City Council - Regular Meeting

Heat. Heat. All right. Good evening. I'd like to call the March 12th, 2026 meeting of the Greenville City Council to order. I'm Mayor PJ Connelly. I'll be presiding over tonight's meeting. Uh if you would join me for a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance. Thank you. Please stand for the pledge of

allegiance. I pledge to the flag to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Madam clerk, will you please call the role? Yes, sir. Mayor Connelly here. Mayor Prom Foreman here. Council member Jones here. All right. Council member Hardy has let us know he will not be attending this evening. Council member Scully here. Council member Robinson here. Council member Willis here. All right. Mayor Connley, you have a quorum. Thank you very much. We'll now move on to the approval of tonight's agenda. Mr. Man, any recommended changes? I have no changes. Mayor, I have a motion to approve. Motion. Second.

All right. Motion was made by Council Member Robinson, second by Council Member Scully. All those in favor say I. Those opposed say nay. Motion passes. 5-0.

All right, we'll move on to special recognitions. All right. I feel special tonight because I get to go first. Usually our city manager gets to do the special recognition first. All right. Tonight we get to uh recognize a special person in our community. I'm proud to recognize Miss Madison Wallace on the achievement of the Gold Award Girl Scout designation which is the highest honor in Girl Scouting. Girl Scouts have a long history of equipping young girls with leadership skills emphasizing community wellness and service. To achieve the gold ward, uh, the Girl Scout must identify a community issue and find a way to make positive a positive impact. Madison's project focused on Alzheimer's and dementia populations and their families. She devoted an extensive amount of time, over 100 hours, researching and implementing her project, fidget blankets, which are uh sensory tools used to engage and soothe individuals with memory related conditions. She donated 50 of the blankets to assisted living facilities and support groups here in Pit County. Additionally, she created project kits, a video tutorial, and led workshops to teach her fellow Girl Scouts how to make them for the communities. I just want to say thank you so much for all that you've done. Congratulations. I know it's very tough. I know your mother had reached out to me and she had said, you know, this is the equivalent of the Eagle Scout in Girl Scouts. And so that is a huge achievement and I'm really excited. I know that the council says congratulations along with myself and we're just really excited to be able to honor you here today. And I've got a special recognition uh for you as well.

CONGRATULATIONS. CONGRATULATIONS.

All right. I'd like to call Brandon Peebles and his his family

forward. So, it is uh my extreme honor to be able to recognize Brandon Peebles for his uh retirement from the Greenville Police Department. And you know, as council, council knows this that uh every single month the I do a a shout out from the city manager. It's actually council's favorite part of each council meeting for the whole entire month. And uh you know, every single retirement is special and but uh this one is just a little bit more special, I will say. So, not only is this a recognition for your retirement, but this is also a shout out from the city manager. Brandon, as I go through this, you'll understand what I'm what I mean. But, uh, Brandon is probably the closest thing to Greenville's Batman that we have because he is be out there behind the scenes in the dark protecting not only Greenville, North Carolina, but this whole entire state. And it's just it's just amazing what you have done during your career. I'm going to tell you a little bit about that right now. Master police officer Brandon Peebles was hired by the Greenville Police Department in August of 2001. After a short stint on patrol, Peebles was moved to the Special Investigations Unit, has been on a specialized unit and operating at the elite level ever since. Here are a few of his career highlights. He was a lead or assisting case agent on some of the most complex and high-profile fugitive investigations

conducted by the Greenville Police Department, the North Carolina FBI, and the FBI in recent history, including child kidnapping and abduction cases, homicides, fugitive apprehensions, officer in line of duty deaths, hostage situations, and terrorism. the lead DEA case agent on several of the most complex drug investigations in North Carolina's history. He is the lead case agent on four DEA organized crime drug enforcement task force investigations, each involving over 10 law enforcement agencies and dozen of state, local, and federal law enforcement officers. These cases involved leading and coordinating state and federal wiretapping investigations which led to a drug seizure with a street value of over $10 million in US currency and assets seized in hundreds of arrests of drug traffickers in the United States and Mexico. is the afiient and lead affiient and lead case agent in over 60 federal and state wiretapping investigations dating back to 2006. The lead cellular analysis expert on hundreds of murder and violent crime investigations since 2015. Each of these investigations also involved the management and leadership of dozens of state, local, and federal assisting agents, tactical teams, and officers. He served as a participant in one of the leading cellular analysis experts in three command posts established for abducted children in eastern North Carolina. one of the first North Carolina SBI task force officers to complete the SBI two-week basic school certification. One of the original and developmental partners of the North Carolina Fugitive and Missing Persons Task Force comprised

of several state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies. The task force has been instrumental in the apprehension of thousands of fugitives and the recovery of hundreds of missing people and children. assisted with developing legal templates regarding electronic surveillance and geoloccation. These legal templates have been used and presented to the many district attorneys and judges in North Carolina as the legal precedent that should be used in cases involving electronic surveillance and he has been declared an expert witness in the federal courts in drug trafficking and distribution. There are several com commendations and achievements it's also been able to attain. DEA outstanding achievement award. Narcotics officer of the year award for North Carolina. Co-reient of cases of the the year award from the US Attorney of the Eastern District of North Carolina. North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations most investigations merit service award. numerous letters of commendation from the DEA, FBI, North Carolina SBI, Greenville GPD, and other local agents. And in addition to that, he is a husband and a father. And has been very influential in his children's lives, but also not only in his children's lives, but in the lives of a lot of our youth within this community. actually served on the uh the the winning softball team, won the the the uh little league softball world softball world series a few years ago as a coach and again has just touched the lives of many of our youth and trained them how to be better people in life. I I just don't there's not enough words to say. I mean, that's that says a lot, but as as much as that says, you are just

one heck of a great person, and you have given it all, not only to Greenville and our citizens, but the rest of the state in Eastern North Carolina as well. Great job. Great job. We love you. always

in recognition of 24 year. You do not look old enough to be 24 years without in recognition of 24 years and six months of outstanding service. We extend our sincere appreciation to Brandon Peeles. This the first day of March 2026 signed PJ Conley Mayor and my honor to have my name on this as well. We're going to get We're going to

get in. I don't have the moon.

I don't have ice cream.

That's nice. Very nice. All right, we'll now move on to the public comment period. The public comment period is a period reserved for comments by the public items that were scheduled to be the subject of a public hearing conducted this meeting or another meeting during the same week shall not be discussed. A total of 30 minutes is allocated with each individual being allowed no more than 3 minutes. Individuals who register with the city clerk will speak and the order registered until the allotted 30 minutes expires. If time remains after all persons who have registered have spoken, individuals who did not register will have an opportunity to speak until the allotted 30 minutes expires. Madame clerk, our first speaker, Mayor Cono, we don't have any registered speakers.

Anyone that would like to speak in the public comment period, please come forward. State your name for the record. You have three minutes. And I bet we've got some great girl scouts that are here that would love to come and speak in front of the city council. No pressure. No pressure, Michelle Wallace. Um, thank you for recognizing my daughter and then as well my neighbor Brandon. Um, so just thank you.

Well, we apprec we appreciate we appreciate everything that she's done. I don't know. I put up a post and uh when we were going through our snowstorm and she dropped off Girl Scout cookies to our employees over at public work. So her good work extends even further than uh the award that she got. So we appreciate it and thank you so much for all that you do.

Anyone else that' like to speak during the public comment comment period? Please come forward. State your name for the record. You have three minutes. All right. Seeing none, we'll close the public comment period. We'll move on to new business which is the public hearings. This is the policy of the public hearing adopted by the city council. The petitioner or representative of the petitioner and a leader of those in opposition will each have 10 minutes. Persons following them will have up to three minutes each with a total for each item no more than 30 minutes. Additionally, I want to remind those in attendance to extend the courtesy to persons speaking during the public hearing and to the city council during discussion. Comments made by members of the public are to occur only during the public hearing as allowed by the mayor in accordance with adoptive policy of the city council. There should be no interruptions of speakers or council members, including expressions of support or disagreements verbally or by applause as this is distracting and makes discussion difficult. We ask for your cooperation. Thank you, Mr. Manager.

First public hearing. Item number three, ordinance to annex Gateway West LLC property involving 2.952 acres located at the northwestern corner the intersection of Stantonburg Road and Gateway Drive. Now call forward our city planner Chris Kelly for the presentation. Good evening, mayor and council. Good evening.

This property is located in the western part of the city. More specifically, this property is located at the northwestern corner of the intersection of Stantonburg Road and Gateway Drive. And just directly north of the property, right above it, you have the neighborhood Walmart. This property is located in the Greens Mill Run WHED. And if storm water rules apply, it will require 25-year detention. The property is also located in the primary service area on the tiered growth map and would be located in city council voting district number one. This property is anticipated to yield 25,000 square feet of self storage space with an estimated tax value of $2 million. And as this property is located in ETJ or the extra territorial jurisdiction, it is important to note that under section six of GUC's charter, the development can still be provided sanitary sewer if annexation is denied. I'll be happy to answer any questions.

All right. Any questions for Mr. Kelly. Thank you very much. Public hearing is now open. Those to speak on behalf of the applicant may come forward. Please state your name for the record. The first person has 10 minutes. All others have three minutes.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, Council. I'm Brian Pagundis. Uh here tonight on behalf of the applicant. So the request for annexation in this case is the prerequisite to subdividing this property to record a final plot and then eventually prepare for development. It is contiguous uh infrastructure in place, regional storm water facilities in place. This commercial subdivision was developed in about 20 years ago or so now. So this is the first step in being able to record a final plot per subdivision Rex. If you guys have any questions, glad to answer them. Any questions? So, is it going to be an apartment complex? No, it's all zone commercial. All zone commercial. Okay. Storage. Storage building. That's why.

Yeah. Mr. Kelly mentioned storage. I really don't know what's going on the on the property. Okay. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Anyone else that'd like to speak on behalf of the applicant may come forward? Please state your name for the record. You have three minutes. Seeing none, those to speak in opposition to the applicant may come forward. Please state your name for the record. The first person has 10 minutes. All others have three minutes. See none. The public hearing is now closed. Open for board discussion or a motion. Motion to approve. Second.

All right. Motion's been made by Council Member Robinson, second by Council Member Willis. Any other discussion? All those in favor say I. Those opposed say nay. Motion passes 5-0. On to item number four. Thank you, mayor. Item number four, ordinance to annex Hannifford Family Farm property involving 3.6 acres located along the eastern rightway of Dickson Avenue Extension and east of Danzy Road. again call forward our city planner Chris Kelly for the presentation.

So this property is located in the southwestern quadrant of the city. More specifically, this property is located along the eastern rightway of Dickson Avenue extension and east of Dancy Road. This property is located in the Greensville Run wershed and if storm water rules apply will require 25-year detention. The property is also located in the primary surface area on tiered growth map and located in city council voting district number two. This property is anticipated to yield five to 10 single family lots with an estimated tax value of 1.8 million. And as this property is located in the ETJ is important to note that under section 6 of GC's charter, uh the development can still be provided sanitary sewer if the annexation is denied. And I'd be happy to answer any questions.

All right, any questions for Miss Kelly? Thank you very much. Public hearing is now open. Those speak on behalf of the applicant may come forward. Please state your name for the record. The first person has 10 minutes. All others have three minutes. Do we The handheld mic is also there.

That's okay. I I'll use this one. Uh good evening uh mayor. Good evening, council. Uh on behalf of my father and myself, uh we'd like to thank you for hearing uh the annexation petition tonight. We're trying to clean up the boundaries, some uh family estate. So we're uh subdividing off this 3.6 acre parcel uh to to clean up some family matters, some estate matters. Uh we will we are going to continue uh pressing ahead with the development uh future development on the uh parcel 9602 which is adjacent to this uh property. We went through the resoning request last year. So we're still in in that uh process of moving that forward. Um but we wanted to get the legal matter squared away tonight. So uh we appreciate you hearing this request. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you and your father for coming down. Oh, sir. What's your name? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Brett Hannifford. Okay. My father is Hunter Hanner. Thank you. Anyone else would like to speak on behalf of the applicant may come forward. You have three minutes. See none. Those in opposition to the Aka may come forward. Please state your name for the record. The first person has 10 minutes. All others have three minutes.

Seeing none, the public hearing is now closed. Open for board discussion or motion. Motion to approve. Second. Okay. Motion is made by Council Member Scully, second by Council Member Robinson. Any other discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Those opposed say nay. Motion passes. 50. Move on to the final public hearing.

Thank you, mayor. Item number five, ordinance to annex MCV Fire Tower LLC property involving 0.839 acres located on the southern rightway of East Fire Tower Road and 300 plus minus feet southwest of Charles Boulevard. Again, call forward our city planner, Chris Kelly, for the presentation. This property is located in the southeastern quadrant of the city. More specifically, the property is located along the southern rightway of East Fire Tower Road and 300 ft southwest of Charles Boulevard. And just to give you a little more reference, directly to the east uh you have the Ace Ace Hardware store. This property is uh located in the Fork Fork Swamp Whed, and if storm water rules apply, will require 25-year detention. The property is also located in the primary service area on tiered growth map and located in city council voting district number four. This property is anticipated to yield 7,000 square ft of automobile repair with an estimated tax value of 1.2 million. And again, as the property is located in the ETJ, it's important to note that under section six of GC's charter, the development can still be provided sanitary sewer if the annexation is denied. And I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Any questions for Mr. Kelly?

Thank you very much. The public hearing is now open. Those to speak on behalf of the applicant may come forward. Please state your name for the record. The first person has 10 minutes. All others have three minutes. See none. Those in opposition to the applicant may come forward. Please state your name for the record. The first person has 10 minutes. All others have three minutes. See? None. The public hearing is now closed. Open for board discussion or a motion.

Motion to approve. Second. All right. Motion's been made by Council Member Willis. Second by Council Member Scully. Any other discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Those oppos say nay. Motion passes 5-0. Well, here comes what we think is the most anticipated part of the night, the city manager report. Sorry, my thunder was stolen earlier in the meeting. But I do have a request for council to cancel the March 23rd city council meeting as uh we do not have any uh council agenda for that meeting. It was the most anticipated part.

I know y'all would be Look, we're going y'all going to be busy in April and May and June. That's for sure. That's good. That's good. Do I have a motion to approve? Motion to approve. Second. All right. Motion's been made by Council Member Willis, second by Council Member Jones. All those in favor say I. Those say nay. Motion passes 5-0. All right. We got no meeting. That's all I got. That's it. Yep. That's it. All right. How about the city man or city attorney's report? Uh, thank you, Mr. Mayor, mayor and councel. No report. Whoa. Okay. How about the city clerk's report? None here either. Sorry, no comments. Hey, I do like though that you're wearing green. Of course, the month for you and Council Member Willis.

That's right. Got the I didn't get the memo and my name's Patrick. That was bad. That was bad. All right, let's start on the side. Council member Robinson.

Mayor, thank you uh those watching and those in the audience. number uh one uh we've got a three-game series at ECU. So if you love baseball, go see some ECU baseball and support our baseball players and and all the staff and you're going to see some great baseball. They're starting to pick the pace up. So if you have a chance, go see a baseball game Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. If you're really good, go all three times. Uh number two, uh next week, March 21st, is rock your socks day. And and some people might not know what that is, but that's actually World Down Syndrome Day. So you wear your crazy socks. So, I'm uh hoping that those watching and those nor go to Awaken Coffee and see our friends down there and wear wear your crazy socks and show up to them and get you a great cup of coffee. That'll be a special day next week, March 21st. Uh second, we had a big storm this afternoon. Temperature dropped like 25 30 degrees. Winds came, crazy stuff went on

and just like clockwork, Green Utilities comes in and saves the day. Gets all the debris clean up because there's a lot of limbs down and a little bit power outages and stuff. just like always, they did their phenomenal job. So, thanks to the Greenville Utilities Commission crew and staff for always being on the ball and taking care of business. Um, to the Girl Scouts out there, guys, thank y'all. Excuse me. Girls, thank y'all for coming out tonight. And the things that you're being taught, they may not seem that important right now, but you're learning life lessons. And when you get much older, you're going to understand the value of the things that were taught to you by your leaders and by your role models and the things you did to earn those badges and stuff. So, uh, don't think that's lost because again, you're learning life lessons at a very early age. So, thank you for coming down and participating in this and also in Girl Scouts. Um, and finally, Brandon Peoples, what can you say? I I mean, a quarter century of his life dedicated to providing law enforcement to our community. And I've known Brandon since he first came on. He and I tangled in the courtroom. I mean entangled. I mean tangled. um and have since become very good friends. But I just wonder where he finds the time because he is the consmate 1enter. He is the 1enter professional. And so a lot of times people are the 1enter professionals but their other parts of life don't follow. But look, he's a coach, a phenomenal coach and being a great role model for I don't know how many of his players over the course of many, many years and leading them to the World Series championship a couple years ago. And what a phenomenal achievement. and those if y'all watched that game, hot as fire. Uh, but you know, just an amazing victory. Um, he's an amazing husband, as his wife, I'm sure, would tell you. He's a wonderful father. I can't tell you how much time he spends with all of his children. Besides being professional, besides being an amazing coach, this man spends time with all of his children equally out in the outdoors enjoying

time and being a great role model. He's an awesome friend and he's been an awesome friend to me and I know he's been an awesome friend to many people. So, his recognition tonight is welld deserved. He has worked hard in all facets of his life and he is a role model to everyone that would uh choose to look into his life and I'm sure he's going to continue to do the great things he does once he leaves us. But, uh, Brandon, to your family, thank you for serving 25 years with us and and to your wife, thank you for sharing. and to your kids. Thank you for sharing with us because so many things he's done that we will never understand or know about because they've been done covertly, but he has saved many, many children and saved uh a lot of drugs from hitting our streets and lots of other things that we can't talk about here. So again, thank you. Um next week is also St. Patrick's Day. So if you choose to go out there and embibbe a little bit, make sure you're not driving. If you choose to drink the ring beer, do not drive because I don't want you to see any coming in my office.

Okay. I think with that, mayor, thank you very much for letting me make those comments. Thank you very much, Councy.

Thank you, Mayor. Um, I would like to join you in congratulation congratulating Officer Peeles. Thank you so much for everything you've done for our community. Um, want to keep being a cheerleader for downtown Greenville. Uh, Dickinson is open. It's wonderful. I went last week on a Saturday night. Had a great time. My wife and I had a date night. Popped around a bunch of different restaurants. Had a really wonderful time. It's easy to get around. There's lots of parking and wonderful businesses and fun things to do. So, please come out and enjoy our downtown and and support those local businesses. They need they need your support. Um and finally, happy Women's History Month. Um dad of three daughters, got a wonderful wife, got lots of wonderful female employees. I'm sitting up here in the midst of women's history um next to me and around me. Um thank you all for the work that you do, the example that you give. Thank you, Miss Wallace, for your example. Uh you are a piece of that history as well now. Uh and a personal thanks to you. Um if I can do this without crying, my mom suffered from dementia. Uh so that uh the project that you chose is really near and dear to my heart and something that's so incredibly important. Uh and those people often get forgotten. Um and you didn't forget. Um, so that speaks volumes about you and your character, um, and the the wonderful life that I know you're going to lead and be a leader and make your own history. Uh, so thank you so much for for doing that and for being here with us tonight. So happy Women's History Month.

Thank you, Mayor. All right. Thank you very much, Council Member Willis.

Thank you, Mayor. Congratulations again, Madison, to you. You have been able to accomplish uh something great, and so you should be very proud of yourself. So, congratulations to you and to officer Peoples um on his retirement. Um the small business technical assistance program kicked off last night, our second cycle. So, congratulations to those businesses that are a part of that. Um just so excited to see what will come from um that journey that they'll take over the next year. Uh also, the Ing Good Company Citizens Academy had their third meeting last night. they were at public works and were able to learn about our fleets, how we make signs, um um all the all the things they were able to learn about and then um just learn about how public works takes care of our city. So that was incredible for them to be able to be exposed to and then the police citizens academy should be wrapping up their academy in the next week or so. So lots of opportunities for citizens to get involved. Um, also I wanted to make mention that this Saturday we'll be having our first uh community day for Sterling Point. Um, last year there was a community meeting that was hosted by the interfaith clergy of Pit County and one of the asks that was put out there was if someone could have a conversation with um with our uh one of our leaders in uh development and be able to allow for recreation within Sterling Point. And so in September I had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Rocky Russell. I appreciate him taking that meeting and uh since then we've been able to get to where we are now. And so the Wreck and Roll trailer will be there on Saturday. We've added some extra things to that. And so uh it's a it's a monumental step in addressing some of the concerns we have in the Sterling Point neighborhood. Um so so excited to see that come to fruition. Um, and also happy Easter to those who celebrate

Easter. I believe we'll Easter will have come and gone by the time we meet again. So, happy Easter to everyone. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you very much, Council Member Jones.

Good evening. I too want to say congratulations to Miss Madison and the entire troop because I know it takes all of y'all to do it together, but it represents leadership, service, and commitment to making a lasting difference in this community. Your dedication, creativ creativity and willingness to serve others reflect the very best of what our city stands for and I appreciate that. Also to officer people's um as you enter retirement, thank you for your years of service, commitment and protection. I wish you well on your deserved retirement and much success on your next adventures. Um they both remind us that a strong community built by people who step up to lead, serve, and give back. Um so together helps make the community move forward. Happy St. Patrick's Day. Happy Women's History Month. Happy day. Y'all have a

very nice Mayor Prom. Uh I concur with those comments. Congratulations, Madison. And I have no further comments.

I like it. I like it. And I'll say the same thing. Congratulations, Madison. We appreciate all that you do. Um, you know, the nice thing is is that I was fortunate enough to uh to know your parents and I know that they have taught you so much. Um, and it's great to be able to see them pass along some of the great things that they do in their lives to to you and you'll continue to pass it down from generation to generation. But you're a leading example for people throughout our community and hopefully others will follow in your your uh footsteps to continue to do good things and help people. um in our community. And I think you saw just just tonight, Council Member Scully had a a mother that uh suffered from from one of the things that you were focusing your efforts on. And so I think that's pretty awesome to see. Sometimes sometimes you can't see what impact you make, but I think that's a that's a great one because you see somebody that that has family that that went through something like that. So, thank you very much. And you know, the neat thing about being up here is I get like I feel like I'm like one of those people on the TV where I get people in my ear to tell me different things. This is actually Girl Scouts week. Did you know that?

It's Girl Scouts week here. And you know what else the neat thing about like Google is is that I can like look it up. Today is the birthday for Girl Scouts the 12th. And so today we got to honor a very, very special Girl Scout and all the other Girl Scouts that are here as well, too. So, thank you guys for all that you do. Um, and I know Council Member Robinson said you're going to learn things that it may not mean much to you now, but you'll look back at someday that those skills that you learned and those things that you uh were working on will help you throughout the rest of your life. So, thank you for participating. Thank you to everyone that has taught and and been a part of your lives and furthered everything that you have done. So, and I'll say I guess um happy St. Patrick's Day. I can't believe I didn't wear green today. My name's Patrick, which is you would think I would have known that. Um and then also again uh happy Easter to everybody uh in our community as well. With that, I need a motion to adjurnn.

Motion to adjurnn. Second. All right. Motion's made by Council Member Robinson, second by Council Member Scully. All those in favor say I. Oppos say nay. Motion passes 5-0. Oh, we're wrapped up for March. You like that?