Charleston City Council Regular Meeting – May 4, 2026: Budgets, Drug Enforcement Grant, and Public Safety
Charleston City Council Regular Meeting – May 4, 2026
The Charleston City Council held its regular meeting on May 4, 2026, at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers. Twenty-five members were present, with two absences excused. The meeting included public comments, proclamations, committee reports, and several unanimous votes. Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin presided.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Dawn Ashworth: Representing residents of Crestlyn Drive, she requested a roundtable discussion with the city engineer about persistent flooding and water runoff problems, exacerbated after construction of a new school. She stated that property owners have been told to use hay barrels, which is not a solution, and asked for clarity on city vs. property owner responsibility for drainage.
- Zack Harold (Executive Director, FestivAll): Expressed gratitude for city support, noted cooperation from multiple city departments, and invited council to the upcoming FestivAll (May 22–31), highlighting the return of the River Queen after a six-year hiatus and new events like the FestivAll Family Cookout.
- Sammy Magner: Thanked the refuse and recycling department for organizing the Team Up To Clean Up event, which she participated in for the first time, and noted the city's cleaner appearance for upcoming events.
- Sean Hill (KRT): Thanked the city for partnership, praised the safety and welcome of the transit center (stated it is the safest in a decade). He noted KRT’s $30 million investment in a new maintenance facility on the West Side and emphasized that KRT connects people to opportunity (1 million bus rides and 50,000 paratransit rides per year). He also mentioned the Kanawha County Public Safety Levy on the May 12 ballot as critical to KRT’s funding, and requested council’s advocacy.
Proclamations
- Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Awareness Month (May 2026): Recognized by the Mayor; representatives from advocacy groups were acknowledged.
- Lupus Awareness Day (May 10, 2026): Recognized; advocates Dana, Shea, Zaydan Piper, Stella, and Jill were acknowledged.
- National Small Business Week (May 3–9, 2026): Recognized; several local business owners and city small business liaison Audrey Kahn were acknowledged.
- CAMC Foundation 50th Anniversary: Recognized; CAMC leadership and community members were honored.
Discussion Items
- Bill No. 8076 & Resolution No. 26-049 (Parks and Rec fees): Both were held over in committee and will be taken up at a later meeting.
- Resolution No. 26-050 (Annual Action Plan for HUD): Authorizes the Mayor to submit the Program Year 2026 Annual Action Plan (Year 2 of the 5-Year Consolidated Plan) for CDBG funds. Councilmember Pharr abstained due to a conflict of interest (her organization, Family Care, receives CDBG funding for a pharmacy on the West Side). Adopted unanimously.
- Resolution No. 26-051 (MDENT Drug Enforcement Grant): Authorizes acceptance of $115,000 from the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (AHIDTA) for the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team. Funds: $20,000 for evidence/information purchase and $95,000 for overtime for five full-time officers ($19,000 each). Councilmember Jenkins noted the city has entered this agreement annually. Adopted unanimously.
- Resolution No. 26-052 (Live on the Levee Sound/Light Services): Authorizes an agreement with Studimo Productions for sound, light, and audio production for the 2026 concert series at $3,504.75 per event date, plus additional backline equipment costs as needed. Adopted unanimously.
- Resolution No. 26-053 (Coliseum and Convention Center Budget FY 2026-2027): Approves the proposed budget. Councilmember Jenkins noted the city subsidy is anticipated to be approximately $670,000, less than the current fiscal year. Adopted unanimously.
- Report of Officers: The City of Charleston Payroll Variance Analysis for April 2026 was received and filed.
Key Outcomes
- Resolutions adopted: All four resolutions (26-050, 26-051, 26-052, 26-053) were passed unanimously, with Councilmember Pharr abstaining on 26-050.
- Firefighter hiring: Mayor Goodwin announced she signed paperwork to hire 12 new firefighters, who are in the hiring process.
- Team Up To Clean Up: Mayor reported that the second cleanup event collected seven tons of trash, following the first event's nine tons. Councilmember Robinson was noted for his efforts.
- Live on the Levee: An announcement will be made later in the week.
- Next meeting: The next regular meeting is scheduled for May 18, 2026, at 7:00 PM.
- Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 7:43 PM by a motion from Councilmember Ceperley.
Remarks by Members
- Councilmember Pharr: Thanked Sean Hill for his dedication to KRT, acknowledged Dawn Ashworth's concerns, and highlighted that CDBG funding will help bring a pharmacy to the West Side.
- Councilmember Faegre: Stated that there is still no crosswalk for West Side Middle School students at Park Avenue and West Washington Street (an issue since at least 2015). Also mentioned a recovery fashion show for women and asked for prayers for Councilmember Jared Lanham's upcoming surgery.
- Councilmember Kerns: Thanked council for support of a bill allowing larger LED signs on businesses; noted that a sign at Bigley Pigley Wiggly is now partially operational and will be fully functional by Friday.
- Mayor Goodwin: Announced the 12 new firefighters, the upcoming CPD Officer of the Year banquet, thanked volunteers for Team Up To Clean Up, and noted that several new small businesses opened in Charleston this year.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much to everyone for being here this evening. Council will please come to order. Members will please rise while Councilwoman Kearns leads us in prayer. Almighty creator, help us to remember that you created all people in your image. We thank you for the astonishing variety and race of races and cultures in the world, our state, and in our dear city. Each and every one, regardless of their history, the color of their skin, the manner of their dress, their choice of religion or their gender with which they identify are all precious in your eyes. Each and every one enriches our lives as we speak to put aside our differences and fears and learn about each other as we continuously widen our circles of friendship. Show us our your presence in those who differ most from us until our knowledge of your love is made perfect in our love for all your children. Through your spirit, show us the unity you have created in the midst of diversity. We confess that in our brook brokenness as human beings, we are diversity or a diversity and a source of all alienation, injustice, opposition, and wounding. Give us new strength so that we may build places of belonging to create a community for all of us to share their gifts, to know that each of us is loved, to help each of us to see the light of your spirit and all that we serve. Let us remember that each of us is loved, each of us is willed, and each of us is necessary. Make strong in our hearts what unites us, build bridges across that what divides us and unite us and rejoice in our diversity. Amen. The clerk will please read the journal. Madam President. Yes, Madam Mayor, I request unanimous consent to dispense with the reading of the journal. There's a motion on the floor we dispensed with the reading of the journal here, and you're seeing no objections. The reading of the journal is dispensed with. Fabulous council member will help you. Yes. Um Madam Mayor, Council. I am the Whitfroes back here asked me to speak on their behalf this evening. They live on Crestland Drive, and I live at the bottom of Crescent Drive work here at uh Creslin and Garrison come together. For a lot of years now, we've had flooding off of the hillside at the end of Crestlin where it's a dead end. Over a year ago, I had emailed the city engineer um to see what could be done about all the flooding and the water runoff because after um the board put the new school up there, it got worse. And as of today, we still do not have any answers. There's a lot of water that pools in their yard. Um's yard gravel gets washed out. Um pivots like this big and is deep between the property owner's property and the street. Sometimes they're afraid to run over it in case you know they bust a tire. So I would like to see if we can open a dialogue, a round table discussion with the city engineer's office. What we need to do, because if you look at Creslin and you go up Creslin on both sides after Earl Street, there are no drains. So what we need a clear, distinctive um answer if is it the city's responsibility to put a drain in, and if so, where? Where does that end and begin? Or is it the property owners? Because these folks cannot go through another year of heavy rains. And honestly, it's a it's an issue for the city of replacing gravel all the time. Um just wondering in their yards getting flooded and being told, well, you need to buy hay and put like 16, 20 barrels of hay in your yard, and that'll cur uh curve the flooding issue. That's not an answer. That's not an answer because then what are they gonna do when it rains? Go out there and and pick up the hay and it's gonna smell and everything else. We need a definitive answer. We need a discussion. Um so if we can work on getting that, that would be wonderful. Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm going to make sure Andrew grabs numbers. If you're not seeing for the whole meeting or the couple who's with you, if they don't, we're just gonna quick and get some phone numbers.
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