January of last year, we hit a record number   of memberships for the aquatics and  fitness center with just over 5,000. Also began planning for the future, acquired land,  and began the design phase for fire station 8.   uh continued work to increase safety and security  in our parks and on greenways uh by developing   a wayfinding plan and collaborated with DOT and  other partners to add a pedestrian signal on Evan   Street and the new pedestrian hybrid beacon on  Tent Street near the ECU student center. And then   uh police and engineering continued their  collaboration with the traffic safety ta   task force which includes representatives from ECU  health do I'm sure I'm going to leave some folks   out too but uh you know I'll tell them where  yeah please um carrying on with wellness we   added a second licensed clinical counselor to  the employee health clinic to further support   support employees independence we held an RU  Okay. Day uh in partnership with ECU and other   community partners uh to promote mental health  awareness. And we enhanced our wellness program   uh program through more incentives uh to get  more employee participation uh in preventative   care screenings. Next goal delivering public  infrastructure improvements and execute existing  

opportunities related to transportation networks,  recreation and parks and storm water projects. I   think Lisa might have told you guys last workshop  or sometime that you wouldn't hear anything else   about build, but she was wrong because we  completed the build project and additional   resurfacing with some of the funds that were left  over from that. Uh we were able to resurface Green   Street and Reed Street as well. And there you  can see some of the images of the work done   uh as part of the build project. We also opened  the renovated Barnes Taff community building and   uh showed off the other improvements that  were made to Greenfield Terrace Park. Same   with the Dream Park community building  which was opened during the past term and then completed the Partiff project the and  the part of project and the boardwalk project   at Wildwood Park. Uh when you can see images  of there uh the part of project including the   uh restroom, the new playground facility uh  restrooms there. You can see the playroom in   the background and then the boardwalk  project as well there at Wildwood too.   Other progress made at Wildwood Park includes uh  receiving the $500,000 trails grant to complete   that boardwalk connection. Uh completed design of  a new accessible fishing pier to go on the east   side lake. And we began design uh to improve  access to the western parcel of Wildwood uh   to include driveway access, another parking lot,  and an accessible kayak launch and fishing pier. This is a big one. Uh increasing the annual  allocation for ADA sidewalk improvements by  

$200,000 uh with the plan to increase annually  by $200,000 until we get up to $1 million per   year. Also inspected more than 64,000 linear  feet uh equivalent of just over 12 miles of   storm water pipe using CCTV technology,  which is what we see uh pictured here. We are nearing the completion and I I'm not  positive could be done by now. This is from the   uh when this presentation was put together,  the completion of phase two of the public   works storm water pipe replacement  project. We also replaced or lined   uh 2370 linear feet of storm water pipe as part  of our 2024 storm water pipe repair project.   completed a stabilization project at Crooked  Creek Road. Began construction of the Corey   Road regional detention and stream restoration  project. Began design of the Trafalgar Drive   drainage improvements and began design of  East Fire Tower Road drainage improvements. The street rehabilitation and preservation project  was completed. Uh 46 total lane miles at $4.2   $2 million. And as you all probably  recall, that includes a few different   uh techniques for treatment  and uh preservation. A couple   of them pictured here. The crack  sealing, the microsurfacing, the   uh I think that's the rejuvenator. I don't  know. I believe that's what it is. Sounds good. And then another big one started the town  common bulkhead and esppod project. Uh the work   on that is has been ongoing and uh it's my  understanding that they did what they needed   to do before the moratorum on on construction in  the water. So we're in good shape as far as that  

goes. Uh downtown improvements also included the  merchants alley uh lighting and gateway there. And then we began the installation of shelters  and benches at bus stops uh throughout the city.   This is the one that's at uh government circle  here. Along with that, we uh helped facilitate   a land donation in the southeastern port,  the rapidly growing southeastern portion of   the city to serve as a park and open space for  the current and future residents in that area.   A few more under infrastructure improvements. Uh  executed a grant agreement for uh safe streets,   $500,000 for a vision zero action plan and the  demonstration projects. Also executed a grant   uh $400,000 multimmoal planning grant for  pedestrian plan. Began work on new offices for   the public works solid waste division. Acquired  the Dickinson Avenue facility for the streets   division. awarded a contract for the expansion of  our fleet bay and started the process of replacing   wayfinding signage throughout the city. Next  up, expand the economic hub of eastern North   Carolina through proactive, responsible economic  development and job creation. Continued our   support as a sustaining investor in the Greenville  ENC Alliance. A shell building was also completed   in the end park. Uh if you recall, Boviet Solar,  the addition of them to our community was also   during the past term. also NEPRO and the expansion  at attendance that's,100 almost 1,200 jobs and  

those numbers are too big but you see six seven  and some change 700 and some million dollars and   just and I just a note here Brock it really would  take a uh be worth a drive through the industrial   park to not only see the the completed shell  building 100,000 foot shell building and the   new building that Boat Solar has constructed  or is constructing adjacent to their existing   building. And then the NIPRO building as well  that's being uh constructed probably good well   over $500 million worth of capital investment in  that industrial park that will create that'll be   used to create those jobs. Big wins for our  community as far as economic development and   um all during the past term. also expanding the  economic hub. Uh we part partnered with some   local entities to hold uh the county GU to hold  public information sessions uh for the potential   development of an industrial mega site in North  Greenville. As part of that uh council approved   the sewer extension to the site and uh that's  going to include 300,000 acres that could be used   as potentially as the next industrial park here  in Pit County. And and also just to note this is   being uh shown under economic hub of eastern North  Carolina but just in the mega site um development   or these the first phase that's a lot of community  engagement went into that so it could have gone   into community engagement section and that's 3,000  acres this 3,000 acres there's a there's a good   10,000 plus acre tract over there but the first  developer no I know the answer but there might   be an extra might be a couple extra one extra  zero in. I saw that and I said, "Holy smokes." 30,000,000. Yeah. 3,000 3,000 300  3,300,000. What's the difference? Well,  

we're trying to make Disney go. All right, I'll  own that one. 3,000 acres for next industrial   park. Uh executed several initiatives  to help businesses in the downtown area.   Uh this has been a um big one with uh the  construction, the ongoing construction   that we've had downtown. That includes adding  additional parking and along Dickinson Avenue,   numerous social media campaigns where we were  doing everything from promoting businesses to   promoting how to get to the businesses and  navigate through the construction um and   helping them out uh with that. Add also additional  signage placed throughout downtown. We started the   Dickinson Avenue shuttle to help transport people  from uh just five points uh Evans um Fifth Street   area over to Dickinson Avenue. Our uh neighborhood  and business services department at the time   uh created the amazing race uh competition which  brought together teams of two and what they did   it was basically a scavenger hunt of sorts through  the downtown area, exposed them to the businesses.   We recorded that. We replayed the videos. That was  additional exposure for the businesses. And then   we also finalized the parking plan, the two hours  free parking uh within the past term as well. Um other other successes uh launched the small  business technical assistance program and   continued the match and market program uh where uh  we work with small business owners and hook them   up with students from East Carolina who help them  with their marketing needs. A win-win for both.   Additionally, we maintain support of workforce  development with our financial assistance of   $20,000 to the PI to pick community college  programs. We've maintained our small business  

resources on the city's website, which uh is  really a guide for anyone who's interested in   starting their own small business. It takes  them from the very beginning of things they   need to know on the front end to and guides  them through the process. Uh the MWBE mixing   meet was held once again along with other MWBE  initiatives and our own city manager that you   see there participated in the small business  town hall. That's a panel. Yeah, I was going   to say Mr. Manager, you were saying something  really profound there, I'm sure. I'm telling you,   I can tell by the look on the uh the person next  to me. All right, we'll move on. Over two years,   we generated uh the following and estimated  tax valuation. Through annexation, 668 million,   resoning, 730 million, and site plans, 659  million. Uh engineering reviewed and approved   14 public infrastructure construction plans,  95 sedimentation and erosion control plans,   and 33 storm water management plans. It is very  important to go and to go back to see that those   numbers are very well aligned 668 730 659 because  you know it's very important that you're going   through annexations and reszonings that's just not  sitting there these projects are moving forward. Next goal build a thriving and attractive   community by creating affordable  access to vibrant neighborhoods. Finalize the unified development ordinance.  Uh and we've been holding uh recently holding   public info sessions uh for that for both  developers uh local business owners and the   public. I got a lot of positive comments  on that. A lot of people told me we did a   really good job with that. So today wonderful  job wonderful job. We had a team all team.  

Next, another big one, launched the 50 and10  affordable housing initiative. And that was   launched with our initial partnership  with PCC at the location out off of   uh Fifth Street roughly. And you can see the  pictures from the groundbreaking there. We've   been tracking uh the progress of home construction  at PCC. We've been going out and getting photos   and video. And the idea is once you know once we  start getting some people in some homes we've got   a great story to tell from beginning to end of how  that all uh played out. Also a collaboration with   GU Pit County ECU Health and Private Donations.  Hey, can you give me that picture? I've never   seen Michael hold a shovel before. Like usually  they cut me out with that picture. So I'm like married. Wow. Wow. Our staff performed more than 20,000 building  inspections in 2025 alone and issued more than   20,000 total permits during the past two  years uh for 975 million tax valuation.   And we had also addressed approximately  6,500 code enforcement cases just in 2025. All right. Uh we organized the good  neighbor initiative once again which   is where we uh work with ECU and went uh  doortodoor through the truna neighborhood   uh discussing with students primarily students  who live there uh ways to be a good neighbor   and respect their neighbors and talk to them a  little bit about codes and that kind of thing.   We also worked with um the ECU Student  Government Association on a series of videos   uh related to renters's rights  and responsibilities. And we just  

started putting some of those out uh in the new  year. And I'm going to play one of them here. It might come in a little loud, but It's funny. This is That crazy The crazy thing is that  was in Michael's front yard. I I will say that SGA uh they Daniel from SGA has  been great to work with with this stuff. Um Seth,   I don't know if you even seen that one yet. Oh,  I've seen that one. I'm waiting for the trash   can to come out. I don't know. Okay, scrap that  one. Hey, peing our interest. Scrolling through,   right? Winners rights, uh parking, uh trash, uh I  mean parties in the backyard, not the front yard.   Mhm. Mhm. Yeah. We we'll talk more about that.  Uh also continued beautifification of the   downtown area through public works and downtown  Greenville partnership and you can see a photo of   the planters there which look great. Uh design  was started for improvements to Woodlon Park.   We got the uh grant for this uh year or two  ago and those uh improvements will include ADA   upgrades, new outdoor equipment and new playground  equipment. Additionally, our uh neighborhood and   business services department at the time won the  National Community Development Association SAS  

award for the work they did during community  development week. We provided tax credits   when you talk about affordable housing for two  developments, Turnberry Trace, Park Ridge Trace.   Additionally, we completed 25 uh rehabilitation  projects on uh homes over the past two years. We have now initiated our ondemand transit  service as of last week. Uh and a new pay system   also coming. And we've increased programming  opportunities at Wildwood, River Park North,   JC Park, and the greenways, etc. to include  traditional school groups, homeschool groups, and   other community groups. What's the reforestation?  Uh Council Member Scully, I don't remember. So,   I was trying to skip through that one to be  honest. So, we're working with public works.   We've got um a large number of lots we purchased  during flood. um right flesh and so we're trying   to take those lots back and give them back to  nature and so we're planting trees um around   perimeter been a big there's been a significant  effort to to love some trees over the last couple   years to expand our our canopy our canopy natural  great thank you and I apologize for trying to   speed over that all right uh expand artistic  cultural and recreational opportunities we've   continued our partnership with the arts council  at emerge for the down east outdoor sculpture   exhibition uh to place sculptures on city- owned  properties and other public art installations. Additionally continued our partnership  with the arts council and visit Greenville   NC for the first Friday art walk and  there has been a new trolley purchased   uh expected to begin use in  fall of this year if not before. We also completed our lighting  project at city hall which is  

part of the emerald loop. See that? That  looks really good. Uh started the emerald   market and holiday market. One of those  markets was held on Dickinson Avenue as a   way to try to bring people to that  area during construction as well.   We acquired the fire tower through u uh to be  used as part of a future art and lighting project. And then building high performing diverse  organization govern with transparency and   fiscal responsibility and tell our  story to the community and region. All right. So talk about organization. We approved  the transition to a 2472 schedule for fire rescue.   Uh this is another big one. Uh additionally  secured a cops grant to hire eight additional   police officers and we have graduated 21 and 22  uh fire academy 21 and 22. We've taken advantage   of diverse recruitment sources to reach qualified  active and passive job seekers. We sponsored the   job fair street summit in collaboration with the  daily drum media group which was a job fair held   at JH Rose High School I do believe. Um we have  uh provided more work site delivery of training   to uh help with employee access for that and we  initiated the comprehensive classification and   compensation study to ensure equitable and  competitive compensation for our employees. We also earned the government finance officers  association distinguished budget presentation   award. We were awarded the North Carolina  association of governmental purchasing sustained   professional purchasing award for the 17th  straight year. And we received the certificate  

of achievement in reporting for our caffer and  we were recognized for the paffer as well by GFO8 and we are finished we have u we finished up our  audit. You'll hear that next month in March with   with a very very successful audit as well. Can  we win another acronym that starts with we're   going to win another we're we're going to win  those awards all over again. Let's see if we   can add another one like the sapper. I don't  know what that is. I don't know what that is.   We've also launched our new city website and  uh upgraded the city's wireless network with   new high performance access points with advanced  security because we don't want hackers sneaking in   through the back door on us. We've implemented  a new core switches which strengthen overall   network performance and security and replaced all  enterprise servers at both primary and secondary   data centers. In our annual technology refresh,  we deployed 46 new desktop devices, 142 laptops,   31 printers, and 148 monitors. We also enhanced  our VPN platform and continued the no before   security training uh with 59 campaigns  in the past year. We all know them well.   We transitioned Munis and Intergov systems  to Tyler uh the SAS SAS platform. I like it.   That's a we're in the cloud now. Basically, I  like it. We uh implemented Ivante SAS platform   for IT service management to help them streamline  their support, increase social media followers and   engagement on all of our platforms and earn  the North Carolina city county communicators   uh excellence in communications awards. You guys  did a great job. Thank you. Mhm. Additionally,  

promoted and enhanced activities and programs  that boost employee recognition, engagement,   and workplace satisfaction. This includes  our service awards, our safety awards,   our employee appreciation day, our family day.  Uh we also earn the Sigma Healthcare Healthy   Workforce Designation. And then in honor of  Veterans Day, we recognize our employees who   currently serve or have served in the armed  forces. And then we continue our uh monthly   city beat radio program uh which is a partner  with partnership with Mark Woodson and five   prime media and that's played monthly on a  couple of different stations uh FM stations. Finally, make Greenville a destination community  and a place for all people to call home. Pirate   Fest. The award-winning Pirate Fest was held  once again uh in April of this past year. The   that's what these photos are from that event.  One thing we added to that were the boat rides,   which I thought was kind of cool, an opportunity  uh additional opportunity for folks down there. Uh   we entered into a lease agreement with ECU for  the North Recreational Complex and then bought   uh additional properties for the development of  a sports complex to increase our sports tourism.   continue to support the Little League Softball  World Series and I try to intentionally pull   some photos of staff working because there are  so many of us that are involved in this event   each year. Um, you know, the softball is just  a a part of it and behind the scenes there's a   lot going on to make it a success for everybody  that comes into the city. We also coordinate or   assisted with more than 70 different events.  Uh, Pirate Fest is listed again there,   but that includes everything from Sunday,  our annual traditions, Sunday in the park,   July 4th, Junth, uh, Festival of Fright  drew a record number of people this year,  

uh, youth arts festival, mentioned National  Night Out earlier, Special Olympics,   the new o the oyster roast that we held  for the first time this past year and, uh,   then helped also with doggy jams downtown.  Many others, as I said, more than 70 total.   We also continue to work with Visit Greenville  NC for the uh African-American cultural trail,   expanded our marketing initiatives to promote  Wildwood Park more regionally. And we hosted   the North Carolina League of Municipalities City  Vision Conference this past April, I think it was. finally uh continued our ongoing support of the  downtown Greenville partnership and we held our   first ever noon year's Eve event on uh New Year's  Eve uh this year which seemed to be a success and   uh I think there was a lot of people that would  like to see that type of event moving forward.   And that is all I have as far as a review of  successes. Now I'm going to turn it over to   you all. have any questions of Broner staff. So  that's where we have been for the last two years,   but you can't keep your feet still. We got to keep  moving forward. So uh we are proud to have with   us uh Joe Durham with the North Carolina League  municipalities here to help us walk through with   council exercise to formulate those goals and  priorities for the next two years. You might uh   many of you might already know Joe. He came to us  a couple of years to work through this process.   And I am just going to read just a little bit  about about Joe. Got to give you to lay down   on this fellow. So Joe is a North Carolina native  whose career spans over 30 years working in local  

government administration. He has served as county  manager in Wake and Edgecom counties and held   other key leadership positions in North Carolina,  including work in the private sector. Joe's public   service career began after earning his bachelor's  degree in urban and regional planning from East   Carolina University. Additionally, he completed  studies in municipal administration from the   University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and he  also holds certifications in EQI and MyersBriggs.   Uh Joe currently works as a senior consultant  for developmental associates and as mun municipal   operations consultant for the North Carolina  League of Municipalities. Joe actually served   with the city uh a long five six no seven or eight  years back at this point in time. Maybe five or   six. Yeah. As the interim uh the director for our  plane department and has just been a very great   guy for the city of Greenville and someone to help  lead us in the right direction. And so it's our   pleasure to have Joe back to help lead council  through this exercise. A couple of things is how   we'll do this. Joe's going to lead you through  the process. We also have on the the wall here   list of your current goals, priorities, and all  the achievables for the last two years. And then   Valerie and we're going to display the mission uh  vision statement, goals and purpose on the screen.   If there's any changes to it, then Valerie in  real time is going to be able to to key that   in as we go. So, so the true question is this  is the most important question you're going   to get asked the entire day is yesterday. Were  you pulling for the Pirates or the Tar Hills? Be the Pirates. I was going to say your loyalty is  in Greenville always. There we go. There we go. I   was going to say if you would have said both, then  I would have said, well, then you're the reason   that we tied yesterday. No ECU always. There we  go. A little bit. Hey, good afternoon. It is a  

pleasure to be here. Thank you very much, Michael.  Sterling introduction. Appreciate it. Also, Brock,   you did a great job of going through what  we've achieved over the last couple of years.   As Michael indicated, my goal here today  is to go through the goals with you. Again,   Michael's uh we've done a good job of talking  about the things that we've accomplished,   but let's go back and look at each one  of our goals that we have and look at   are there amendments that are needed or uh  are there additions that are needed? So,   those are things that we I want us to consider  going forward. Just as they know, I told my wife   that not to wait up for me tonight. So, I'll I'll  be here as long as you got Don't tell them that. Just just want you to be aware of that. All right.  Anybody got any questions? We get started. All   right. First one there is enhanced community  engagement, safety, wellness, and environmental   responsibility. Matt Brock has gone through  all of those accomplishments associated with   that. How how you feel about that one? We need  to add anything to it. Feels good. Again, we're   establishing goals for the next two years. Okay.  Enhance community engagement, safety, wellness,   and environmental responsibility. Does that get it  what we want to do? I don't know that I feel like   we necessarily need to add anything or enhance  it as much as I think we need to define what   community engagement actually is. Um, from what  I am seeing, from even what we listed as examples   in the presentation, uh, we think community  engagement is going out in the community and   telling the community about things that the city  is doing. When community engagement is actually  

incorporating the community in the decision making  process so that when decisions are being made,   they're being made with them. because we don't  make decisions that impact people without them,   then go tell them that it's for them. So, we  do that in the reverse. And so, that's just a   note. Um, no, I think that uh that council member  Foreman is right on target there. We we we should   be our goal as a city and then in the in the role  of the community engagement position that we just   did hire. Now, it it took a little bit longer  for us to hire that position and we won it.   Okay, let's just I'll be honest with you. It did,  but uh I I think it was valuable for us to find   the right person that we that we needed to be  in the position rather than just trying to go   through an exercise of filling the position.  This isn't like going through the motions,   but actually find that person that will integrate  themselves with the community and not necessarily   like you said tell tell the community what this  is what we're doing, but ask their input in that   process. And like you said, probably don't need  to adjust the wording, but as long as the staff   understands that that's what our goal is and  we're setting that tone, then we'll we'll be   moving in the right direction. You think that like  that could be added into like the job description   for that particular position? I believe that  it already it's been very it's been very clear.   Okay. And how long has that person been on board?  Less than three months. End of December. Yes. So,   have who is it? Have Have we Who is it? Who is it?  Adrian, you know, I'm better with faces, but the   fact that I'm not sure who that person is, that's  concerning to me. So, I just want to make sure   just like I asked you about the sustainability  coordinator. Um, having the opportunity. I know  

sometimes they'll come to city council meetings  and we'll say, "Hey, this is the new person." And   um but just having that opportunity for everyone  to be able to meet that person and you know very   good we can make that happen. Yes. Um, and then as  Mayor Pro Tim Foreman mentioned about those ideas   of what that engagement looks like because when  you mentioned about going out into the community   and telling them what it is that we're doing and  the contrast being them being able to share in   the decision making what that what that actually  looks like. Because for example, if they come to   a council meeting and speak in public comment  or they come and talk for or against a zoning,   that still doesn't get into being a part of  the the outcome and the decision that that   happens. It's it's voicing your opinion. It's  having your voice heard, but is it affecting is   it truly affecting the outcome that we want to  see? So, that's what I would be curious about.   something really specific about what community  engagement looks like from your vantage point   and people having an opportunity to affect the  decisions that happen in in the structure we have   right now. So for me from the vantage point from  actually serving the uh coming to council meetings   the community engagement that I think that that's  our responsibility as council to communicate with   citizens and maintain a consistent presence  and connection with them. so that as we're   making decisions, we're making sure that the  decisions that we make are a reflection of their   um their their thoughts and their hearts and um  impacting their day-to-day lived experiences in   a positive way. when with this when I think  about community engagement I am thinking   um uh say if we're starting an initiative or  um if RFQ was being written and or something  

like that and it's being done with uh being able  to deliver services to the community in mind uh   understanding that the experts don't sit at desk  that the experts are the people that are actually   living in the community. And so prior to putting  something together, going ahead and communicating   with citizens, getting their feedback and  making sure that whatever is put together   um uh or developed is done with their input. So  that way we're not say if it's a for example a   housing initiative um that we don't go and develop  a housing initiative for a certain community and   then go to that community and say hey look at  what I did give you some Hercules class. No you   go to that community first and say what do you  know what do you have in mind? What do you need?   Um what would you like to see? And then we put  that together and when we go back to them that   it is a complete reflection of what they know they  need in their community. And see I felt like there   were some initiatives that we did just that like  with the UDO when you're saying that you received   feedback about how well that happened and the  feedback that we got. There are multiple examples   of how we've done that. So that's why I'm trying  to dial down into what can be done differently. Um   because I'm trying to make sure I understand what  I think I think you're thinking about things like   the UDO which number one we don't necessarily 100%  agree on. I think we did a pretty um good job at   it. um and um and I felt like it was facilitated  um well, but I'm talking about really grassroots   communication in a manner that not with stuff like  the UVO, but with initiatives like 50 and 10 or  

the way that was developed the what spearheaded  50 and 10 was me going to a meeting and doing a   presentation on housing and giving them grassroots  perspective and the light bulb goes off and goes,   "Oh, well, we can do that and we can do it this  way." But it was from getting daytoday experience,   not functioning in a bubble where we're not  connected to what their day-to-day experiences   are and then saying we're going to develop that  and then also taking it back to something as big   as the UDO. when we do that making sure that the  room is has u a diverse amount of participation   um that there's a balance from community and  uh developers um now and we could talk about   that offline but I think our opinions kind of uh  differ a little bit with the balance of who was   on that board. I think that we eventually got to  the place where we needed to, but that was with   some conversation to get there. I'm saying that it  needs to be the mindset initially. Number one, and   I'm going to step in for a second. And I'm trying  not to take up too much time. No, no, no. This is   good stuff because the classic example that I  can think of in RJ, this touches home with you   or council member that I remember I recall maybe  two and a half years ago going out to uh your   community and talking about the community center  BET community center talking about we've actually   presented to the community this is what our plan  was to do and we basically left that meeting and   scrapped everything because it turned into it went  from turning in it it went from a communication to   the community this is what we're going to do  to us sitting back and and hearing the what  

And that is a perfect example. I was in that  meeting and so the staff had gotten together   and put together a nice little presentation, cute  PowerPoint and this is what we're going to do with   pictures and all of that and the citizens were  like you don't want that. Oh yeah, I actually I   took the front of it. So yes, I remember clearly.  But uh but I think that what you're what you're   talking about is making sure that we're if I'm  hearing you right that we're integrating that type   of thought into our decisions in every decision.  Absolutely. Because the bottom line is that   um we don't as council we don't work for the  city. Uh we work for the citizens and the staff   reports to city management. the city management  uh technically reports to us and we report to the   citizens. So everyone everything that we do is  should be with the citizens in mind and I always   talk about order of operations and putting people  first and we can't do that when we're you know   uh coming up with concepts without including  them. I can I completely agree. I just wanted   to make sure I understood what the  difference is in what we're already   doing and the improvements that we have already  been making and what you're requesting. Well,   the other thing is but I've been behind the scenes  the whole time. Whenever I see something then   u they'll tell you that I'll say hey had you  thought about doing this or you might want to   go talk to these people or let me bring these  this group in to talk to you before you finish   that. And so a lot of that has been happening  behind the scenes because I am so community   focused that I've been doing it behind the scenes  and bringing people in or connecting the dots from   staff to people in the community. And so yes, it  has been happening but it's been being initiated   um I'll say by and large by myself but I'm  saying it needs to be part of the mechanism   and thought process. Thank you Mr. Thank you.  I would I would almost make the recommendation  

that enhanced community engagement would  be its own goal. I think safety, wellness,   environmental responsibility seem to have a lot  in common, but and and community engagement would   inform all of the goals in my opinion. Um so  why why was that grouped together is what my   question? Yeah, we did it last week. I guessed  about it. It was me. Um, but I this conversation   I mean when I initially saw it it it just feels  like that is an important goal in and of itself   that would inform all of these goals and that  safety, wellness, environmental responsibility   seem to have a lot in common and that is I would  make that recommendation to have a separate goal a separate goal breaking that one out just  breaking that down into two separate goals   because enhanced community engagement I believe  is very important and informs all of these goals   and safety, wellness, environments, environmental  responsibilities seem to have a lot in common and   and you know is a is a wonderful goal in and  of itself. So it would be enhanced community   engagement goal. They would be enhanced safety,  wellness, environmental responsibility. I would   recommend Yeah, I don't know that we need the  exact same verbage. Okay. Um but but yes, that   that's my recommendation. Council members, other  thoughts, comments? I don't agree. Does anybody   disagree with that? I don't It doesn't bother  me. I mean, as long as there's the staff knows   that there's an emphasis on that, I think that's  what matters. The only the only thing that I the   only word that I would consider if you really  want to try to get at what the heart of what   um council member for was trying to say is  maybe put the word proactive in front of it.  

They proactively yes enhance community engagement  because that that proactive is the act of trying   to go out rather than like that. The only the  only thing I was going to mention too though and   I agree with what um mayor prom said um when we do  the engagement we've got to do it several times or   we have to offer it in different areas too because  I'll tell you from my experience of being on the   council people can sway a room and when they find  out things happened they could get a certain group   of people that could sway the entire opinion of  the city based off of their subset of people that   they want showing up at those things. I mean, I've  seen of I've seen us do surveys where we came out   where one group decided to send everybody to do  their survey and then we came up with this plan   and we realized that it was very loaded in one  direction. And so it's important that when we   have the engagement that we're not just setting  up one meeting and saying come to this meeting   and then ending it without getting any other  feedback from other areas of the the city or   from other groups of people because when we take  that we've got to digest all the feedback that   we get from each of those meetings and make sure  that it's all cohesive and it all fits together   and that everybody's been able to voice their  opinion on what it is. That's just my that's   my opinion cuz I've been at city council meetings  where we've had 10 people that have showed up and   they were all for that thing and then I'll go out  and I'll leave and they'll be like I can't believe   that you guys did that and I'll have more people  than what showed up at that meeting tell me how   bad the decision was and that's just just from  my personal experience. So when we have those   meetings, we need to be understanding that it's  just we can't take feedback from one meeting and   think that that's the direction from the the  the community. We need to make sure that we  

reach out to everybody in the community because of  ultimately everybody is a part of it and they need   to have a voice in it. I think that's why I think  consistent community engagement will do that.   I think that goes back to the proactive. You know,  I'd like to think that the the the process we use   for the uh the mega site I was really proud of  because we we we did exactly that. Matter of fact,   we went we went door to door and help and passed  out information flyers, not just relied on social   media, but doortodoor to make sure we got  the message out and then they had the option   whether they wanted to attend the meeting or not.  But at least we we were proactive to get that   message out across the whole entire community,  right? And we had different government bodies,   different entities that all sat there and  we had conversation with one another. And   so you had different groups that were able to go  ahead and communicate that. That's exactly what I   what I would say to add to the engagement part.  Okay. All right. Everybody good with that? Yes.   Got it up on the board here. Proactively  enhanced community engagement. You know,   that's a long way away. Is it enhance safety,  wellness, and environmental responsibility? Okay,   got it. Enhance. Enhance. Sorry. Enhance. Okay.  All right. Here we go. All right. Let's move on   if we can to the next one, which is deliver public  infrastructure improvements and execute existing   opportunities related to transportation networks,  recreation, parks, and storm water projects.   lots of activities that are associated under that  one. How about not deliver? How about complete? I mean, complete. Yeah. I mean, I'm just saying  we just need to get done. We need to get done.   And that that's more than just our road system.  I mean, that's our storm water infrastructure,   bike lanes, sidewalks, greenways, all that stuff.  I mean, we just need to get it done. Any thoughts?  

Need the word to prioritize? I'm looking for  something that's that you're just you you   finish something, right? Like I guess that's what  I'm looking for. Not so much prioritize because   that means that we make we know it's important.  Everybody knows it's important. My my big thing is   completing it. And it doesn't have to be complete.  I'm fine with with that. I just want to emphasis   that when we do something, it gets done right. You  know, I'm very proud of what we did with the build   grant. I know it took multiple years to do that,  but when the process actually started, it was   completed on time, on budget, and it was done very  well. Yeah, I will I I'm I'm prejudice in that   because I'm very proud of the work that we have  done to make sure that we deliver the projects   that we're able to deliver and do them on time. I  you know, there's all kinds of different ways that   you can take this because public infrastructure  does go beyond the span of just what we do here   within the city itself. But I hear what you're  saying. I think it should be important that we   not only define the needs and we execute on them,  but we got to do it in a and these people know it.   We we stress that it's completing it completely  on time. And and and if I could say just briefly   that that is an example of community engagement  also because I thought the bill grant was great   but there were some little things in there that if  there had been some proactive community engagement   and of course you guys got those funds long before  we were ever that that that but if there had been   some proactive community engagement there's some  things that could have been tweaked that would   have made citizens happier. uh like uh and I think  I shared with some of you guys down Fifth Street,   you know, we have people complaining that, you  know, you have one side of town and you know,   mayor's not here. We want bike lines back um  bike lanes all over the city. Um and that's nice,  

right? Uh but um putting bike lanes in front of  someone's home, right? Right. And um it because   nobody communicated with them while it was being  planned and then them wondering why my uh guest   can't park in front of my home anymore. They don't  have any other parking and and and that's a great   example in that one case. But I'm telling you to  see to the council, we're getting ready to see   a large impact on that across multiple projects  because all these DOT projects that are getting   ready to move forward in the next two to three  years, the municipal agreements on how those   projects were designed date back to 2015. And just  think how much our city has changed since then.   Even the Dickinson Avenue project that is getting  ready to be completed if it had to go back and do   it all over again would be completely different  from the what way it looks right now because the   the the city has changed. So just put that out  there. I mean that is what it is. But though   that that was set into motion 10 plus years ago.  That's the importance of completing and that's out   of our control right those are out of our control.  we can go ahead and lobby as much as we want to,   but when we're not we're not writing the check  ourselves and the state's writing the check,   that's up to them. But I to me that is just and  you know I could care less about Wordsmith and   everything. But to me, you know, that's a big  priority to me is making sure that we get those   things done because the health of our community  for the from a growth standpoint depends on our   infrastructure. I mean, it really really does.  it it if we don't get projects done and we don't   bring them to fruition, the city's not going to  be able to sustain the growth that we're going   to see and we're going to see a tremendous  amount of growth and it's important for us   to prioritize that. I really even this  will be a discussion for another time,   but we we need to put more money towards our  our road infrastructure projects. I mean,  

we get about $3 million from the state for our  power bill funds and we probably need to add a   larger allocation annually to that to be able to  keep up with it. I mean, I I don't know how much   we need because I I haven't looked at, you know,  the CIP report that we have, but we probably need   to be close to $5 million or more in that.  And that's a big chunk of change, you know,   as well as I know is trying to find $2 million  to make up that gap. And I think we're I think   we're what 3.4 million or something like that. So  $1.6 million. But still, that's a lot of money to   come up with out of our budget. Okay. I I think  I don't know if this part well it is part and   parcel but we say complete public infrastructure  and if you go look at the DOT's projects their   priorities East North Carolina is a redheaded  stepchild that doesn't offend anybody by saying   that but what I mean is we're not getting our  priority we need to work on not just completing   the projects but we need to work on figuring  out how to to build more effective relationship   ships with DOT and those responsible DOT so we  don't get jerked around on our projects and you   know and I can't what I can name five things that  we've done with DOT that been a headache you know   from this Dixon Avenue fiasco to all that kind  of stuff so that we have some accountability to   get these things done because it's crazy I mean  what that 10 years project 11 got funded what 10   or 11 years ago long before I think any of us were  here except maybe Connley is only one all the rest   of us weren't even on this thing when that project  got funded and started and and then like the other   day um you know somebody comes to work and the  pro their parking lot's being torn up we got to   have a better better leaison and relationship  with DOT and we can either do it by trying   to be nice and working or we got to go play the  politics and and get some people held accountable  

uh not just for getting things done but letting  us know when things are going to get done or when   a project's coming so we can communicate to the  public like hey I was on the phone coming over   here like you know it'd be nice to be able to say  okay well you know council forman I hate this for   your business but we're going to be telling  your parkland up in about 3 weeks but this   is what we're going to do to try to mitigate the  the damages to you to have better communications   so that not only we trying to do a better job of  completing the infrastructure projects but have   better communications with our public members  so that we don't have to get these phone calls   that are panicking like what are we going to do  about the parking lot being torn up or what being   what the mayor was saying is again that goes right  back to community engagement and um and that that   has been happening by the way behind the scenes  um but um and and we have Allen Row for example   um I asked for timelines and um and Michael's been  working with them to try to get a timeline so that   we could communicate with citizens um but um you  know again we need to put some fire under them at   the state level because they don't necessarily  have that level of a timeline so I agree with   you wholeheartedly that is community. I'm sorry.  No, you're fine. It goes back. Yes, sir. I think   I think so. And that's just besides completing  this just a frustration of lack of communications   or their channels and we're getting better, but I  mean to me it's like this is some of this stuff is   ridiculous that we're not getting communicated  with better particularly for citizens that are   inconvenience by I mean for those like I sit in  my neighborhood. It doesn't inconvenience me. But   but you know for somebody's down on Dixon Avenue  that's losing revenues because of it. I mean we   got to figure out how to do better. And as I drove  down Dixon, coming down here to for this meeting,   I just thought the people in there that that are,  you know, working, you know, month to month trying   to make a living and and they're having problems  and some of it is some lack of communication,   not necessarily because of us, but we need to do a  better job and I think that goes hand in hand with   completing the public infrastructure. Okay. Thank  you for letting me go. That's okay. I'm part.

All right. So that would be one of the  activities that you will include under your Okay,   good on that one. All right, let's move on to  the next one. I remember spending some time on   this one last time. Expand the economic hub  of Eastern North Carolina through proactive   responsible economic development and job creation.  So lots of activities under there. Uh I think it's   happening and um uh with all the efforts that  were listed in the presentation from Brock,   that is definitely happening. I think that um  we need just just a note that we need to add to   that is once they get here that we need to make  sure that we're holding them accountable for not   just existing in our community, but being part  of our community um and um working conditions. How do you propose that we do that? Because I  remember going and hearing some of the concerns   from um employees at Bobette, but once they're  here, it's it's kind of like okay because we are   me sending the message that this is the addition  that we wanted. We courted them. They're here now.   They're providing 900 jobs. They are expanding.  Um, but how do you balance that with, okay,   but the working conditions are not what we'd like  to see? How what's the chain of command there? Cuz   I I I chain of command is proactivity yet again.  And so um so there were a couple of things that I   mentioned when um uh the presentation for Bobette  came to council. number one that um you know we   were really really excited about the average  salary being $53,000 a year if I remember that   correctly was somewhere in that range. I didn't  care about the average salary because that could  

be skewed by who's making the most. So I was  I was concerned about the minimum salary and   that has now since um increased. But the other  thing is that we could put in the agreements   um what that that a minimum percentage or  something of the people that get jobs come from   our area because if they're if we're um excited  about bringing them here and then a good portion   of the people are traveling in from work then  you know where was that workforce development   and economic development for us locally  when we've got people that need jobs. So   um that but also what we expect working conditions  to be um you know um do we want do can it be put   in the agreements that the warehouses need  to be air conditioned like can we say what   we expect working condition conditions to be and  have that in the agreements proactively now can   we not we can't go back and do that with Bobette  we can't go back and do that with Nero but we are   growing by leaps and bounds and so moving forward  forward just keeping those things in mind and   um and learning from the experiences that we've  had before. Right. No. And and that's what that's   what I know because in being I think it was a  tour that Senator Smith set up and being in the   factory and seeing how hot it was and Yeah,  you were there and just kind of being like,   okay, I don't I don't see myself going to Michael  to talk to him about this because what what can   he do about it? Well, and a lot of that is u is  governed under the state code of building code,   but you do have your authority is if you offer  an incentive. So, it's it's in that incentive   contract. If that developer wants that incentive,  then they'd have to abide by the contract you have   within that. But that's a that's a that's a give  and take a negotiation. Well, I was going to say  

the only thing I would caution to that is is that  that's kind of a a business decision. I mean,   if somebody's going there and it's really hot,  the average person is not going to stay there   and work there, right? That's a decision that  the business that's a that's the business owners   and that's a to me it's a state that's a state  matter that they need to I mean, if we want to   start changing stuff at the state code, then then  yeah, we we can't control we can't control that.   But what what the the incentive package is what  I was talking about but there are people because   they don't have any other options that yes they  will they will stay under horrible conditions um   because they don't have any other options. But I  mean are they boian got horrible conditions there?   No. No. And Ginger don't you be writing don't  listen to that and be writing anything down that the warehouse is very hot. No. And I don't mind  that. I don't say anything that I don't mean to   say, but we were invited there and there  have been and what I did is I took that   uh another step and I did not just look at  Boette after we went after we were invited to   um uh take a look at the facilities for working  conditions. We did learn that there was no heat   in the warehouse and you know our summers now are  Hades. You mean no air conditioning in the in the   warehouse? Uh-huh. There's no air conditioning  in the warehouse. And so, you know, there were a   couple of other things that were happening. But  what I did after we went there was I actually   checked into some of our other businesses in our  community and that was kind of conservative that   there was no that's a state matter, right? Yeah.  that would and but we've got people working under   those conditions and so um that's something that  we do need to be having conversations. Any type  

of hook the city would have in that would be in a  economic development incentive that would offer to   them but you can't but our but our incentives are  jobs grants. Well, I was going to say it's minimal   compared to what the state offers. Right. That  is right. Right. So I mean I think our maximum   is what $150,000 $1,000 a year five years at max  whereas like a boette you know but I do believe   it $30 million packages over a certain period  of time. I mean I I mean I feel for the workers   right I mean I totally they don't want to live in  or work in terrible conditions but to me that's   a that's a direct reflection of the company if  that's the way that they treat their employees.   Well, I'm not even I'm being careful about that  with saying terrible. That it is definitely with   again the way our our climate and all of those  things um are evolving that it it is it's not   good conditions. Well, and I don't you know, and  this is something else I guess we would just have   to keep in mind. What is the the building code?  And I know we don't have that answer here because   we don't have our chief building inspector or  anybody that can communicate on that, but that   would be something that we probably would have  a conversation with Warden Smith as far as hey,   maybe this is a priority for us is making sure  that living or working conditions are at a higher   level. And again, if if if working conditions was  um to that level of importance to the council in a   future company coming to the city of Greenville  or within our ETJ, then that would be something   that you could potentially look at as part of  the incentive contract. But yeah, and we could   also raise that as a concern maybe within the  building code, but it would have to be studied   beyond just the I mean it would be something we'd  have to study in connection with the building code   itself. I think when you negotiate and you say,  well, your workforce has to be X percentage from  

Greenville or Pit County, I'm bad. But if  you start saying, well, you got to have air   conditioning, and you start micromanaging, then  people like, I don't know about that. I mean,   but I'm all down with it. We want a percentage  of people to be from this area because that's   why we're giving you the economic extended because  you're going to hire local people. I'm right. So,   that's why we honed in on that piece and I think  they're both equal, but we definitely it needs   to be the the working conditions. I feel um  passionate about that, but definitely making   sure that a minimum percentage of the people are  hired from our area if they're going to be here.   In that discussion, be careful though. We may not  have the workforce available here, right? We may   not depending on how the growth you can set it up  to say absolutely here first. If not, you can't   fulfill it here. Then you go out. That I was going  to say that's fine. I just be careful because we   may not have the workforce currently available.  If you go out to some of those industries right   now and ask them, can they find people that  can can work there? They cannot find them,   right? I mean, that's the number one thing that  I I learned when I did a industry tour was that   they cannot find people in our community that  can come and work in those in those industries.   And that's the struggle. And so, I want people  from our community, but I don't want to also   handcuff them where they cannot go out and  actually get people to work there. Of course,   we want everybody in our community to  benefit first, right? No doubt in my mind.   But we just want to be careful when we have those  discussions that we're not we're not putting them   in a a position where they cannot be successful.  And I agree, but that goes back to being proactive   and planning and workforce development. If we know  that like with Bobette, we knew they were coming   long long enough ahead of time that some things um  could be put in place. And actually, we discussed   that um we met with them before they opened. But  anyways, I digress cuz we got a meeting in 35  

minutes. Okay. Yeah. 7. Is the meeting at 7? It's  not 6. Oh, okay. Okay. Hi. 67. There you go again. Eastern North Carolina. I feel fresh. Anything  else? I'm sorry. I would make a comment that um   I appreciate everything we're talking about,  but just to I think a more a better way to go   about would be to make sure that the business  practices are are sustainable and equitable for   for the workers. I don't think we're going to get  anybody to install air conditioning into a giant   warehouse, but I think we can make sure that  the employees are being treated with respect   and give them proper breaks and give them fans  and water. And I I don't want them. And I think   I'm speaking from my personal experience as a  person that runs a restaurant. Um and it's very   hot and I don't it's not apples to apples. It's  different. It is very different. Um but there's   also other industries where agriculture other  types of industry where people are are working   long days in hot terrible conditions. And I and  I and I don't know how to change. I don't I'm not   saying that's a good thing, but I'm just saying  I don't we're not going to get people to install   air conditioning into these warehouses, but how  can we be advocates for their employees to make   sure that they're being treated with equity?  Um would be I don't know. I don't know that I I   agree with that. I just don't think that those are  good work working conditions. And it boils down to   uh I don't want to say I mean really greed. I  mean, because it it's profit. Those are profit   decisions. And so, it's it's where your priorities  lie and where you want your profit margins to be.   So, are you um with with companies that are  bringing in millions of dollars to add that um  

there might be an initial cost, but um it could be  it could reduce expenses in other areas. And so,   you know, that's that's kind of managing expenses  as far as I'm concerned and what you're willing to   invest in to make sure that people are working  under good conditions. And again, you know,   our summers now are like are hot as Hades, you  know, and so um working in an enclosed space   um and under those conditions and I don't want  to regurgitate everything that we learned when   we went there, but you know, people passing out  and that kind of thing. No, that's unacceptable.   I totally agree. Um, but doing things, we're  not going to get them to install air condition,   but I think there's ways we can be advocates for  them moving forward. And I I agree working on this   with other businesses coming to the area would be  a very good thing, but you're saying what can we   do for them now, you're already here. Do we want  to change the It says expand the economic hub of   East in North Carolina. Why don't we say we expand  the economic hub of Greenville through proactive   instead of eastern North Carolina? I think I  saying we are the hub of Yeah, I recall that   conversation and we said yeah we were the hub.  That's not what I said. No. Yeah. Okay. Expand   Greenville as the economic. So expand Greenville  Pit County as economic hub of Eastern North   Carolina. Can can I just be cautious about that?  The whole purpose of us creating the ENC Alliance   was that we were not just Greenville centric  because we identified that any growth or any wins   that we see in Pit County is a win for Greenville,  right? Because ultimately some of those people   are going to live in Greenville, some of those  people are going to live in Farmville, some people   all the other communities, right? But they're  going to spend money and they're going to help   our businesses here and they're going to help us  grow as a community. And so I would just be very  

cautious with that because the whole purpose of  the ENC Alliance was to make sure that we weren't   just focusing on it because there's been a lot  of bad blood over the years about how everybody   wants to do their own thing, right? We had our  economic development department, the county had   theirs and it was very tough for us to get to the  same level where we're all operating together. So   my only caution with taking that out is is that  the whole emphasis of when we created the ENC   Alliance was that we were going to be unified and  not separate and operating in silos like we have   for decades. So you feel like Greenwolf Pit County  then? I mean yeah I mean for the most part I mean   I you know I I don't like drawing lines you know  a lot. I mean I just I think anything in Eastern   North Carolina is a good thing. I mean, this is  my personal opinion that if we get anything, even   if it's over the Green County line, P County Green  County line, I mean, it's still a benefit benefit   for us because those people are going to come into  Greenville because Greenville is a more urban area   than some of the more rural areas. And so, they're  a lot of their needs are going to be met by coming   here. Griffin's a great example of that. You know,  there's part of Griffin that's in Leno County. And   for the longest time, I don't know if it's the  case now, they had no grocery store. So they're   coming into Pit County to be able to buy their  groceries and they may be taking those groceries   back out into Leno County. So I'm just saying  that was the emphasis that we had when we decided   that we wanted to create a collaborative process  for economic development. Are there thoughts? So   the just to say council, what's your what's your  wish? Take stay in take green pit county back out. I'm fine with Greenville Pit County. Yeah.  Pit you okay with pit and grieval grieval   and pit. Greenville pit. I think that's fine.  How does that sound? I kind of like the way it  

is. Okay. You say way it is the existing  language. I think um to the mayor's point   it's kind of like what what's our authority  and what's our goal? Our goal is we want to   work with Pit County commissioners to to bring  jobs here to Pit County and Greenville. I mean,   we don't have any say so what happens over in  Lenor or Green or Bford, but obviously we want   to drive Greenville and Pit County and and since  we're the Greenville City Council, we want to work   with Pit County and that's what the NC is about.  It's about bringing jobs here to Pit County, not   the Green County, not Lenor, not the Boer, Martin  Hyde. It's about bringing jobs here so we can be   the focus of East North Carolina. Of course, that  that drives economic development elsewhere, too. But I I get the mayor's point like we don't  want to cut out Pit County because we worked   so hard to work with Pit County. So, I we  definitely if we're going to have something,   we need to definitely have Pit County as  a part of of that. I think you say working   with Pit County is economic hub. I think that  says what ENC's what's the NC's goal? Is that   their goal likewise? It's P. Yeah. I mean, I  just I my only my only hesitation is is that   I mean I would keep it as broad as you possibly  can. And the only reason I say that is is we   want as many partners as we possibly can. I  mean I've seen it. I've I've gone to Raleigh,   I've gone to DC. And when you lobby, when you  lobby together, you have a lot better chances   of getting what you want as opposed to when you  are operating in silos. I mean that mega site is   a is a multi- municipality county um endeavor  right I mean that's pretty regional no it's

ultimately it's from other counties right then  and the other the other thing that part of   the discussion that we had is ultimately when  you look at eastern North Carolina who do you   think it's going to probably benefit the most of  eastern North Carolina in our region. Most likely   it's going to be Greenville, right? Because we've  got a lot more here. I mean, Greenville's I mean,   Pit County is just over 200,000 people.  Greenville is about 100,000 people. So,   we're about half of the county's population,  total population. And then if you look further   out in some of the more rural areas, those  numbers are pretty sparse. And so most likely   we're probably going to be the recipients of  anything good economic development wise that's   going to come into our area. I just my only  hesitation is is you want it to be as broad   as possible. And so um like let's use the mega  site for example that is the next 50 years plus.   I've been I've been consistent in saying that  for for Pit County, but whenever I've talked to   people about the the mega site, specifically when  we were in these community engagement sessions,   my point the my point to to the community was  is that the areas that have the greatest benefit   from that mega site is the Martin County, it is  the Leno County, it is the the Bertie County,   it is the Booker County because that's going to  create the hub of of industry within Pit County,   but it's going to be bringing in people from  all over from other counties to work there. So,   that's it is while it's in Pit County, it is a  stimulus to the other counties as well because   they're going to work here. They're going to  go back to their communities and they're going   to put money back into the Martin counties and the  Illinois counties. So I think that's kind of where   the mayor's coming from here is the fact that yes,  I mean it while the physical location of industry,  

what we're fighting for may be Greenwood Pit  County, what we're trying to do is create a   stimulus for all of Eastern North Carolina because  the reality of it is not everybody's going to live   here. They're going to they're going to travel  30 miles from all these small destinations to   be able to come here. And a great example of that  is look at Wake County. You're well aware of that.   Wake County has 1.3 million people in it, right?  It's the most populous county in the state and   Greenville's at 200 220,000 people roughly. You  know, at some point as as we continue to grow,   people are going to move outside of Pit County,  right? I mean, ultimately, that's where they're   going to have to go. You can't you can't keep  pushing everybody back into Wake County, right?   at some point they've got to go out and you'll see  some of the more rural areas especially I think up   in the in the northern part above Wake County some  of those are more rural and I think some of them   will probably eventually be able to benefit from  that growth that Wake County seeing and so I think   ultimately the same exact thing you know another  example of that is is that we could potentially   have somebody that's in the a industry that  wants to locate here and ultimately a lot of   those people that are going to benefit from an  a centric business locating here are going to   be in the more rural areas and they might be in  Martin County, they might be in Green County,   they might be in Lenor County and and one more  this is supposed to be y'all's discussion so I'm   trying not to to insert myself into it too much  but even tonight with the Intersect East project   a a a major focus of that is a artificial  intelligent um hub centered around job   skills training, workforce development for all the  community colleges in the region of Eastern North   Carolina. It's not just Pit Community College, but  it's the Bowford, it's Lenors, it's the Martins,   all working together in that 29 county region  of Eastern North Carolina to while the the focus   may be here in in Greenville at Intersect East.  That's where the the the program will be located,  

it's still driving off of the collaboration from  all these community colleges around Eastern North   Carolina. So I think that's where that that  was the purpose of saying the economic hub of   all of Eastern North Carolina. It is here, but  our our goal is to support all of the economy   of Eastern North Carolina, not just Greenville  County. And and I say all this stuff, I'm just   trying to give some history because I' I've been  on the council now. This will be my 11th year,   two years on the council member and my ninth year  as the mayor. That's where we came from, right?   That's the emphasis that we had. I had meetings  with county commissioners and had discussion   about economic development when we first started  and we would sit there and I think Michael you   might have been in that meeting when we I was  I think it was Glenn Webb. We had that meeting   right after I first got elected and we were like  man what we're doing right now is not working.   We're what we're doing is you're doing your thing.  We're doing our thing. We're going up to Raleigh.   We're we're telling them that we want economic  development in Pit County and you're asking for   something. I'm asking for something and they're  both just like we don't we don't want to help,   right? We don't we're not going to do it when you  guys aren't even on the same page. And so being   as broad as we possibly can is just my opinion  probably the best win for us. We're going to win,   right? We we've got the majority of the people  that are in Eastern North Carolina living right   here in Greenville. Um and so I'm not saying that  we're we're trying to go ahead and put an emphasis   on helping Wilson out, right? Uh but ultimately  anybody in our region, anybody else in our region   is going to benefit, but it's still going to be  a benefit for Greenville. There's there's so many   different ways. One of the things that we had said  too, you know, a lot of the development that we're   seeing, you know, with Boant, with NIPRO, with  some of the other ones, they're not even in the   city limits. So like when you look at it, you're  like, we're not going to receive any avalorum tax   revenue off of it because they're not in the  city limits. But we're also going to receive   sales tax revenue. Those people are going to buy  houses in in in Greenville. they're going to be   able to provide some of our growth. Um, so those  are the things that I think that we have to look  

at. And even though a something's not going to  locate in in Greenville, if it's in Farmville,   not everybody's going to live in Farmville. They  may not have the inventory to be able to house   everybody in Farmville. They're going to want to  live in Greenville. They may want to be in a more   a larger city. So when we put up those barriers,  we're we're basically just putting ourselves in a   silo and not allowing the growth to take place  in eastern North Carolina which will benefit   Greenville in general. When you say economic  hub, that's a location. So what do we want to   be here in Greenville Pit County? I want us to be  the place in East North Carolina. And I can tell   you right now, Washington ain't worried about  Pit County. They're getting their $10 million   for airport. We got zero. But North County ain't  worried about Pit County Green. Well, they got   their $12 million for the community college. We  didn't get that money. I mean, cuz they're looking   after Lenor County. They're looking after voter  can. That doesn't mean we can't pull from those   counties. But, and I agree with you, the part that  we've suffered from in Raleigh is we didn't have   the unity of the county commissioners and the city  council working together so we're unified. But I   think if we've got Greenville and Pit County, we  can't sit there and go, well, let's okay, how far   do we go? Do we go Berte Bertie Edgecom? Do we  go to Washington County? Do we go to Hive County?   Did we go to Terrell County? How far out do we  go? I mean, you can't I mean, we need to be the   hub and let the folks come out. And the hub is Pit  County and Greenville. And the things we put here   are going to be the economic drivers that bring  people from outside the county here that want to   work here, live here, raise their kids here. Those  kinds of things bey. So, I think in some regards,   we need to define what it is and not just say,  well, expand the economic hub. Does that mean we   go to work for Bowford County, Barton County, Hyde  County, Terrell, Edgecomb County, you know, Wilson   County? They ain't worried about us. Look at what  they're doing with their base. I mean, I'm saying   in one sense, we need to be the economic hub.  And who is we? Greenville and Pit County. Okay.   That's why I say define it that way. But it's also  our goal. It's it's the Greenville City Council's  

goal. I think if by that logic, you'd have to put  Greenville Pit County in every one of these goals.   I don't know. Um I I just think not not naming  the expand the economic hub and then people tell   me where the economic hub is. If they don't know  they're not from here then. Yeah. But you know   well anyway I just I my my suggestion is I mean  I would leave it as broad as you possibly can   because we want the whole emphasis of creating the  Greenville Alliance was to get everybody involved.   It was supposed to be a collaborative process.  Kind of going back to the community engagement   piece. You want everybody at the table having a  voice. And that's why we had all those meetings   where we brought everybody in so they could have  a discussion and understand because the biggest   emphasis for the longest time was Greenville  just wants to do their thing and they just   want to be the ones that are are getting all the  wins. I'm just telling you that was that was the   the conversation that I had with so many people  is that it's just Green. Greenville wants to do   this. And that's when we started to split and it  was not good. I'm just telling you the history.   Okay. So we say currently we've got expand  Greenville Pit County is the economic hub of   Eastern North Carolina. Is that good for us right  now? That's not what I'm hearing. I'm hearing   different opinions. Well, you facilitate. No,  you come on. you're facilitating what I'm hearing   different I'm hearing different opinions. I hear  um Mayor and Matt saying they like the original   uh verbiage. Um I think the original verbage  does encompass that. I don't know. I I didn't   hear where it wasn't saying that. Um but um but  yeah, I didn't I didn't hear anything definitive.   Okay. All right. You know, as a facilitator,  you put stuff out there and see what sticks.

Who likes a new Who likes a new wording?  I think you got to start picking people.   Raise your hand if you like the new  wording. I like the new wording. I   don't think it makes a difference. Who  Who likes the old wording? Raise your   hand. I didn't think it made a difference.  AJ hit on something. I think it it's a word,   but it shouldn't change the way we  execute how we try to build relationships.   It shouldn't it should say that how we execute to  build the rel I think that's a great point is that   we still need to execute to build relationships  with not just county coaches but Griffin and all   these smaller towns because I think I suggest  one point all the mayors need to be coming in   and meeting with us and their members and stuff  but I I like the idea but I I'll end it there.   Okay. What I'm going to say is as we hold this  one right now I'm going to come back. All right.   you think about a little bit more and move  on to the next. Did everybody vote? I mean, we had we had three people that  voted for the new language and   then I guess we had one person that abstained and abstension counts with the motion, right? Yeah.  Let's go to the next topic. Maybe we'll find   better ones to come out. I think I think we  got four. Yeah. One point that supports the   broad language of all of Eastern North Carolina  that hadn't been discussed is that Rainbow is   definitely the hub for medical care. You know,  if you're a Martin County, Green, you got to   come here if you need a surgery unless you go the  RTP or something. So, it's definitely the hub for   Eastern North Carolina in that respect. We're  the hub period. That's right. We are Easter.   something that supports the broader language  standard. Thinking like an attorney, right?   Broader language. Sure. Okay. I want to come  back to this one. I love I love our staff. All  

right. Next one. Build a thriving and attractive  community by creating affordable access to vibrant   neighborhoods. Love it. Does that sound good? Love  it. Sounds great. Well, this one this one when we   did it when we did it two years ago um we were not  uh we were not clear about affordable housing and   um and so we said affordable access instead of  affordable housing. Now mind you we have made   affordable housing a priority. Um but um I think  that affordable housing and um and I don't even   know with this substandard issue we're dealing  with right out of my mouth, right? Um I don't know   if that's you know um something that can we can  we add something on to that about you know clean   um basically not substandard housing clean safe  like a quality or something. Yeah, like a Yeah,   I don't know. That might that might not be the  word for it, but something of that nature. Mhm. No, access does not mean um even affordable access  does not necessarily because affordable housing is   affordable housing. That's a need. And you know,  we went around the mberry bush on that two years   ago and settled on access rather than affordable  housing. Um but the other thing is um I know that   um we both are very very passionate about  and I think the three of us are passionate   about making sure that we're addressing these  substandard issues also meaning meaningful   affordable housing meaningful meaning affordable  I'm just trying to think what encompass a lot of   things quality condition quality how about  high quality affordable housing with quality  

conditions. Meaning quality affordable  creating affordable access. Right now   we're creating affordable access to vibrant  neighborhoods. So what would you add to that? Can you set this up as review? Yes. There  you go. So we can see what's changing. I   just don't know how to word. word that  and fit that in there without changing   the hole. You were going to be thinking the  same thing, right? You're the student, man. If you look at the all the activities that  you have under there that we talked about   related to those housing code enforcement,  all those things are being addressed. You're   doing building inspections. You're creating  affordable housing with your activities by   creating meaningful access to affordable and  vibrant neighborhoods. Is that covered? Maybe   by creating repeat that neighborhood by creating  uh meaningful access to affordable and vibrant   neighborhoods. I don't know if you injunction  maybe. Yeah, that it's it's yeah, it's subjective   and it's it's just not direct. I mean, we we need  we need to make affordable housing and and again,   we went around the Marberry Bush on that two years  ago. We need to make affordable housing a process   and stand um a priority and stand on it. Um but  the other thing is that we need to be addressing   the substandard conditions that people are living  under in Greenville. Um building is and I think   that needs to be a priority access to that is  in writing. Things are happening but it needs   to be in writing. affordable access to vibrant  neighborhoods for all citizens all over the place places to the focus here is afford affordable  housed right affordable access to vibrant  

neighborhoods for all vibrant doesn't really we  were just talking about that that I want to be   called out called out directly in this absolutely  instead of just saying vibrant I mean you can you   can call vibrant whatever you want it to beh like  this. And so and and we're dealing with both of us   are dealing with issues like that about minimal  housing standards. I think what I think what I'm   going to start using y'all's name Seth and Tanya  are talking about somehow using the word account   accountability. Absolutely. That's the word that  I think I'm trying to find a way that you CM what   Marian used to hate when you say CM CM Seth trying  to find a way to account because that's what   you're aiming at. Absolutely. That that we need  to number one we need accountability and again   uh we need to explicitly state that affordable  housing is a priority and that in addition to   affordable housing being a priority that we  are going to make it a priority to address   these subst standard conditions. Under law, the  term for that is usually having I don't think we   need neighborhoods in there at all. I never agree  with neighborhoods being in there at all. Well,   if if you want to put them on notice, if that's  kind of an emission statement, so to speak,   like the legal ter terminology is so like I know  that's kind of clunky in regards to like a goal.   But if you're trying to put them on notice  about substandard housing and like what they   required under law, that's kind of fitness  of that's all about the fitness about how   the standard of living so to speak. But  that's the vibrant housing also related   to minimum housing code enforcement. I think  it's one of the things I was talking about last housing meets the standard neighborhood  building neighborhood affordable

affordable habitableity my brain's over something to eat  affordable habitable quality so   build a thriving attract the community by  creating meaningful access to affordable   quality housing. I like that. How's that?  How's that? I really like that. You like   it? You don't. I'm just kidding. All right.  Does that get us there? What about county? All right. This is what we got. That's what it  is. Building a thriving, attractive community.   That's creating equal access to affordable  quality housing to vibrate neighborhoods for all do we want to say neighborhoods  up just for all citizens. Yep. That's it. take out. Don't you  want to take too neighborhoods? Yeah,   we don't need we don't need neighborhoods. We need  houses. I'd say by access to affordable quality   housing for all citizens. You okay with all  citizens? Hallelu's just two legal needs. I know,   but they want to know to affordable as long as  it's addressing substandard conditions. that that   you know we need to be very in intentional  about the fact that we are referencing with   the heating right like somebody's not providing  heating or cooling or something they're violating   the implied warranty of having like that's  the legal thing I have an employee at Copper   Beach who hasn't had heat or air in a year  he hasn't had a working washing machine since  

he moved in I think right number one housing  that has both express and implied warranties   fitness for habitability and fitness for purpose.  And so my my question then is how do you how does   that what does that accountability look like?  How do we hold that is going that is through a uh   comprehensive approach to uh code enforcement and  inspections. Absolutely. And being very proactive   in our community. One thing that we are one thing  that we're going to be doing over the next year   is being very proactive in holding community  uh engagement sessions. Part of that community   engagement is to talk to the community about what  their rights are. Absolutely. Specifically go out   to the community so they can this is what the  process you need to go through address. If you   haven't had heat or air condition in a year, this  is the process you need to be going through. You   should know that information. Hey, I like how  you came. I like this. I like Arjun, you're   next. The unlikely duo right here. I like that.  I like that. I'm going to move us on to the next   one. All right. expand artistic, cultural, and  recreational opportunities. Broad that capture. We feel good about that one. I love it.  I absolutely love it. The mayor loves it.   Perfect. Perfect. All right, I'm going to move  on. Next one. Build a high performing diverse   organization governing with transparency  and fiscal responsibility. and tell our   story to the community and region. Hey,  region. You see it? Not your county. Would you amend anything there? Does  that sound good? I think it sounds   amazing. That's bomb. And I think we should  go shift back up to the other one. Okay. Now,   we got one more. Got one more. Here's go.  Here we go. Main three, destination community,  

and a place for people to call home. Hey, I  remember I remember who I was say. I remember   who made this one. Make Greenville.  What is it? Greater again or something. Greenville. If he said that we go with Alan think  we're good. Come back. Let's go back. All right.   We got to go back. That's right. to the uh expand  expand the economic hub of eastern North Carolina   through Hey Arj, this is this is your moment  to shine right here. This is it. You were the   you were the obstainer. Already a diamond.  All right. What you got? Let's go back. It   just does not make it. We added the Greenville  Pit County. What was the original language for?   It was that without the Greenville Pit County  Act. So expand it was expand the economic code.   paying PJ Common Properties as economic hubs.  He he does not want to be that. What about if   we took a a word from one of our other goals of  region expand our region as the economic hub of   North Carolina? The region would be undefined.  Yeah. Were you thinking expansive having Well,   I guess I was just thinking we had another  goal. So you're saying expand our region.   Yeah. How about at the end you could write and  job creation in Greenville and pick county. So expand economic just I like it  just the way I just change it back   now. We got four. We got four  now. No, I'm not. I like So the   original language is expand. I think it's  toothpick. I think it what you're saying.

I like I like that you Greenville Pit County. You  like Greenville Pit County. You changed your vote,   didn't you? No. No. He's always  been on that one. All right. So,   it's a Greenville Pit County Convention  Bureau, right? All right. Porsha,   what was yours? The way it is right there  county. It's three. It's three. They've   got three. Four. Three. Four. Four. Now I  said majority. Fourth. Who's the fourth? It was It was Seth, Porsche, and  how many down? Do you like that?   You okay with that? Who's okay?  The original. All right. 43. There you go. Okay. So, we're doing the  original. I'm taking correct. That was   the majority. That was the majority  then. All right. Good with that. I   can always come back. I call the recap.  It wasn't a tie. We're trying to get a   consensus here. You have to break the  tie. I'm going to tell you right now, long time. It is very hard. So just just to  summarize here though what we've done is we've   pulled out community engagement high profile on  that one item community engagement starts right   there. Everything else we've we've kept everything  else the the same except for the build a thriving   attractive community by creating meaningful access  to affordable habitable and quality housing for   all citizens. Yeah. Yeah, I just want to change  one word in that meaningful. Don't please kidding.   So these are your goals and prior for the next two  years. I wanted to make a comment about the the  

number two just real quick. Um and just emphasize  ex execute existing opportunities. Um, I think   the more we can do to make our streets better,  our neighborhoods more connected, um, I love all   that we're doing with sidewalks. Um, but just the  more and the stuff we're adding on 10th Street,   just being creative in mitigating some of these  problems because we know that the state's going   to be slow, but just like I just wanted to comment  on that and make an emphasis on those creative   solutions while we're waiting on the state to get  us back together. I will I will I will say that   uh the city council in uh adopting the plan to  move $200,000 a year just for ADA and and and uh   and sidewalks to build up to that million dollars.  It's hard right now to understand what that   benefit looks like. But I'm telling you, you give  it five to I mean I know it sounds like a long   time. 5 to 10 years sounds like a long time, but  it's not in the world of city planning. That will   pay off for generations down the road. We just we  got to get it going. We've never done this before.   And I believe that 10 years from now, whoever's  sitting around this table is going to look at   this council and the previous as saying that was  a significant uh decision that was made that had   a long lasting impact on our community. Mhm. Just  like right now, even though I know the mayor says   we need to increase uh funding for for our roads,  and we do, but just think had we not 10 years ago   made a concerted effort to go from zero up to $3.4  million a year in funding for transportation and   the benefit that has had. Can you imagine what  this community would look like today if we had   not done that as a city? So, there's got to  be a little bit of patience in there. I mean,   you don't see anything in here about raising  our our property taxes, okay? So, if you don't  

want to raise your property taxes, we got to do  this in a methodical way to grow that tax base,   but put that money back into the community. And  that's what this council's doing. Yeah. I'll   tell you one thing. I I I saw a picture, one  thing that I that I am very proud of. It was   a lot of money. That sign that you see when you  come into Greenville is like a statement. I mean,   it really is. Like I've traveled I traveled  the entire state, not this last weekend, but   the weekend before that. I mean, I literally went  from here to the mountains and I couldn't tell you   a single city that had a a a sign like that, you  know, and it was expensive, right? It really was.   I mean, I'm not going to I'm not going to lie.  I'm I'm very cheap myself, but it when you come   into Greenville, it's a statement, right? People  know that they're entering the city of Greenville,   and I don't think we ever we've ever had that.  And so like when we go by when I go by that,   I think it's a good way to show people that  you're in Greenville. And I think the other   thing that you show them is that we care about  our infrastructure and we put a lot of money into   it that they can get safely from place to place.  And um I agree with you. I think we've made big   strides over the last several years. But I do  think that it would be really good for us as a   city to look at our road needs and we can do that  by looking at that CFP report that we have um to   see what we need where we need to be at to be able  to sustain. So the the level of I guess repair and   repavement that's needed long term because I mean  we can come up and we keep throwing money at stuff   but we don't have a direct idea of what it is and  it's going to be a lot right. I mean I think that   we would not be honest with each other if we just  said that hey you know we put a little bit of   money towards it. I mean it's going to be a it's  going to be a sizable amount of money. I mean,   it really is, but we kind of need to know where  we need to get to before we just start allocating  

funds. So, in March, council will be presented  by staff the the payment condition survey,   which is that first step. Mhm. Based off of  the current conditions, make even tonight at   the council meeting, you're going to hear from  the Trin neighborhood and the SUSGA to to talk   about the condition of the streets over in the  University. Yeah. surprises together, but we got   it done. And I tell you, that's that's purposeful  because, you know, so many way at times you think   that they're they're they're combating with each  other. No, there's there are certain things that   they're they're together on. And I was actually  joking with with um Daniel, the SJA president,   saying, "Look, you could probably throw a picture  in there of Baghdad and say, is this a city street   of Greenville Street or or or a Baghdad street?"  You probably couldn't tell a difference. But   nonetheless, that's something that we got to we  got to improve our streets. We got we got to make   a concerted effort to continue to do that. Other  comments, questions about your goals. Um I would   like to elevate the um under the expansion. Um not  changing the verbiage. I think we're good where   we are. Um but just bullet points underneath is uh  under expanding artistic and cultural I don't know   where it is but and recreational opportunities um  that access to neighborhood parks needs to be a   priority and I'm going to go back over and over  again. I'm going to be a broken record until it   happens us discussing that fee and Lou Judy um  UDO for parks and communities. Um, so you know,   that is part of us making sure that all of these  nice neighborhoods that we have in our community,   um, that they do not have parks in those  neighborhoods. And so, um, I'll reiterate,  

if you go down to south, what I call now the  southwest corridor of Dickinson, uh, near Allen   Road, you've got Tyson's Farm, you've got, uh,  Brook Hollow, uh, um, Cobblestone, Landover,   Tewood, Allen Ridge, all neighborhoods there, no  park. You go down Frog Little Road, all of those   neighborhoods, no park. And so we cannot uh accept  the fee and loo because fee and loo ends up being   never. Um and um and the other thing is that we  need to um diversify the events that the city has   um as far as attraction and I'm thinking like  Sundays in the park. We've talked about that again   behind the scenes, but I want to elevate that  publicly that um events need to be diversified so   that all the citizens will want to um participate.  And basically what you're you're focusing on there   is the next step to this which would be the actual  Absolutely. But I want to elevate it in this room. Wow. Is that is that it on your list? That is.  Okay. All right. Very good. Staff, any other   comments, questions? I think this has been great.  Little better not a little. I'm just joking. No,   this is great. Good stuff for us. Let me say uh  thank you for allowing me the opportunity to come   here and also I commend you as elected officials.  Thanks for the job that you do. Secondly,   thanks for going through a goal setting process.  This is my second one this month. So continue   doing this. Continue working with staff. This is  how you get this is how you become successful.   So, all right. Thank you so much.  Enjoy being here. Appreciate it.

Got a motion to second. All right. Motion  been made by council member Skully, second   by council member Jones. All those in favor  say I. I. Those post say nay. Motion passes.