Welcome to the March seventeenth, twenty twenty-six meeting of the Greensboro City Council.

I would like a motion to go into closed session.

Mayor Pro Tim Brock.

Seconded by Miss Thurm.

All in favor, please say aye.

I we hope to return definitely by five thirty.

So please get your tickets now if you haven't.

Thank you.

Those are all truly direct from New York shows.

So it's very exciting to see those coming.

And thank you to Nietzerlander, PFM, and First Bank.

The support of the Greensboro City Council has been instrumental to the success of the Tanger Center since its opening in 2021.

Please welcome our next uh speaker, Greensboro Mayor, Mary Kay Abuswa.

What an incredible lineup of shows.

I believe they deserve one more round of applause.

Thank you, First Bank, and everyone who has had a part of Tanger Center.

It is amazing.

And I'm sure that it will captivate audiences and bring our city to come here to see not only the shows, the fabulous shows, but also everything in the Tanger Center.

It enriches our quality of life and is part of what makes people want to live, work, and play in the city of Greensboro, North Carolina.

It's the Tanger Center's program, the Broadway series, and it has all brought an incredible energy to downtown and our community as a whole.

And now we will have a sneak preview and the first of three live performances we have for you today.

And one another utterly electrified from Entertainment Weekly new musical just in time brings to life the story of Bobby Darren.

He's the legendary singer who had a short but remarkable journey, and it took him from a teen idol to global sensation.

Packed with his biggest hits, including Beyond the Sea, Mac the Knife, Splish Splash, and Dream Lover.

So there's never never a trace of a red.

Where a seaman bags just a drooping on down.

Oh, that seaman is just a week here.

Five will get it.

Oh, Mackey's back in time.

Now to hear by Louis Miller.

He disappeared.

After drawing out all of his hot and cats.

And now a Mac Keith spins are like a sale.

Could it be hot poet's done?

Summoner ash.

Uh uh said in it.

Uh oh, suki tawdry.

Stay back of me, slidal in.

I'm moving over Miss Lucy Brown.

You know that line for Zombo Rights, babe.

Now that Mackie's back.

And on New York side in it.

Uh ooh, sugi told.

I stay back of me, slidling.

Uh move it over, Miss Lucy Brown.

You know that line for Zomba Rights, babe.

Now that Maggie's back in town.

Look out, oh Mackie is back.

Get up, Bobby.

Thank you.

And I don't know about you, but that just screams direct to New York, and it gets you very exciting for a great day.

A critical ingredient to our continued success at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts.

Broadway season campaigns.

Um, in support of our members, but also our sponsors.

We are thrilled to uh brought that our Broadway season seat sponsor and official bank for the fifth consecutive year is first bank.

Please welcome back the chief executive officer of First Bank, Adam Curry.

All right, thank you.

Thank you, Scott.

Uh thank you to everybody that has been involved in this.

Y'all, this is our fifth year sponsoring this, and it's crazy to think about it because when we started this, we didn't all know if we'd ever put three thousand people together again ever.

It was right in the middle of COVID.

See, Matt over there.

Um, it was right in the middle of COVID, and we we were asked to step up and make a take a big risk and make a big commitment on on behalf of the city.

Um, and we were really proud to do so, but it was scary at the time.

Um, we we stepped up, sponsored this.

We thought that if we brought Broadway to Greensboro that the city would embrace it, and that has been an enormous understatement.

Um, it has been incredible what this has turned into, it's been incredible, has become just a part of the fabric of the community, and we are really honored to be a small part of that.

So uh, thank you to everybody, thank you to all in this room that had the vision to put this together.

Five years later, it's become something really incredible.

All right, and now I'm excited to introduce our second special sneak preview.

Winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Maybe Happy Ending tells the deeply human story of a chance encounter that sparks connection, adventure, and maybe even love.

Helmed by Tony Award-winning director Michael Orton, maybe Happy Ending has been called one of the best musicals in years by USA Today, and the best musical in eons by Observer.

Don't miss the totally original new musical adventure that explores what it means to be human, even if they're not and a high of 68 with four days of rain behind us.

The yellow sand conditions are queer.

So we've got mask at home.

The perfect day for outdoor activity.

Today the air in soul is very clear and warm.

Today the smiles too are warmer than the norm.

My looks in albums, my expectations and tears.

And I know I need it be fun.

When the packing is done, I'm finally hitting home.

No matter where and how far you drive, people say you're doing friends well.

It's the way that it always was.

It'll be okay, it'll be okay.

A robot does what she always does.

It's the only way it'll be okay.

You know you're stronger than you think.

You know you're made to take a lot.

And if it doesn't come for free, well, that's the way that it has to be.

So you'll see me smiling instead with every stranger I meet.

I wanna stop them in the streets and be completely in discreet.

I know it isn't nice to brag, but secrets are a drag.

Incredible, beautiful, lovable Jenny.

I'm the guy she chose.

I love Jenny, and I'll swear to it.

I don't care if it shows.

Bringing an amazing lineup of shows to Greensboro and the Tanger Center each year would not be possible without our Broadway partners.

Niederlander and PFM.

Unfortunately, their representatives could not make it to Greensboro today, but their efforts are bringing us not only an incredible season of seven shows, but also two spectacular Broadway special engagements that are sure to bring capacity crowds to the Tanger Center.

And those special engagements are Mamma Mia, March two through seven of two thousand twenty-seven, and returning to the Tanger Center, Disney's the Lion King, May 19 through 30 of 27.

So we want to thank PFM and Eaterlander for helping establish Greensboro and the Tanger Center as one of the top one-week markets in America for Broadway.

And now we have one more musical performance to get to, and everyone will get more excited about the 26-27 season.

Welcome to the wonderful land of Oz, where there's a young woman born with emerald green skin, smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent.

When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships until the world decides to call one good and the other one wicked.

With a thrilling score that includes hits Defying Gravity, Popular, and for good.

And room with Miss Galinda.

There's a strange celebration.

It's up you are so stuck.

I know about popular.

And with an assist from me to be who you'll be instead of dreary who you were.

Well, R is nothing that can stop you from becoming popular.

And nobody in all of us.

No wizard that there is almost ever gone great.

I hope you're happy.

And now please welcome to the stage Alison Bailey as she performs the song popular from Wicked.

My tender heart tends to start to believe.

Exactly what they need.

And even in your case.

Though it's the toughest case I'd yet to face.

Don't worry, I'm determined to succeed.

Follow my lead.

And yes, indeed.

You will be popular.

You're gonna be popular.

I'll teach you the proper ploys when you talk to boys.

Little ways to flirt and flouse.

I'll show you what shoes to wear, how to fix your hair, everything that really counts to be popular.

I'll help you be popular.

You'll hang with all right cohorts, you'll be good at sports, know the slang you've got to know.

So let's start, because you've got an awfully long way to go.

A sister and advisor.

There's nobody wiser, not when it comes to popular.

I know about Papi Uber, and with an assist from me to be who you'll be, instead of dreary who you were.

Well, R.

There's nothing that can stop you from becoming popular.

Laure.

Yes, we're gonna make you pop you lur.

When I see depressing creatures with unprepossessing features, I remind them on their own behalf to think of celebrated heads of state or specially great communicators.

Did they have brains or knowledge?

Don't make me laugh.

They were popular.

Please, it's all about poppy hooper.

It's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed, so it's very shrewd to be a very, very popular, like me.

And though you protest your dishensored, I know conduct.

Your conagranumberry.

You're not a popularity.

Just not quite as popular.

Thanks again to all of our special performers, including just in time, maybe happy ending, and wicked.

We hope to see everyone back here this spring and summer as we continue our current first rank Broadway season and special engagements, including The Sound of Music, March 10 through 15.

Kimberly Akimbo, Tony Award winner, April 21 to 26.

And the notebook, the musical, June 2nd through 7.

And a special performance of six, May 5 through 10.

Thank you for joining us today, and we hope you have a great afternoon!

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We offer an all-day brunch menu featuring our newly added shrimp and grits.

The Pines is found between La Bower Park and City Center Park.

So people of all walks, backgrounds, dogs included, are welcome.

Again, we are the pines found inside of the Winna Science Plaza across the street from Sanger Performing Arts Center.

Find us on Instagram at the Pines NC website, the PinesNC.com.

Welcome to Gate City Insider.

I'm Rosemary Plyben.

It is no secret that Greensboro is booming.

Toyota, Boom, Supersonic, Honda Jet, Jet Zero, others just growing and growing, making Greensboro their home, bringing new jobs, and with those new jobs, the need for more housing.

So in 2025, the city unveiled a plan to address that need.

It's called The Road to 10,000.

10,000 New Homes by 2030.

Joining us today, Ted Oliver and Cheryl McQuery, part of the task force that is leading this initiative.

Hello and welcome.

Thank you.

So glad to hear about.

And we had just built a new house, and I thought I might have some experience that I could contribute.

So my experience was I had been uh a part of uh the Interfaith Affordable Housing Initiative and also was on the uh Board of Adjustment for the City of Greensboro and had been involved in two other highly successful programs, the Greensboro Aquatic Center and the uh Tanger Center for the Performing Arts.

So I w I volunteered to be a part of this with uh uh city manager Trey Davis, and uh he uh accepted and uh offered me the place on the task force.

Yeah, and so uh you both have of course experience that you're bringing from a background to bring from it.

What was it about this initiative though that you felt like, yeah, this is something I need to be a part of.

I mean this is something we need to make happen.

Well, first of all, it's Greensboro, it's home.

Okay.

And like you said in your intro, there are so many companies coming in for economic development that Greensboro has always been welcoming.

And if this is a need, then we need to find a way to help address it so more people will come and be part of the Greensboro community.

Yeah, what I found I a couple years ago.

I was I was getting ready to retire from my full-time job, and I I was looking for a places to volunteer.

I already was volunteering in some, but I asked I saw um uh former mayor Vaughn and uh also um at a at one of our rotary meetings, and I asked her what's the biggest need in Greensboro now, and she said housing.

And then I I saw uh Brian Hahn who leads uh urban ministry and I asked him the same question, and he said housings.

I said, Well, it looks like housing is where the most needed help is needed, so that's why I volunteered.

Yeah, okay.

So let's talk about um you've been at this not quite a year really with this task force.

And I know um you initially started really with trying to get a mission and a vision, and that was a lot of work.

You want to tell us about that?

Yeah.

Go ahead.

You can you can start that one.

Yeah, we did spend a lot of time on it.

Um, you know, the planning department, the city already has planning staff that are that have been doing this, and they have uh a couple of uh thing documents, uh the 2040 plan, uh they have a housing initiative, they have uh, you know, things that they've already thought this through pretty well, and it's we discovered that there's a lot of work that's gone into this already.

But what I think this really did was in Trey Davis recognized this is it put a focus on the need for the housing.

It everybody started talking about that the road to 10,000 became a common thing that people said as they talked about housing.

So I think it really put a a focus on uh the need for additional housing because of the the economic things that are happening in Greensboro.

Again, it's important to note not just one kind of house, different people looking for different things, right?

That's right.

Yeah.

And that was a good goodly part of our discussion, and that is people came in and said, Oh, we're gonna do affordable housing.

Well, of the definition of affordable housing started out very positive, but unfortunately it's evolved into inexpensive cheap housing, and that I don't think the group was looking for that for Greensboro.

And so we spent uh a goodly amount of one or two meetings talking about what kind of housing do we want.

And you've got the CEO of Wolf Speed, you've got middle level managers at the airport, you've got young graduates.

So we recognize that we needed to have a broad approach to bringing housing to Greensboro.

Yeah, something kind of for all those groups, yeah.

Right, and they did say the the mission statement, if you read it, we'll say it it deals with all different uh housing levels, various levels of affordability.

Yeah, I think it is suitable housing, yeah, suitable housing.

Yeah, yeah.

Um, so so Cheryl, I know that you have kind of three things that you've been really focusing on, and so I want to give you a chance to kind of share those that that you really believe could make a difference and could move things along.

Well, there are three things.

The first is the redevelopment commission has 20 pieces of property.

And if somebody wants to buy it, it needs to be approved by the city council, which is a lengthy process.

And so my suggestion is that the city council pass a local ordinance which gives the city manager the opportunity to sign off on those pieces of land.

That um uh authority goes up to 300,000 for the city manager, and so that to me makes it quicker because you're excited you you want to go.

The second is GTC has construction programs for electricity for plumbing, and so is there a way that the city could donate two of those pieces of land to GTC so their students have a place to build some housing with a condition that they have two houses built in in three years.

The third thing is we've been told that the remaining pieces are not necessarily buildable.

And so I would ask the city council to consider 10,000 per property to come in and make the lots um builder ready.

So those are the those are three things that I think might be able to help move the process along a little more quickly.

If I could build on that, there's a something called pre-approved plans that uh in addition to that.

So if if you say, okay, you want to build a four-plex, here is a pre-approved plan.

You don't have to go through all of the process that you normally would if you have a new set of plans.

Yeah, they're already approved, and and the uh the builder can go ahead and build it without having to go through five or six of the other steps so they can get it done faster and less expensive.

Yeah, and I mean you're already seeing some success with even just this bit of work.

I mean, and and keeping it, there's a tally, you can follow it online, but uh, but over a thousand houses built, uh, more than 2,500 um in construction or having been built at this point.

So it's it's working.

What do you what do you think what would you like people to know about the the work that that not only this task force, but of course it spreads throughout the city, and there the others who are many who are very involved in making it happen.

What would you like the community to know about that work and what you're doing?

Um I think uh it's important to know that and Sue Schwartz has been very good about educating us about this is that the average household in Greensboro is not you know husband, wife, and three children.

The average household in Greensboro is less than two people.

So there's a lot of single household.

So the so the desire for the the traditional R3 house, you know, that means uh three uh houses per acre.

That is probably a and a less popular, less needed kind of a zoning restriction.

So now that there are also these terms called missing middle.

So you have you know, you have apartments and downtown living and you have suburban um single family housing, but the missing middle is kind of in between.

The townhomes, the uh fourplexes, that that sort of thing is is an area that Greensboro wants to emphasize, the planning department wants to emphasize.

And also, she also this was interesting to me, and I didn't know it was that she said Greensboro and Raleigh are about the same size for square miles, but Greensboro has almost 200,000 fewer people.

So, where that really makes a difference is in the tax revenue that the city of Greensboro gets from property tax.

So for the same amount of land, Raleigh's getting a lot more property tax than Greensboro is.

So that the R3 is a uh something that has to be rethought and and it um I think the city is rethinking that.

How can others get involved?

Where do you see a need?

I mean, already on your task force that for others to plug in.

Well, I think having the city and those of us on the committee reach out to the builder community and say, hey, we would like your participation, we need your participation.

What are the things that you are seeing that limit your ability to move forward quickly?

And let's see if there's a way we can bring some of those messages back and see if there's a way that the city can work on some of that.

I know under Sioux Schwartz area, they have made great strides in reducing the amount of time it takes to get the permits.

And so let's see if there are other areas that we could do that too.

Yeah.

It's like you're setting up our next segment that we're going to talk with builders right after after we take a commercial break.

But before we get to that, let me ask you to look out a bit.

Think about 2030.

What do you see happening or what do you hope will happen?

I hope to see uh more infill, a lot more people living in where it's car optional, where they can walk to grocery stores, where they can walk to to work.

Um I think that that is what I really see more in Greensboro.

And I think that's the way that the population of Greensboro is evolving too.

Because if you think about it, that the if we continue to build out further and further, that makes more sprawl.

That that's less environmentally friendly than a more dense population inside the city limits.

Because if you have to go cut down a bunch of trees and build new roads, new um water and sewer and all that, uh it, and then people have to drive a lot more.

That's less environmentally friendly than putting um housing where the infrastructure already exists, the roads and the sewers are already there, and people don't have to drive as far.

So that's and the bus lines are already there.

So that that is uh an area that I think would really help on multiple multiple levels.

I think one of the issues that I would like to see us overcome is within the existing neighborhoods where there are these pieces of land, the residents have made it very clear their concern that some big apartment building is gonna come in right next door to the home where you know, mom and dad and now the kids are growing up.

And that is a tough one to kind of figure out how to do.

And I'm hoping over this period of time, we can find a way that people will feel more comfortable with us providing some more infill.

We've not as a committee, we've not talked to the transportation people to make sure that we've got buses that will get people to work or to school.

And so we've got a couple more things to do, but I think we will get there by then.

I love it.

I love it.

Well, thank you.

Thanks for giving your time to be part of this.

Your volunteers, you're helping to make it happen for the city of Greensboro, and um, and we just can use more of you, just make devils of you to make it happen.

We appreciate it.

Thank you for highlighting this important issue.

Yes, absolutely.

Thank you.

Hey, and really keep up with this Road to 10,000 online.

You can go to Greensboro-NC.gov, just search road to 10K.

And when we come back, as Cheryl set up for us, we're gonna talk to the builders and find out more about their um thoughts about the roads of 10K.

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Welcome back to Gate City Insider.

Today is all about housing, specifically the road to building 10,000 new homes in Greensboro by 2030.

Well, these two men know exactly what it takes to make that happen.

Will Yarns, President of Granville Homes, and Bobby Funk, development director for Mills Construction.

Welcome to you both.

Glad to have you.

So how did you hear about and um how did you get involved with the road to 10,000?

Yeah, so I I heard about it uh before it was announced that you know some some initiatives might be coming down the pipeline.

Uh so I was really excited that Greensboro was uh taking on this challenge of addressing the housing needs.

Um and when when they asked me to to serve on this committee and I got that email, I was really excited to to help shape the direction that that we're going with my uh experience building houses.

Yeah.

So Bobby, your company's in Raleigh, and so how did you get involved?

That's right.

Um we we first started looking at the housing needs here in Greensboro um probably six or seven years ago originally, and saw that there was even at that time a significant need for new housing, uh a lot a high ratio of uh what you could consider cost burden households, people who are spending a uh more of their income on housing relative to the rest of their their um their income.

And we saw that the need was significant, and um so we started we started uh about five, six years ago, started pursuing um bringing some affordable development to uh to town to supplement what's already been going been going on for a long time here.

Yeah, so okay, so the big question is though, what does it take to really make this initiative come to fruition?

10,000 new homes.

What do you what are some of the steps we need to do to make it happen?

Well, I it's a it's a one thing at a time process, right?

You can't eat the whole sandwich in one bite.

Uh as I say um, so with with a need that significant, you have to try to approach it from a variety of different angles, uh, whether it be from the affordable space to the market rate space to the workforce space.

Uh, the need is across the spectrum of of incomes, uh, housing types, uh, locations across this the community.

It's significant, so you need as many partners as you can, uh, all working uh towards the same goal to try to build more stock.

Yeah, I would agree with that.

And um, and it's not a question of you know how it's how fast.

So we we need to increase the ex the rate of which homes are being built in Greensboro.

And and we can do that with a lot of different ways that we're talking about Ed by building different types of houses across the spectrum.

The you know, from from single family houses to apartments, and then what we call the missing middle and the in between.

You know, so that's duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, townhomes, ADUs, um, all different housing types to address the demand for for all of those the demographics.

Yeah, I want to get your reaction to some of the the three things that Cheryl talked about, uh having to do with these these parcels of land that um the city has.

So uh any thoughts on kind of those things.

Uh yeah, I mean, any any uh any help the city can do to to get the lots improved before a builder shows up is is gonna help accelerate that that building process.

And then also, you know, workforce development um for construction careers, partnering with GTC and and other education places that that build that is only gonna create more workers for uh to to address this need.

Yeah, I mean, I know that uh you know Mills Construction obviously saw an opportunity just in Greensboro and just in the need.

So let's talk about specifically around this initiative.

What other opportunities do you see for builders?

Yeah, uh when when you speak to the idea of the city getting involved with identifying parcels for development opportunities, um we would always advocate for you know communicating early in the process about what the what the vision might be even before it's ready for an RP, potentially just getting some feedback from folks in the development community saying, what do you think this could be theoretically?

There's there's lots of challenges.

This is a uh this is a hard business uh that that comes with a lot of risk.

Um the I would say the biggest challenge is there's not enough buildable lots.

Um you know you need you need a buildable lot to build a house.

Um and you know that process is is challenging and and it's full of full of speed bumps along the way.

Um it's uh developing land is a bespoke process.

It's it's every piece of land is different, it requires different permits, it requires you know a different viewpoint every single time.

So it's not a rinse and repeat process.

So any place in the process that can be streamlined improves everything.

Um so the city is actually you know working on doing improving some of their parts of the process that they touch.

Are you are you finding some of the same things?

Yeah, I mean, in terms of development review of projects that are in the pipeline relative to other communities who work in in the state, we found that the city city has been very great to work with overall.

Um the speed of of turning around proposals are pretty quick.

Reviews are within a reasonable time frame, um, processes around zonings uh have a pretty logical approach to consideration and timelines and submittals and all the other all the pieces associated with it.

Um we've had a pretty positive experience through that throughout the development review to permitting to construction to finishing out of construction and um going through lease up on on new properties.

In addition to finding buildable lots, because I hear you on that.

Are there other things that you think that that could really make a difference to speed up the rate?

I mean, you said you you you know how to do it, you know how to do it, even if it's a bespoke process and you got to do it differently for each space.

You you know that's what your business is.

But are there things that could be put in place either by the city or or maybe someone else um who's listening or watching that could you know some kind of innovation that could help speed up the processes?

Um I'll speak to the the that development work that we do through the affordable space through the tax credit program.

It is just a long process from uh initial ideation to breaking ground, the financing um mechanisms that we use, the reviews that are required through the sources of capital that we use just require a lot of time and a lot of uncertainty until you get to yes.

Um so it kind of is in is inherent with the uh sources of capital that we are using to uh make affordable housing uh uh a reality here.

Right, right.

And which would be the same for most other developers who do this sort of work.

I would say that the the city is doing a good job on promoting the the different types of housing and the in-filled developments.

Um and I think I would we probably need to define in-fill development.

Um and I would say that that is a piece of property in a community that hasn't been built to its highest and best use, and it's surrounded by other properties that are already built to their highest and best use.

So that could be a you know, a two-acre lot with one single family house on it surrounded by several houses that are on a third of an acre.

You could divide that two-acre piece into six lots and have six houses.

Um you could have duplexes there or triplexes.

So encouraging those sort of houses to be built within the community is is what's is one of the things that are needed.

Yeah, and bringing, I would say bringing the community along with the with this idea and letting them be part of it, because as I mean, I think was mentioned previously, that can sometimes be a hard sell.

Some of these infill housing, like is what's going to be built right next to me, what's going to come to my neighborhood, and and how can we be on the same page about uh working together to make it the highest and best use, not just for that piece of land, but for the community at large.

That's right, yeah.

It's it's it's definitely a community process and working with the community is is very very important.

Um I would encourage the public to have communication with builders and developers about during the process.

Yeah, okay, so uh more than 2,700 homes completed or under construction as of right now in this process.

The goal to get to 10,000 by 2030, uh, is it doable from your perspective?

I I mean I it it it is with enough uh political capital and um and it depends on on what the market can do, frankly.

It's a question of how many developers are willing to to invest in Greensboro and how and how well the city is looking to open open their arms towards new development.

And as well said, the the idea of redeveloping any space, especially in Greensboro, which is built out quite a bit within the city limits, uh making changes in existing spaces which might be viewed as potentially uh underutilized to some extent can be challenging uh with with existing neighborhoods in place and and the disturbances that come along with construction and change that uh that many communities are not necessarily used to or excited about.

Um but the concept of of saying yes in my backyard is a very real thing that solves a very real problem to deal with the affordability crisis that we have uh not just here in Greensboro but across the whole state and the whole country.

Um that cost of living and cost of housing is such an enormous uh issue right now, in particular uh relative to so many other things going on.

Um we think it's a it's a it's a uh priority that we believe that the city is uh I think believes in significantly and is worth uh worth putting the effort towards.

I'll keep it short.

I absolutely think we can get there.

Okay.

We're on the right track.

I love it.

Okay, so along those lines, and um if people are curious, you you can't kind of talking about you know infill housing and in are there places that um that people should look to see where it is it's working and it's making a difference.

Um I would say uh yeah, there's so there's several places around town that that it works.

I have one project that's across the street from Friendly Center that is, you know, we took bought one house and then we're putting 23 townhomes on it.

Um so that's a good infill project.

Um so yeah.

And when you when you work with people, I mean, so you know, in you know, that's a very desirable place to live near friendly center.

It's a very popular place.

It's walkable.

You could walk to work, you can walk to shopping, you can walk to entertainment, um, and you see and you put people in those homes.

I know that's not you know, you're building them, so you're not uh not always seeing that, but but you hear the stories.

You know, can you give us an example of what that's like to know that you have you have made those connection points for people and and changed some lives in that way?

Well, I would say that that is you know when somebody chooses to to live in a location like that, they're they're investing in their lifestyle and and they they know they're gonna be able to walk the things, they're not gonna have to drive their car as much.

Um they're gonna be able to to walk to restaurants and the movie theater.

Um so that's it's a it's a different lifestyle than than you that's centered around a car.

And to see to see to know that you've changed the community.

What is that?

I mean, what does it mean to you as a as a developer as a builder?

Well, I'd say, I mean, with our the two projects that we uh that we're working on in Greensboro right now, Yanteville Place and Yankeeville Place 2.

Um, we we partnered with um Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, which is one of our neighbors, which we met during some initial community outreach uh before we started on the first phase of the project.

Um, and we found that our missions were very aligned with the need for housing and the desire to build more housing, and we uh built a great partnership with uh with the folks at that church that um that they they got on board.

And so the idea of meeting the needs of of housing, especially for for lower income uh households which proportionally spend far more on their on their housing than uh folks at the higher income range, uh the need was enormous and and when uh I'll I'll tell you that when we when we opened the first phase for for leasing, uh which was 84 units, we had a thousand applicants within I think the first few days of of applications.

That speaks to just how enormous the need is that we're talking about here.

Um and the the need has not gone down that the property leased up, and we believe that the the need is is still there and still strong for for more housing of all of all sorts of income types.

Yeah, it's what it's what we must do really to to keep growing and to and to be the Greensboro that we want to be, that's for sure.

Well, thank you.

Thanks for your your insight.

Thank you for all you're doing to help us grow and to provide um housing along the way.

We appreciate you.

And uh again, you can keep up with the road to 10,000 online.

Greensboro dash nc.gov, just search road to 10K.

And when we come back, the home buyers perspective.

Stay with us.

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Keep the green clean.

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For any questions you have.

Call the city's contact center at 336-373 City.

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10,000 new homes by 2030.

That is the goal of the road to 10,000.

And today we're exploring that initiative in detail and the people who would be most impacted.

Von Patrick is a new homeowner.

Hillary Meredith is realtor in Greensboro.

Welcome to you, both.

So glad to have you here.

Von I wanted you to start with you.

You work for the city of Greensboro.

You work in the planning department.

So you've heard about this initiative, I know.

But you didn't really expect to be a new homeowner.

No.

So tell us kind of give us your story.

Well, I was renting and I lived in this house for 12 to 13 years.

And just like my landlord had called me and said, I want to come out and talk to you.

And she came out and she devastated me at the last minute.

It was in March.

And she told me, she said, I'm not going to rent you the house anymore.

She said, I want you out by May 1st.

And I was devastated.

And I said, Well, you know, it's hard to find rental property.

She said, I know that.

But family come first and my niece need a place to stay.

So from that time on, when she left, I started packing then.

I started packing.

And then I started looking for places.

And it was so hard because every time you try to get a rental property, they run your credit.

So they pull your credit score down.

So I have a friend, Sheila Salah, who's a realtor in Greensboro.

She said, We're gonna buy a house.

I said, I'm too old to buy a house.

I can't buy a house.

And she said, baby girl, you're not too old.

We're gonna get your house.

So my journey started.

She met with me, told me to write down everything, everybody I owed.

She blessed me out because I owed everybody in Greensboro.

But she told me how to get my credit and get my credit score up, and then we started looking for houses.

In a million years, I never did thought I'd own a house.

But today.

But today I am a homeowner.

You're a homeowner.

A first time homeowner.

First time home.

And I love it.

And you love it.

Is this story surprising at all?

Do you Hillary?

No.

No, I think it's it's very common to have people that are forced out of their current home and having to, whether they rent or for some other reason and having to kind of pivot very quickly to find uh a manageable living situation.

And you know, with with with rents and prices of everything kind of going up, if you've been somewhere for 12 years, I'm sure you had a very nice reasonable rental rate, and to get something similar probably would have doubled what what you were paying.

So and I think there's also a lot to be said about the like it doesn't matter what age you are.

There are a lot of people that can be first-time homebuyers in their 20s and their 50s and their 60s, like there's there's no age limit on when you can be a first-time homebuyer.

Yeah, and then we're talking about home buying, but I mean really this initiative is about more homes, and so whether it's a buyer to rent or to what whatever it might be.

And and you you got in some ways got very lucky because you this process happened pretty quickly for you.

Yes, it did, because I had to be out by June 1st.

Yeah, and some people look years trying to find the right home.

Um, and and as a community, we can't let that happen.

We have to have more homes to make that happen.

So, what are some of the challenges that you see homeowners, uh home buyers looking for or or anyone looking to find out?

Yeah, I think I think to the point of like the road to 10,000, I think inventory is a huge part of it, right?

And we're talking about affordable slash attainable housing, we're talking apartments, we're talking condos, townhomes, homes over a million dollars.

Like in in Greensboro and Guilford County, we need a lot of it.

Um, we needed there's so much economic development, there's so many people coming here and growth here, and I think also just homes that are livable.

So a lot of times the people, I feel like kind of if you're under 250 in your price point, it's it's very hard to find kind of a really nice ready home.

Like you gotta be ready to probably do a little work.

It's gonna need some upgrades, it's gonna need some things.

So there are a lot of programs out there that help, at least in that price point, but I do think it's just kind of the inventory and making sure that the homes are in good shape, um, and that you know, there aren't any big major issues in a home, and that can happen at any price point.

And that's where I think having an agent on your side that helps you through the process bringing their knowledge to the table, as well as helping with the emotional process of it because it's the biggest purchase most people ever make, right?

Um, so to kind of guide you through that process, and that's also why, like the um the down payment assistance program with Greensboro, you have to have an agent if you're buying a home and utilizing that program because they understand that you need that help and guidance to make sure you're making a good choice and a good decision.

Yeah, I mean, would you have even known where to look if our house without without a little help?

And I wouldn't have known and what you could afford.

What I could afford.

I didn't even know the process.

Yeah.

But she was silent.

She would always say, baby girl, we gonna get through this.

And we did, and she did, and I had to go through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency out of Raleigh, which was a good program that I went through, and I tell any and everybody, go for it.

Yeah, yeah, go for it.

Yeah, and the full team that you know, lender.

I mean, there's so many people there involved in the process.

Everybody was everybody was so nice because I had called the lender and said, I'm not doing this.

I I don't want to, I'll find me someplace to say I'm not buying no house.

Yeah, it's scary, right?

Yeah, it was scary.

Yeah, scary.

I mean, it's scary to not know where you're gonna live and then to be thinking about taking on debt and to and and and taking on the work of the house that you own, a home that you own.

Then one house that I picked, and it wasn't the guy had didn't do me right.

So I lost $1,700 on one house because I bagged out of the process.

But my friends all around said, don't worry about it.

If you need the $1,700, I'll give you, I'll give it to you.

So, but we kept on going.

Yeah, and not everybody has friends on their side to help them.

And so again, that's why it this this team is so important.

Hillary, uh most of the people, I mean, like what percentage do you think are coming in?

New people from out of town who are looking for homes, and what are just people kind of moving and shifting homes in Greensboro?

I mean, I would say probably maybe like I I don't really know the stats, but if I had to think about like the clients and that I have and my team has, I would say maybe 30 to 40 percent are people moving here from other places, and then the rest are either people that have lived here, they're moving up, they're downsizing, they're doing that that kind of thing and moving around.

So, with the initiative like this, I mean, we were gonna be building new homes in Greensboro, no matter what, but to have the city pushing for this, how do you see that really impacting kind of the inventory issue?

I think with the with the city behind it and wanting that to happen, I think it's gonna filter into uh planning and zoning, permitting, easing that process a little bit.

Like it needs to happen.

Like, I'm not saying no zoning, no permitting, that's crazy, because then you have homes that are built that aren't um up to the standard they need to be.

But I think um you've got builders that are gonna want to come here because they know that that there's a growth mindset um as far as building and um to really support those all the the pieces of the puzzle that will grow the the inventory here, and I think having the city behind that will really help with all the other private businesses that need to be on board to make that happen.

All right, how about like one minute of advice uh for uh for a home prospective home buyers out there?

Um educate yourself.

Um, whether that is um meeting with an agent, meeting with a lender, like those I always say like those are the first things you need to do.

Talk with a lender and talk with an agent.

Whether you're gonna buy a house in a month or in two years, understand the process because what happens is a lot of times you people are like, oh, I want to buy a house, but they don't do the research, and then they find a house they love, they don't have a pre-approval, they don't know the process, and they lose the house because maybe it's really popular and it's in a multi-offers situation, or you know, that it takes a while to get through all of that.

So I would just say education and preparation so that when you do find the house that you want, you're ready to go.

Yeah, and get a team around you, yeah, and get and get that team around you of trusted agent, lender, inspector, attorney, like there's a lot of people that are part of that process.

Um, and I think really talking to the professionals that do that work, not just your friends and family, like they have good advice, but also like you need to talk to people that are in it on a day-to-day basis.

Yeah, yeah.

And it sounds like uh you and your realtor became friends through this.

Well, we've been friends for years.

Okay.

So baby girl.

That was her thing.

She said, baby girl, you can get mad at me all you want to.

You gonna buy this house.

I love that.

I love that.

Do you have something you want to share with others who were, you know, kind of just starting in this process and thinking, well, I wonder if I could do it.

Wonder if I could buy it.

Yes, go ahead, go for it.

Just I wasn't educated in knowing anything, but my baby girl realtor taught me a whole lot.

And I can tell a few people a few things.

You can call me if you want to information.

I can give it to you, but go for it.

And you're never too old to buy a house.

Because that's what I told her.

I sound too old about a house.

She's a baby girl, you're never too old.

Yeah.

And I would also say, like, there's a lot of people that know agents or know lenders, right?

But if you don't, like there's nothing wrong with interviewing people.

I get interviewed all the time.

Like, hey, I'm talking to a couple different agents.

Like, find the person that fits you, right?

And fits your personality because it's a very um, it's an emotional and intimate relationship.

So you need to make sure it's somebody that you vibe well with.

You don't have to work with the first person you meet.

Good advice.

And you're gonna be spending some time together.

Yes, yeah.

Sure.

Yeah.

Hopefully get it done in short order, but you never know.

You never know.

Well, thank you both for sharing.

Vaughn, you're an inspiration.

Congratulations.

And um and Hillary, really appreciate your insight as well.

Thank you.

Um, you can keep up with the road to 10,000 at Greensboro dash nc.gov.

Just search road to 10k.

That is our time.

Thank you for spending some of yours with us from all of us here at GTN.

Have a great day, the I'm Frank Gilliam, Chancellor here at UNC Greensboro, and I want to welcome you to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

We're thrilled to have you here this morning for this exciting day.

It's wonderful to see so many partners, community leaders, students, and friends gathered here today.

Thank you for joining us in what is a very special moment for our university and for the city of Greensboro.

Today's announcement reflects months of collaboration among four proud partners.

Uh UNC Greensboro, the Greensboro Sports Foundation, the City of Greensboro, and the Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Together, we share a commitment to showcasing our community and the outstanding facilities that make Greensboro a destination for international sport.

And today that collaboration brings us to an exciting milestone.

Today, we are proud to announce that the Norwegian national football team has selected Greensboro as its team base for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Some of you may know I'm from Minnesota, and I've been practicing my Norwegian.

And so I would like to say welcoming to the Greensboro Team Norway.

Or in English, welcome to Greensboro.

Before we continue, we have a brief video message from our new Norwegian friends from Trues Dali, who's a team Norway project manager for FIFA World Cup 2026.

Truth and his colleagues have been wonderful partners throughout this process, and we're grateful to work together with them.

Let's hear a few words from Trues about why Greensboro was the right choice for Team Norway.

Please look at the video screen.

Hi everyone.

I am through the study, head the project manager for Team Norway, World Cup uh 2026.

We really look forward to come to Greensboro on the 2nd of June.

We've been there, I've been there three times already.

And uh we are very happy with the facilities in Greensboro.

Uh we like the hotel very much, the surroundings, and the training facilities at the university.

So um we're very happy to to have Greensboro as our base camp.

Uh we went around to see eight different places before we uh ended up to choose Greensboro.

Uh we wanted a hotel with um uh with nature uh air.

We didn't want uh City Hotel, we wanted to be a little bit outside, and uh we thought Greensboro was the perfect choice for us.

And uh it's only 20 minutes to the airport, uh only 20 minutes to the training facilities.

So it was an easy choice uh after when we've been different places.

We really look forward to to get to Greensboro with the whole group um and start to train there, hopefully on the 3rd of June.

And we look forward to to meet all the friendly people in Greensboro and met uh a few already, and we hope for the for the support of the community, and uh we look forward to have uh a good stay there and hopefully win some matches as well.

So we go further on in the tournament.

See you.

The Norwegians are an understated people.

Team Norway's decision to train here reflects the strength of our partnerships and demonstrates what can happen when organizations across Greensboro work together with a shared vision.

It also reflects the world class quality of the athletics training environment here at UNCG.

As many of you know, just beyond these walls, is are the facilities where Team Norway will prepare for competition.

Our athletic staff, our campus community, and our partners across Greensboro.

Look forward to supporting them during their stay and sharing them on as they compete.

We are very proud to welcome Team Norway to Greensboro and to UNCG, and we're excited to play a role in the World Cup Cup experience of 2026.

And now it is my pleasure to introduce Richard Beard, president and CEO of the Greensboro Sports Foundation, whose leadership was instrumental in bringing this opportunity to our community.

Richard.

Thank you, Chancellor Gilliam.

Thank you for hosting this great event, and good morning, everyone, and what another beautiful day in Greensboro.

On behalf of the Greensboro Sports Foundation, it's a tremendous honor to welcome the Norway national football team to Greensboro as their training base camp during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

This is a proud moment for our community.

Greensboro has a re rich and enduring history in sports, and for decades, our city has been a place where athletes come to compete at the highest levels, where fans come together to celebrate the power of sport from legendary tournaments at the first horizon Coliseum, Greensboro Complex, to national championships, Olympic trials, youth tournaments, and collegiate events.

Greensboro has built a reputation as one of the premier sports destinations in the country.

Sports tourism is a part of the fabric of this community, and each year thousands of athletes and their families travel here to compete, creating experiences that extend far beyond the playing field.

They discover our hospitality, they discover our volunteers, our parks, our venues, and the welcoming spirit that defines Greensboro.

That same spirit is what we're excited to share with Team Norway.

Hosting the team places an international spotlight on Greensboro, and it allows the world to see firsthand the passion this community has for sports and for welcoming visitors from all around the globe.

It also represents an important step forward as we continue preparing our community for the 2029 World University Games, which UNCG will play a huge part in that as well.

Opportunities like this demonstrate Greensboro's ability to host major international events, celebrate global cultures, create lasting connections through sport.

Most importantly, we hope Team Norway feels at home here.

Our volunteers, our youth athletes, and our entire community are excited to support your team during your time in Greensboro.

To our friends from Norway, and I don't know this might be live stream, so we'll speak to them if they're watching.

Welcome to Greensboro.

We're proud to have you at have your base camp here, and we wish you great success in the World Cup.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, folks.

I'm Anthony Cordeau.

I am the CEO at the Visit Greensboro.

I'm incredibly excited to be here today to welcome uh the Norwegians to our community here in a few months.

It is huge for Greensboro, right?

We've got uh partners up on stage as well throughout this room from UNCG, Greensboro Sports Foundation, the city, and many others who have all come together to show off our community in a global way.

This is a story that's pretty big for Greensboro.

Hospitality has always been a big industry for us, but being on a global stage is a whole new level.

And you're starting to see these wins stack up, whether it's bringing our Norwegian friends to town here in the next few months, uh, the world university games, large Olympics, uh like AAU Junior Olympics events, these are starting to show off our community as a global community.

And that's really something we should be proud of here.

The CDB, our mission is to show off our community to the world, and that economic impact that we bring to town through that mission is really important to 11,000 employees in our industry here in Guilford County.

It helps to support the shops, the restaurants, the hotels, all of the different industries that visitors support are also quality of life improvements for our own residents in town.

And so when you see these wins, you see uh folks coming in from out of town from across the world, the money they spend here makes our life better here in this community.

It's also an opportunity for us to showcase our uniqueness to the world, and that's a big deal.

When we have media here from uh anywhere between 50 to 100 different institutions from across uh the Nordics to talk about Team Norway, we want to use it as an opportunity to show off how amazing Greensboro is on that global stage, and that will be very exciting for us to see us on front-page newspaper stories, uh, on the TV, on digital media, talking about how amazing our community is on that global stage.

So, in closing, I just want to say to Norway and all of our fans over there, Alt Penorg, we're incredibly excited to have you here.

Uh, and then please enjoy uh the rest of the uh presentation here.

And I'd like to welcome uh our former uh Spartan George Hoyle to the stage.

Thank you very much, Tony.

It is a great day for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the city of Greensboro.

As chair of both the UNCG Board of Trustees and the Greensboro Sports Foundation, as well as a proud alumnus of this incredible university who've had the privilege of wearing the Spartan jersey as a member of one of the five men's soccer national championship teams.

This moment, thank you very much.

Don't say that, Chancellor.

This moment is incredibly meaningful for our students, our community, and the young athletes throughout Greensboro who dream about this great game.

This moment reminds us that our city is connected to the global stage of sport.

For decades, UNCG Men's Soccer has been in one of the most respected programs in America.

The Spartans have competed at the highest levels of the DNCAA and helped develop players who have gone on to professional careers around the globe.

More importantly, the program has helped to build a culture of excellence here on our campus, one that values discipline, teamwork, and the pursuit of greatness.

Those values are the same ones that define the world's best teams.

That's why it feels so fitting that as the world's biggest sporting event comes to America this summer.

Part of that journey will take place right here in Greensboro.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, Spartan alumni, and current and former student athletes, we're excited to welcome Team Norway to our home pitch and to wish them the very best as they prepare for the 2026 World Cup.

We're honored to host you, and we look forward to cheering you on.

Thank you.

Good morning.

And what a beautiful morning it is to have an announcement like this.

Um, I first want to recognize my fellow council members because without their support, a lot of things would not happen in the city of Greensboro.

So I have Tammy Therm, if you'll raise your hand.

Crystal Black.

And I also want to recognize our city manager Trey Davis, and I see our assistant city manager Andrea Harrell, and I see former mayor Nancy Vaughn in the back.

So recognizing my colleagues and and former colleagues and city team is very, very important on an occasion such as this.

And today is such a proud moment for Greensboro.

The World Cup is the largest sporting event in the world, and communities across the United States had hoped to play a role in welcoming teams as they prepare for the tournament.

The fact that the Norwegian football team chose Greensboro speaks volumes about what makes this city special.

Greensboro has long been a place where sports thrives.

I know my own family played sports in the leagues.

I'm a proud member of the sports foundation.

And you know, I'm just thrilled that we have come this far from youth leagues, collegiate athletics, national championships, international competitions.

Sports are woven into the fabric of our community.

But what truly sets Greensboro apart is its people.

This is a city that understands how to welcome visitors.

We are a community that values hospitality.

We celebrate international connections, and we take pride in creating an environment where athletes can focus, prepare, and feel at home.

When the Norwegian national football team arrives here, they will experience a city that is excited to support them and the spirit that makes Greensboro such a special place.

Events like this should remind all of us that Greensboro has earned a place on the world stage.

And when the eyes of the global sports community turn toward the FIFA World Cup in 2026, Greensboro will be part of that story, and we are proud of that.

We are proud to welcome the Norwegian national football team to Greensboro.

Revolution Mill Greensboro.

Here at Gucci, we offer authentic Neapolitan Pizzas, where we bring almost 85% of our ingredients from Italy.

We are cooking those pizzas in wood-fired ovens.

Everything is hand-stretched, handmade in front of your eyes.

Along with our authentic pizzas, we offer homemade salads where we make them in the house, Italian gelato imported from Italy, also, and we offer different varieties of cakes, homemade cannolis, and cupcakes, along with imported wine and imported beer from Italy and salt drinks.

Our most popular pizza is the Margarita Pisa, which was named after the Queen Margaret.

Here at Cucino Forno, we are a family-oriented place where we have open kitchen style.

We have picnic style tables.

So again, come see us for authentic pizza sales, dessert and gelato at 1160 Revolution Drive.

Courageous African American men who, with a few swings of a golf club, changed the course of civil rights in America.

Because I went back and looked at what it was like in 1955.

There, throughout the South, segregation had its grips.

There were whites-only signs on restaurants, theaters, and even at public golf courses like this.

It was a time when Althea Gibson, uh, a famous African American woman athlete was winning her role on the professional tennis circuit.

Jackie Robinson had already integrated baseball, but there was a lot of pushback.

And then there was African American golfer Charlie Sifford, who was trying to get on the PGA tour and play.

But the PGA barred him because they had a clause that no African Americans can compete in a PGA sanctioned event.

So it was a much different time.

It was a time when a lot of people did not want to see blacks on this golf course.

This golf course was whites only.

And so a lot has changed in that time, but it was it was a tough time 70 years ago.

And just to think what my father and the five others that stood with him, they were brave because what they did and the result of what they did not only got them jail time and felony trespassing charges filed against them, but they had death threats.

They had to worry about their employer keeping them on the job after finding out what they did.

So the consequences were really serious from what their actions were, but they were determined to play for change, and that's what they did.

Today we expect uh I will say a few words in honor of the Green Spurrow Six, tell them the people who gather here a little bit about the story.

Then we will have six golfers tee off in a ceremonial first whole shot here to recognize the Greensboro Six, the bravery that they showed, and how their actions help to transform this course into a place where people of all colors can play.

And so each of these t shots will represent each of the Green Spurrows six and their drives for freedom.

Five, four, three, two, one, three, three, three, three, hey there everybody.

It's Mikey Romano, and no, you're not dreaming.

We are back with yet another Eco Venture GSO.

Today we're gonna be talking about snakes.

It's you're the snake, and a lot of people don't like these guys, but me, I absolutely love them.

So we're gonna talk about a bunch of fun stuff, learn some facts, meet some cool kids, and uh have a fun have a fun uh episode because you know what?

I missed you too.

Fortunately, Crystal Jones isn't here with me today because Starbucks ran out of coffee before she could get enough in her to tolerate me.

I'm on my own.

You have low standards, stick with me.

All right, so today we're gonna talk about a type of animal that takes a lot of abuse, a lot of people don't like, is really maligned in all cultures, and I'm not talking about me trying to get a date.

We are gonna talk about snakes.

Okay.

Snakes are an integral part of our uh our ecosystem.

They are huge on pest control.

They a lot of people don't like, they think they're a little creepy.

Well, we'll kind of go back and forth to teach a little bit and show you some of my friends.

So, I'm gonna start out strong.

I know not a people a lot of people like snakes, but if you haven't changed the channel, you're gonna try this with me, right?

We're gonna start out with one of the scariest, most horrible things, and then we'll kind of uh work our way back.

So I'm gonna start out strong.

You ready?

Everybody, this is Orson.

Okay.

Terrifying, right?

Orson is what we call a western hognose snake.

He's full size, he's not gonna get any bigger than this.

He couldn't hurt me if he wanted to.

So he is great.

I use it for a lot of programs, and a lot of people keep these guys as pets because they're very sweet, very easy.

So, basic biology.

Snakes are reptiles, okay?

They have scaly skin, they have no hair, they are what a lot of people call cold blooded, which means they can't regulate the temperature of their body.

So we're as you know, humans, mammals, uh, birds, that kind of thing.

They're they're warm blooded, they're always warm on the inside, they generate their own heat.

Snakes and other reptiles like uh turtles, crocodilians, lizards, that kind of thing, are cold blooded, and they get their heat from the outside.

So if it's cold outside, they're cold, they don't want to move very much.

It's warm, they're warm, they're happy to move around.

It's a nice temperate day out today.

I'm standing in the shade, the sun's a little warmer, of course, but he's feeling good.

He wants to check things out, look around, and uh maybe see if there's some snacks lying around.

I I don't have any in my pockets, I'm sorry.

But the cool thing with hog nose snakes, and I got I got a couple different snakes with different behaviors and adaptations for you.

We're gonna talk about a lot of their adaptations.

Now, Orson's not gonna do it because he's not afraid of us.

When you have you know animals as uh pets for whatnot and whatnot, and you take care of them, they lose a lot of their natural behaviors because they don't need to display them to protect themselves.

But hognoses are fun, they're the actors of the snake world.

So this guy has no venom, no defense mechanism at all.

But Orson, what he does, he pretends to be a venomous snake if a predator tries to eat him.

So he's got his cute little face and it's kind of a lot of extra skin around his neck.

What he'll do, he'll flatten that skin around his neck and raise his head up just like a cobra and it'll open his mouth and hiss really loudly, and he might even strike just like he thinks the cobra would look, even though he's never met a cobra.

But he's displaying the same behaviors that a potential venomous snake would have, and he's trying to drive a predator off by pretending to be venomous with his behavior.

Uh, even when he strikes, he usually strikes with his mouth closed so it's a little bump.

That'll usually drive a predator off, but if it doesn't, he has a backup plan.

It's a little silly to us, but not to him.

So if the venomous display doesn't work, what he's gonna do is he's going to quit that.

He's going to roll over on his back, his tongue is going to stick out.

He's going to musk himself, which means this icky stanky stuff comes out the back end, and it makes it smell kind of gross and dead.

And he is going to play dead.

And he's not gonna move.

And a predator's gonna be think that he's dead, he's rotting.

Most animals don't want to eat rotting food.

If you flip him on his belly gently, he'll wait a second and then roll over on his back again.

And he's like, nope, still dead.

And he will do that until hopefully the predator leaves and he can kind of slither on his way and be safe for another day.

So these guys are a lot of fun, they're really cute, they got a little upturned nose right there.

They like to push through uh loose soil and whatnot looking for food.

These guys eat small rodents.

We have hognose in North Carolina, they're called Eastern Hodos, they're a little bit bigger, a little bit darker, some has different patterns on them.

They are strictly toad eaters, so they will actually eat even if they're even the toads that are you know, um, the the southern toads, the fowlers that live around North Carolina, those are toxic for most animals to eat, but hognose can't eat them.

So eastern hogs exclusively eat amphibians and toad, but mostly toads these guys are rodent eaters from out west on the other coast.

So say hi to Orson, everybody.

That's our start, and we're just gonna have more fun from here.

Alright, guys, so hello, this is Leo, the manager at Wu Coffee.

We're located at 236 South Elm Street in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Here at Wu Coffee, we have a variety of items we offer from our different coffee styles to our teas and our tea lattes and our homemade syrups.

We also offer some pastries made daily, some ice creams that we started recently, and some of our thirst quenchers that we offer along with the coffee.

We offer seasonal drinks to change throughout the year.

At the moment, our banana cream ice latte is our most popular.

This summer we are introducing the Afgado, which is double espresso poured over vanilla ice cream.

We do have a welcoming atmosphere.

Coffee beans are for sale as well.

Again, our coffee located at two thirty-six South Elm Street.com and give us a follow on Instagram at Owl Coffee.

All right, thank you.

Are we ready?

Thank you.

We are returning from closed session.

I would like to ask for a motion to return to open session.

All in favor, please say aye.

Thank you.

We are in the Katie Dorset Council Chambers.

And let the record reflect that all members are in attendance.

We will begin the meeting with a moment of silence.

And to the Republic for which it stands.

One nation under God.

Indivisible.

Thank you.

Please silence any and all electronic devices.

The City of Greensboro strongly encourages input from all residents.

And the council chamber serves as a welcoming and safe environment for all.

The council rules of procedure and decorum are posted on the city website under the city clerk tab.

And all speakers are expected to read and adhere to the rules when addressing the council during their speaking opportunity.

To address the council this evening, participants must have completed speaker sign-up by 5 30 p.m.

And this is pursuant to the rules prior to the council meeting.

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Speakers may address specific consent or business agenda items with three minutes allocated for remarks.

For any zoning applications, each side will get 15 minutes to speak, and then five minutes for rebuttal on each side.

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Any inappropriate or disruptive conduct will result in immediate removal.

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And this is an opportunity for council to listen and take notes.

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State statute requires council members to vote on all matters unless a direct financial interest exists, or if the council member serves on the board of a nonprofit organization that receives city funding.

All motions will be moved and seconded, and the presiding officer will announce the vote tally.

The consent agenda covering items G1 through G20 consists of routine and non-controversial matters matters that are approved with a single vote.

Any council member may request the removal of an item due to a conflict of interest or to vote in opposition.

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If an item is found to be time sensitive, the mayor may request that a vote be taken.

Closed captioning is provided for this meeting, and depending on the duration of proceedings, a brief recess is anticipated around 7:30 p.m.

We have no ceremonial and or presentation items.

So uh I would like to ask council if they would like to remove any items from the consent agenda due to a conflict or for the purpose to vote no.

Yes, madam mayor.

I would like to remove G8 and 9.

Um I will need to recuse myself on those matters.

One of the two managers for the applicant LLC is a client of my firm and also represents some of their affiliate companies.

So Mr.

Marshall is going to recuse himself from items eight and nine, so we can move ahead with the consent agenda minus uh those two items, and we will vote on that those separately.

So uh do I have anyone moving?

So move the consent agenda minus eight and nine, g eight and nine.

And that is seconded by Ms.

Crawford and uh all in favor, please say or please vote.

We can vote on a screen.

Sorry that carries nine to zero.

And now on G8 and G9, I would accept the motion.

G8 second.

I think we can move both of them, right?

Madam City Attorney since they were on consent.

So G8.

All right, uh Mrs.

Thurm made the motion.

Do I hear a second?

Seconded by Mr.

Holston.

Council, please vote.

Madam Mayor, do you mind voting on nine separately for the screen?

Oh, for the screen we need to okay.

So let's vote on uh G8 first.

That carries eight to zero with one recusal.

Now we can vote on G9.

I would do I need a separate motion, Madam City Attorney.

Okay.

We'll vote on G9.

That also passes eight to zero with one recusal.

Thank you, Council.

Um there are no public hearing items for today's meeting.

So we will move to our general business items.

We are asking uh council if you would like to pass the resolution adopting Vision 36 strategic framework for the city of Greensboro.

Mr.

City Manager.

Good evening, Mayor members of council.

Thank you so much for this opportunity.

Uh before you tonight is the Vision 36 framework designed to guide the long-term policy decisions, investment uh priorities, and implement strategies over the next decade for the city of Greensboro.

I first want to give a few acknowledgments regarding this work, a few key stakeholders who helped shape the work, including uh Dialva Wilson and the D.

Wilson agency team, which you all have met, uh our higher education partners, uh business leaders, nonprofit organizations, community members, and city staff.

But most importantly, I want to thank you as council for leaning in with intention and passion as we try to shape or we seek to shape the future of Greensboro.

At the core, vision 36 is about creating a clear intentional framework for how Greensboro evaluates priorities and makes long-term decisions.

The framework centers and focuses on a number of areas, but I want to highlight a few for tonight.

Strengthening Greensboro's competitive advantage by way of talent retention and equitable economic growth by connecting and unifying our neighborhoods and communities, by closing the income gap and expanding economic mobility and enhancing our neighborhood and community and vitality.

What Vision 36 ultimately provides is alignment.

It allows us to bring together work already underway, whether it's our 2040 comp plan, our road to 10,000, our GSO 35 downtown plan, our future bond and infrastructure investments, all under a single strategic direction.

I just want to note that successful cities are ones that who are intentional about where they're going.

And Vision 36 helps Greensboro ensure that growth over the next decade is strategic, inclusive, and sustainable.

Mayor, I respectful respectfully present the Vision 36 resolution for council's consideration.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Mr.

City Manager.

Um, are there any questions from council?

Sure.

We could go ahead with a comment now.

Um, Mr.

Manager, I just wanted to thank you again.

Um, an outgrowth of the retreat that you hosted um and led.

Uh, thank you again for creating that setting.

Uh, I thought it was really essential in terms of uh us having an opportunity to collaborate and strategize on what we really see as the next step for uh the city and the city of Greensboro.

I also want to thank Dialva and her agency, they did just a tremendous job.

Um, and I want to ask and assuming that we are going to vote in approval tonight.

I want to ask for us to build on this.

I think there is an opportunity for us uh in terms of looking at potential investment areas like those where we talked about um tools that help for both public and private investment as well as a process for evaluating and prioritizing our investments that we uh believe are key parts of growing the city.

I think that there was a lot of uh energy and strategy that was shared in the framework that you created here and put forward is really going to allow for us to um really um ensure that the city is growing in a way that we really see as a key part of how we grow into the future.

So thank you for that.

Thank you, Mayor Promptum.

Anyone else?

I just wanted to say before we uh move forward that I appreciate it, and I many of the public may not realize we spent two full days uh with our in our retreat, and um the the things that came out of that retreat are absolutely things that I believe that the city will embrace moving forward.

So thank you, Mr.

City Manager, and oh we have Dialva who is walking in the door uh from the Wilson Agency.

Thank you so much, Dialba.

We I was just talking about uh our retreat for two days, and and I I want to say that um you know it was intense, but we came to a lot of points together as a team, and I think that is what is so important that we need to continue to do and follow this strategic framework.

So thank you, Mr.

City Manager.

Thank you.

And uh I think everyone here at the DIES can say that we we all learned a lot.

I learned a lot.

So thank you.

I would just like to say one more thing, because things like this don't happen in local government without a strong council who's willing to really roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty, and work hard.

Um, people need to understand that this didn't happen by chance.

I didn't just come up with this myself.

Uh I actually I've I pulled up a big old bus for some of you and asked you to get in the car and take a ride a few times.

But the reality is this is a plan that we've all worked together and worked very hard on, and you all were tremendously intentional and passionate about making sure that Greensboro is going in the right direction.

And I'm eternally grateful, as well as the staff internally are as well.

So thank you so much.

Thank you.

All right, anyone else?

Okay, Mrs.

Thurne.

Um, as I mentioned to you, Trey, before privately and um to you, Dial as well.

Um I've been through several of these retreats now.

Um, and as one of the senior folks that have been through several of these, I'm sure my um compatriots that have served for longer than just this one term would agree that this was the most focused and strategic strategic planning session that we've had.

I think by far it's the best one that we've had.

Um, and I think it has the one with the most actionable items on it.

And I'm very excited that work with the rest of council as we move forward on executing on the strategy.

I'm very excited, and I think the public will be very happy as we move forward.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Just one comment.

Um this retreat really was exciting, and we learned a lot about each other.

We all work very hard.

Um, the the visits with Dialva and her team were fantastic learning and seeing how other municipalities do things well, um, how we do things well, how we can do things better.

Um, I just want to piggyback on the word Tammy just used, which was strategic.

Um, you know, how we can focus as a council uh in our decision making and our leadership from the top, um, and then how we can focus with our uh partners in the community on how we get things done for Greensboro.

I'm really excited to see where this goes and that we all have kind of bought into this this vision for our community.

Mr.

Holston.

Yes, and I'll also chime in and say that um having been through a several of these retreats and outcomes.

I have to say that I am really invigorated and really energized from the the fruits of this labor.

Um council member Marshall just said it leading from the top or leading from the front.

Uh that is something that uh our community is looking for, looking for from this council.

Uh, it won't have any difficulty finding that, but that's what this community is looking for, and that's what we're going to deliver.

Uh, again, really excited about the energy and momentum that we came with from the uh retreat and looking forward to the future.

Mr.

Allen.

Thank you, madam mayor.

Uh just wanted not to echo uh what anyone has said because I think that it was a great retreat, but I also engaged in some dialogue with the community and just wanted to uh have conversation and and let folks know that this wasn't a vacation.

Uh this was this was an intense two-day work session where we focused in the city on uh the uh needs of the city and strategically planning on how to move ahead in the future.

Uh and so you may hear words like retreat, uh, and and that may throw folks off as to what we were actually doing.

Uh, but we were investing here in Greensboro uh for the future of Greensboro and making sure that uh we were moving uh our city in the right direction.

And I like to commend uh the staff, uh the city uh uh manager and leadership uh and his whole department as well as uh the council for uh that that type of strategic focus and uh that's this was my first planning session uh and uh I was excited to be a part of that and looking forward to what's possible here in Greensboro.

Thank you, Ms.

Black.

Um I echo uh what has been shared, but also want to lift up to um to City Manager and the Albus team that we have been using our disk.

Yes, we have, yes, we have.

And uh it has really helped us to to know how to interact with each other.

Um I'm a D, and I have channeled my D successfully.

However, um, it has it's really helped with um how we approach and how we um address topics here.

So I don't want you know that just that one part of the retreat has been very important in not only how we plan but how we're interacting with each other as a council.

So I I appreciate the time that you took with us and hope that you will take more.

Uh, but it was very successful retreat, and the outcomes of it I'm very proud of.

So thank you.

Yes, thank you, everyone.

So um anyone else?

We good?

All right.

Do I have my motion yet?

Moved by Ms.

Thurm, seconded by Mr.

Marshall.

Council, please vote.

And that passes nine to zero.

Thank you to everyone involved on that.

Appreciate it.

And yes, it was intense.

Um, let's see.

Item I two, I believe I do have a recusal on that.

Mr.

Holston.

Yes, Madam Mayor.

Uh because the Greensboro Housing Coalition of where I serve as executive director and CEO was uh consulted in the allocation plan, which is on page five of the allocation plan.

I request to recuse from this vote.

All right, so item I too is a resolution authorizing a contract in the amount of one million six hundred and eighty-one thousand seventy-two dollars with the Greensboro Housing Authority for the home ARP tenant-based rental assistance program using supplemental American rescue plan funds through housing and urban development.

Um Mr.

Hunter.

Good afternoon, Mayor, members of city council.

Uh, it is a pleasure to be in front of you.

Um that's a good segue as well with the business 36 and talk about economic mobility.

This is a tool that we will implement um after your consideration to promote that as well.

So in 2021, the city of Greensboro received home ARP funds uh via the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which spawned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

We received approximately uh six million dollars of those funds, but they are a similar fund to our standard home allocation that we get on an annual basis, but they have to be used for specific qualifying populations.

And so these are some of the qualifying populations, people that are homeless at risk of homelessness, fleeing or attempting to flee, domestic violence or any other type of violence activity in their relationships, or other populations that need supportive services as well.

There are specific eligible activities associated with these federal funds, the production and preservation of affordable housing, tenant-based rental assistance, which was we're gonna be talking about tonight, and then supportive services as well.

This is the allocation plan that was done with the in-depth community engagement as well.

So you can see how we have bucketed those funds for the total grant, the total grant amount being $6.6 million.

So you can see 2.5 for supportive services, 1.4 for tenant-based rental assistance, 2.3 for uh rental housing production, and then the balance for administration and planning.

You'll see on the resolution it says one point uh 1.6.

That is to offset some other administrative costs as well.

So I just wanted to make that disclaimer to make sure that there's a correlation between the allocation and what's on the resolution.

And so tenant-based rental assistance.

There's a few program goals that'll be established out of this program, obviously addressing the need for homelessness assistance, also alleviating the financial pressure for low-income households, and then also providing greater economic security for the rentals and rental property owners as well.

This is something that we want a lot of people to take advantage of, something different than a voucher, but it also uh operates as the function as a rental assistance program for them as well.

The partners that'll be administering this in uh with the city of Greensboro is the Greensboro Housing Authority, the Guilford County Continuum of Care, and specifically the the continuum of care will help with the referral process.

They have a by name wait list that is managed by the servant center, who is also an additional partner here that will provide the information to the Greensboro Housing Authority and to the City of Greensboro to streamline the referral process to make sure that we can take care of some of these individuals as we go forward.

You can see what the eligible costs associated with the rental assistance program is security deposits, utilities deposits, housing inspection costs, and any other assistance that may be needed uh for the for the living.

The interesting thing about this source of funding, it may be provided up to 24 months per household.

It is not our goal for these folks to have to stay on this assistance program for 24 months.

What we intend to do is provide them with the tenant-based rental assistance to get them in a place where they are a lot more secure financially so they can go forth without the assistance.

But if they do need it, they can receive it up to 24 months as well.

And so this is just an outline of the referral process again.

The COC and some of the other um housing nonprofits here in the city will handle referrals to the Greensboro Housing Authority.

They will do the eligibility determination after that, they will do some additional screenings.

There's also a housing inspection associated with these.

So when the tenants are residing in an existing place or moving to another place, they have to meet the housing quality standards established by the federal government.

So there is a housing inspection to make sure that their units are up to compliance when we administer this program as well.

So that's a high level of the program.

I welcome any questions.

All right, any questions or comments?

Hearing none, I would accept a motion.

So moved.

Move by Mr.

Marshall, second.

I heard I heard a second down here.

Uh, Miss Parker.

Thank you.

Uh I have a motion and a second.

There will be one recusal from Mr.

Holston.

Uh so council, please vote.

And that passes eight to zero.

Thank you so much, and thank you, Mr.

Hunter.

Appreciate it.

All right, moving on to item I three ordinance amending water resources, capital revenue, bond fund for the Townsend Advanced Treatment Project, and the amount of 35 million ninety-five ninety-five thousand two hundred and thirty-two dollars.

Um there any questions from council?

If not, I would accept a motion.

I'm sorry, okay.

Second by Miss Crawford.

Uh council, please vote.

And that passes nine to zero.

Item I'm sorry.

Yes.

Mrs.

Therm.

Um, I'm just a comment to the rest of council.

Um, the mayor and I went out to visit a site visit with the water treatment plant today.

And I would highly recommend uh others going out to see it when you're able to, and when they can arrange another trip.

It is well worth it, and it really helps to understand what the need is, what we're paying for, um, and what the process is to take sewer water and turn it into clean water and send it downstream.

Um it's it's a really amazing process, it's highly scientific.

Um with a little bit of good weather and goose encouragement, et cetera.

Um so I would just encourage you all when if the opportunity arises, please take the up that opportunity to go down and see it.

It's very impress very impressive.

Very eye-opening.

Thank you.

All right, item I for resolution approving contract 2025 510 in the amount of 33 million nine hundred and sixty-one thousand four hundred and thirty-two dollars with Crowder Construction Company for the Townsend Water Treatment Plant Advanced Treatment Facility Design Build Project.

Do I hear a motion?

Move the item.

Move by Mr.

Holston, seconded by Ms.

Crawford.

Council, please vote.

And that passes nine to zero item I five, a resolution approving the Mini Brooks contract twenty twenty-five fifty-one B in the amount of one million one hundred and thirty-three dollars and eight, I mean one million one hundred and thirty-three thousand eight hundred dollars with HDR Engineering Incorporated at the Carolinas to provide owners advisor engineering services for the Townsend Water Treatment Plant Advanced Treatment Facility.

Do I hear a motion?

Move by Mrs.

Thurmond, seconded by Mr.

Marshall.

Council, please vote.

And that passes nine to zero.

Moving on to item I six ordinance and the amount of eight hundred and thirty-eight thousand dollars amending the equipment services fund for the appropriation of revenue funds for the water resources department.

Any questions?

Do I hear a motion?

So moved.

Moved by Ms.

Roth.

Seconded by Mr.

Allen.

Council, please vote.

And that passes nine to zero.

Moving on to item I seven ordinance amending chapters six, eleven, and seventeen of the Greensboro Code of Ordinances to adopt certain modifications in the city's non-residential building code and nuisance chapter.

Um is there any staff that wanted to mention Brent.

Good evening, Mayor, members of council.

Good evening.

I'm a little bit shorter than some other speakers, so my apologies, y'all.

I'm used to sitting down there rather than being up here at the podium.

Um so again, good evening, mayor, members of council, uh Brent Dushawn from the city attorney's office.

Um just wanted to uh lead the presentation uh this evening of this item.

Uh the item, of course, includes amendments to various chapters of the city's code of ordinances and uh placeholder at the end of my presentation.

I will note one very minor amendment to the text that was circulated.

I I apologize for for that last minute um proposed amendment.

Um these amounts these amendments broadly focus on the maintenance of non-residential buildings within the city and more broadly conditions that exist on properties that may constitute a public nuisance.

Um these amendments reflect the broader concerns that we've heard through members of council uh and through the city manager's office regarding properties that are vacant, uh poorly maintained, or a detriment to the public health and welfare.

Uh since we drafted these amendments to be responsive to those policy concerns, I wanted to uh you know provide this overview of the ordinance language here this evening, and of course, uh from the operational standpoint uh would perhaps defer to the manager's office or uh Chief of Code Compliance, Larry Roberts, who's also here with us this evening.

Um go ahead and move to the next slide.

So just a very brief overview.

Uh as I mentioned, first the uh updated non-residential building code, right?

This is gonna be a bulk of what is within those amendments there.

Um I want to be clear.

This already exists in our ordinance.

It's section 11-45.

It's under the housing code.

Um when I saw it, the first thing I said was, wait, this doesn't deal with houses, maybe maybe we should move it to chapter six.

Um the amendments just reorganize and expand upon existing provisions that we already have.

Um part of that amendment is also adding in a new registration requirement for vacant properties that only applies if those vacant properties are in violation of the maintenance standards that are within that non-residential code.

Uh second bucket of updates that I'll that I'll note are these updates to the nuisance chapter.

Um, it would include enumerating a few more conditions as public nuisances, and then also just an update uh with regard to charges to property owners if the city needs to go out and abate um nuisances upon a property owner's failure to do so.

Uh last uh bullet point on this slide, and this will be all I really have to say about this piece.

Um, administrative updates, right?

If we see something where a reference to uh state law is out of date or or something to that effect, uh, you know, to a point that uh city attorney Cubage has has highlighted in recent months.

We certainly want to take that opportunity to to go ahead and address those changes, right?

So there are some uh administrative uh changes similar to that.

Now uh turning to like I said, the bulk of the uh of the amendments, the non-residential building code itself.

Um the code will address conditions uh at non-residential properties that present a hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare, right?

The proposed amendments would move the non-residential code, as I was saying earlier, out of housing code and into chapter six of the city code, and it'll provide a full list of maintenance standards.

Um those standards are laid out in the ordinance itself at length, starting around page 14, I do believe.

Um I'll talk a little bit about the process and the penalties under the code.

So first, let's talk about process.

Um code compliance inspects properties and see a violation, right?

That's what kicks off the process.

Uh the inspector would issue a complaint and hold an administrative hearing within 30 days.

If after the hearing it's determined that the property is indeed in violation, then the inspector is going to issue an order.

Uh, if the cost of the repair to the property would not exceed 65% of the building's value, uh inspector is going to order that the property be repaired or vacated.

If the cost of repair would exceed 65%, we would be looking at an order to demolish.

Um, the inspector uh can give a a period of compliance up to 90 days, um, and that includes any extensions that the inspector themselves may be able to give, but as the last point notes, the chief of code compliance may grant additional extensions uh where substantial progress uh toward compliance has been made, right?

A little bit more about process.

Uh so what happens if a property owner doesn't comply with the orders of the inspector?

Well, these items go to the minimum housing standards commission.

Uh that commission can pass a further order that allows the city to move forward with carrying out the intent of the orders.

And if the city incurs costs of repairs, vacating, demolition, right, um, those costs become a high priority lien on the property in question and a low priority lien on other property that the owner owns within the city limits.

Um lastly, on this slide, uh regarding the issue of abandonment of intent to repair.

So that's a very specific circumstance.

Uh if in response to orders uh to repair or vacate, a property owner simply vacates the property, right?

Ensures that that property is vacated, no longer used at all.

Um state law puts us in a very particular path there.

Uh essentially, if the property remains vacant for two years, there can be a follow-up action from the minimum housing standards commission, which finds that the owner has abandoned, fully abandoned the intent to repair, allowing for a follow-up order from the commission, where if the uh cost of repair would not exceed 50% of the building value, uh the property owner has to repair or demo it within 90 days.

And if the cost of repair would exceed 50 percent, the order is to demolish.

Um of the key changes here, civil penalties is the next thing that I wanted to talk to you all about.

Some context is that in the existing ordinance, the penalties are set at 200 uh with a $10 a day penalty for uh continuing violations.

The changes, as you can see here, would would bump those amounts up.

It would be a $500 civil penalty with a hundred dollar per day penalty for each day of the continuing violation.

And this also would adopt a tiered uh penalty structure.

So if there was further violation at the same property within a rolling 12-month period, that 500 amount that increases to a thousand, and the uh daily civil penalty uh for continuing violations would bump up to 250.

Now I mentioned earlier uh registration requirement for violating vacant properties, right?

So um given just unique challenges when it comes to the maintenance of vacant properties going hand in hand with this code, um, these amendments would propose this new requirement for owners to vacate owners of vacant property to register with the city only if that vacant property is in violation of the non-residential code itself.

So this is key toward ensuring timely communication with the owners when these vacant properties are in violation.

Um given that purpose, the owners simply need to provide up-to-date contact information uh for themselves and potentially a local agent.

Uh there's no registration fee, but it's a violation of the ordinance uh if the owner is notified that they need to register and they fail to do so.

I mentioned local agents a minute ago.

So if a property owner doesn't uh reside or have their principal place of business within Guilford or adjacent counties, the ordinance is drafted would require them to have that local agent.

And again, uh the information that the city requires is is simply down to contact information, right?

Um if there are no violations at one of these properties for a 24-month period, the owner no longer needs to keep that information up to date with us here at the city.

Uh briefly turning to the city's nuisance chapter, um, these amendments add uh list of conditions to the nuisances that we have outlined at section 17-1 of the city code, right?

Um you can see the four uh conditions there.

The one that I would highlight is regarding hazardous conditions, such as significant potholes or obstructions that exist on a property where the public is invited to it, right?

I mean, plain example of a shopping center has deteriorated sidewalks or asphalt uh deteriorated to such an extent that it creates issues with safe passage for customers.

We understand the desire to you know address that kind of risk that is presented to the public welfare.

So these uh this list here is is key toward trying to address those kinds of concerns.

And uh second piece of the nuisance chapter updates um section 17.5.

Um this kind of tracks with the tiered structure, if you will, from the non-residential building code that I mentioned a minute ago.

So right now, um, if the city were to have to go out and abate nuisances at a property because the property owner has failed to do so, there would be an administrative fee charged, 10% of cleanup cost with a hundred dollar minimum based on feedback with with uh meetings we've uh proposed to go ahead and bump that up and implement this tiered structure.

So first time around, as you can see, 20% of cleanup cost for the two hundred dollar minimum, it increases uh to three hundred and five hundred respectfully, or respectively, um, for a second or third abatement that would need to occur within a rolling twelve month period.

And uh you know that's that's really it.

Like I said, the rest of it is just administrative.

Um the oh the one thing I did need to note um potential amendment, uh maybe council will want to consider it with this with this amendment.

In the um non-residential building code, section six-three oh seven is our procedures for enforcement.

This is everything I was talking about earlier with inspections, extensions of time.

Subsection D discusses extensions that can be granted by the inspector and also by the chief of compliance.

Uh for clarity's sake, as I mentioned a minute ago, the inspector can give up to 90 days.

They may initially order 30 days to comply and then allow extensions up to 90.

The chief of compliance would have the authority to grant an extensions beyond that 90.

Uh there was one clause left in the draft, and I I that was on me as the draftsman, um that may give a conflicting sense there.

So uh there is language that says, however, the total time may given by an inspector, including all extensions, shall not exceed 90 days.

Um as amended, the the suggestion to amend it would be to simply remove the including all extensions.

So uh inspector can give a total of 90 days, chief of compliance can go from there.

That is the one uh update that I had for y'all last minute.

And again, as the slide indicates, certainly glad to respond to any questions or concerns.

Sorry, are there any questions?

Do I hear a second on the suggested amendment?

Second can you guys I'm sorry, my brain.

Um you said is it striking including all in extensions?

Is that the amendment?

Just repeat it.

Yeah, just repeat it, Brent.

Yes, that that's correct.

Yeah.

Um the sentence did read uh total time given by an inspector, including all extensions, and it's just though that including all extensions that would be um deleted.

Okay, um, we have a motion and a second on accepting the amendment.

Uh, we can do a uh voice vote vote, or do we need a roll call vote vote?

We can do a voice vote.

Every all in favor, please say aye.

Anyone opposed?

The amendment passes.

Okay, now are there any questions or comments from council?

Ms.

Thurm.

The only comment is I heard quite a bit of concern early on in the discussions about this going to the minimum housing commission for commercial properties.

And please know that the intent will be to change the name of that commission.

We just can't do it at this time.

But uh, we need to do this first and then move forward.

But that is coming for those folks that were very concerned about the naming of that commission.

That will be changing.

Great.

And I do know anyone else at the moment, Ms.

Roth?

Yeah, we do have some speakers, but I wondered if there were any comments from council first.

Okay.

All right, moving on to the speakers.

I have Jason Hicks, Philip March, and Cheryl McIver.

And thank you, Brent.

Sorry.

Good evening, council and staff.

Uh I want to begin by thanking you all uh for the work that brought this ordinance forward.

Um because the truth is what we're really talking about tonight is not just buildings and uh code, but it's and it's not even just enforcement, it's about what has been allowed up to this point and who we allowed it to happen to.

In Greensboro, we know that neglect has not been random.

Uh vacant and deteriorating commercial properties has been concentrated year after year.

And when that neglect is allowed to sit, it does something.

It sends a message that those communities are not worth the same care and the same protection and the saber urgency, and that message has consequences.

It shapes opportunity, it shapes investment, it shapes whether a young person sees a future in their neighborhood or learns to expect abandonment.

It shapes the conditions where poverty deepens and where harm can take root.

We cannot talk honestly about crime without talking about those conditions.

We cannot talk about public safety while ignoring the environments we have allowed to deteriorate.

So this ordinance matters because it refuses that neglect.

It says that no part of the city is disposable and that no community should be expected to live alongside boarded up buildings, dumping grounds, and unsafe structures while others are protected from it.

It says that the ownership carries responsibility everywhere, just not where it's convenient, not just where it's convenient.

So I thank you for taking that step, and I urge you to move this forward unanimously.

Thank you so much.

All right, thank you.

Uh Philip Marsh, and then Cheryl McGyver.

Or Cheryl wants to go first.

They've agreed upon that.

Good afternoon, City Manager's Office.

Um, Council, Mayor.

Have not had a chance to formally welcome everyone.

We'll do that at a different time.

Um, but here is a representative of the Whitley community and Southeast Coalition.

We'd like to thank you for everyone for passing or not yet passing, but to pass this ordinance.

Um we have been fighting for this for a very, very long time to see the work be put in and get done so quickly.

We appreciate you.

I will now just read a statement from our Whitley president.

Dear council members, I'm writing in support of this commercial property ordinance that holds business and landowners accountable for maintaining vacant or abandoned sites.

Empty storefronts and neglected buildings hurt our community by lowering nearby nearby property values, reducing foot traffic for local businesses, and projecting disinvestment.

They also invite dumping vandalism and increased calls for service, code enforcement, amongst others.

An ordinance with a clear minimum maintenance standards for vacant properties, having registration requirements, defined timelines to repair, and meaningful penalties, including the recovery of public costs or liens when necessary, would help prevent neglect and encourage timely redevelopment.

Thank you for your consideration.

We respectfully urge that you adopt this ordinance and vote in favor of stronger accountability measures to protect public safety, neighborhood quality, and our local economy.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Marshall.

Yeah, that one right there.

Good afternoon.

My name is Philip Marsh.

And can you hear me?

Yes.

You can.

Can you hear me?

Well, hold it up just a little higher.

There you go.

Thank you.

Can you hear me now?

Yes, yes.

Good afternoon.

My name is Philip Marsh, and I also have not spoken to all of you, so congratulations again on the seats that you occupy.

I am here this um evening because I'm very concerned about this as a commercial property owner.

Um I had expressed two council members uh would there be a public comment period on these things that would be considered.

Um I would be remiss if I do not find this current page uh very concerning.

Um, just from a perspective of in the newspaper today, uh, it stated that the uh fines for violations would be from 200 to 500.

Now we're talking about a thousand dollar penalties.

Um that's just ridiculous.

I mean, especially when we're having discussions about how can we keep businesses open?

Um, and so any time we have updates to code uh that can be left to interpretation.

None of us will be here permanently, so someone will be interpreting what we meant by these things.

Uh, that is just very concerning.

Um, it's already very expensive to run a business.

It is equally even more expensive to own a property to operate that business in.

Uh, you have been aware of the tax conversations that have been going on.

Uh, the prices are just increasing.

This creates a slippery slope of how this will affect businesses.

Uh, this will affect and close businesses as this is currently constructed.

Um, I would ask that this um that is up for consideration be tabled until we can have public input from property owners.

Uh, because again, I mean, just telling someone out of the blue that may not be aware of this conversation that because of something that was passed that no one was aware of, they owe a thousand dollars, and that can be incurred each day going after that.

Uh, again, I mean, we just really have to understand how these conversations globally affect um how private business is operated and what those challenges are.

Um, I am in agreement with this.

We do need to hold bad actors accountable, uh, but again, I just feel like this was done in the dark.

Everyone wasn't at the table, and there is buy-in to this, but this starts us off on the wrong foot.

So again, my suggestion is that this is tabled so that we can bring in property owners because they may suggest things that work even better, uh, but these violations are, I mean, I would say draconian, and again, that is what I would ask of this council.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr.

Marsh.

All right, council.

Any comments?

Any discussion?

Mr.

Marshall.

You want me to kick it off?

Um so I wanted to thank all the council members that have worked so hard on this.

Um it has been a collaborative effort.

Um I also want to thank our stakeholder groups who have engaged in this process and want to make clear that there have been numerous conversations.

Um, and those conversations have led to substantive changes.

Um, I know not everyone is going to be happy uh with the ordinance or some of the verbiage.

However, this type of ordinance is long overdue.

Um, and it's desperately needed to address blighted properties and nuisance type properties in our communities.

Um this is not for property owners who are doing the right thing.

This is not who this ordinance is intended to to capture.

Um if there are areas of the ordinance that prove to be over time somewhat problematic in practice, we know we'll continue to hear from the community that that we work with all the time.

Um, and we will work to make the ordinance better and stronger.

Um I'll tell you, and the council members here know I've gone back and forth on this for for the past 48 hours.

Um, and not because I don't support it, because I do, um, but because of calls for additional review time or additional time to make changes, and I've given those requests great thought and and consideration.

However, passing something this evening doesn't stop that conversation, um, and it doesn't stop immediate conversations.

We can keep having them tomorrow.

Um, but this ordinance is is overdue, it's needed, and will go a long way to um sustaining and beautifying our community.

Thank you, Mr.

Marshall.

Anyone else?

Ms.

Roth.

Um and I appreciate Mr.

Marshall's comments.

Um, I want to say thank you to uh council and staff for the level of work and effort that was put in.

Um, and as was pointed out, there have been and we have received a number of emails both in support and concern in terms of uh the process and what will be the impact of this ordinance in particular.

Um, as we have heard, and as you may even know from your neighbors, there are some places that just have been um have not been met uh with the same vigor that many and most of our property owners do uh treat their properties.

It is important that we are creating an environment uh that is attractive and sustainable.

Um, and that's what this ordinance is really meaning to address.

And I've seen the work behind the scenes, and it really has focused on that.

Um, there will be opportunity for um improvement.

Um we also as a council and a body will improve in terms of our processes and approach.

Um it's all iterative, but I think what's important is that we do take steps forward.

Um so I want to thank uh again colleagues and staff for taking those steps forward.

I want to thank the community and community leaders in terms of engaging with us.

I think they've been responsive when we are asked them to be responsive.

We may not always agree on what the outcome is, but having the time to dialogue is important, um, and we want to continue to seek that.

So thank you for uh that time spent as well from both perspectives.

Um but I do appreciate that we are at this moment.

We will take further steps as we go forward, um, but it will have an immediate impact, and especially in certain parts of our community where we see um uh properties neglected and have been neglected for so some time.

So I'm glad we're taking those steps.

Thank you.

Hugh?

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I also want to thank council and staff for working to pull this uh ordinance uh update together.

Uh any time an ordinance is pulled together, it's not necessarily going to be a perfect document, perfect verbiage, but I will say that directionally this ordinance is needed.

Our previous ordinance was was vague.

Uh it didn't have the necessary teeth in it to drive the outcomes we're looking for.

Uh this ordinance is a step in that right direction.

It takes a lot of the vagary out.

It it does impose the fines that get the attention.

The previous fines, as was noted earlier, was the initial fine was 200 initially, then $10 a day.

And we could we could see folks, those who are the bad actors who were making the calculation that at $10 a day, uh, how long can I go without doing anything?

This gets the attention.

Does this mean, as you heard from Council Member Marshall and also from Mayor Pro Tim Denise, that it it may not be the final uh verbiage?

It it may uh progress over time, but right now for this moment to set the market down and to let uh those bad actors and I and let me talk about uh the inverse of the bad actors.

There are 98 to 99 percent of those who are property owners who this won't even have an impact on.

But it's those that we've heard of, those those names that we've heard of in the past, who are a lot of times the bad actors and the repeat offenders who are going to be the ones who take notice and who are going to be the ones who are going to have to uh adhere to these these ordinances.

But it's the residents of Greensboro, it's the citizens of Greensboro, especially those who are in the northeast, east, and southeast of Greensboro, where a lot of these properties stand who are going to be the beneficiaries.

And as those communities become stronger based on uh these commercial properties being upgraded, then all of Greensboro becomes stronger.

And I'm certainly in favor of that.

So again, directionally we're in the right place, take the vagary out, get the fees up, but then also we'll keep our ear to the ground if there are tweaks or adjustments needed going forward.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

All right, Mr.

Holston.

Ms.

Thurm.

Thank you.

I'd like to clarify as well that this hasn't just been a request of residents in our community and homeowners and renters in our community.

But this is also answering a request from business owners and other property owners that own property near these neglected properties.

You know, when there is a blighted property, it doesn't just affect that one property or the homeowners.

It also affects all those small business owners and small property owners that have poured their life savings into a building, poured their life savings into a business, and people are afraid to come to it, or people don't want to come in that area because they're scared, or because of what the area looks like or is blighted.

Those business owners are invite investing their life into their business and into their properties, and it's not fair to ask everybody around a blighted property to put money in to fix up their property while another property just sits on an ape uh empty building, having it deteriorate deteriorate more and more, and then once everybody else that invested money in their properties drives up property values, then that property owner that has the blighted building can sell their property for more money.

That's not fair.

And while you know, we're certainly wanting to address this for the residents.

Um, I think it's really important for us to realize that this impacts these blighted properties impact everybody, and they impact those that are investing in our community.

Um it's time that that we be fairer with those folks that are trying to invest in the community and make the community better.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Ms.

Parker.

Um council received and I appreciate deeply everything that has been already stated.

Um council did receive some concerns from members and of the community sustainability council, uh, members from the chair about the tree canopy uh assistant city manager Harold, can you please advise council and community of any impact that you may say?

Sure.

I I don't see that this is gonna have any impact on our tree canopy.

Um, really the nuisance that we are adding is uncontrolled growth of noxious vegetation or invasive plants.

That is something very different than our large, you know, very well-established trees that make up our tree canopy.

So in practice, we do not see this provision affecting the sustainability of our trees in any way.

Uh-huh.

I appreciate you.

Thank you.

Um I'm satisfied with voting in favor, as is uh I do want to tell folks um from the CSC that we welcome um uh further recommendations that come through committee.

Um, and so if there's something that comes um, and I am the liaison, so I think that those will be well received by Assistant City Manager O'Harrell, and then for further consideration from council.

Um, I also just see this as being extremely responsive, so I am grateful to uh legal and particular council member black uh driving us forward, hitting the ground with a mandate from the community that has long predated uh us being sworn in.

Uh so I appreciate we are here now uh to make significant change happening because that's what we were charged to do.

Um, I see this as being immensely um responsive to the uh concerns that we all heard during the downtown business walks, and uh and so we started with parking and we told everybody that we were listening, and I definitely see passing this ordinance has been supportive of growing and a thriving downtown.

So I appreciate you.

Anyone else?

I'd like to make a couple of comments, and then I believe uh Miss Black would like to make some final comments.

So I want to thank everybody for working on this, and just as we amended the document this evening, we can amend this document if we come back for a vote, or if there are parts of the document that are not working, that the community feels that we should change.

We can always come back and amend that.

Um, I do know there were some concerns, and I too have been innerly struggling because I was around when the um part where the fines were reduced.

Um, at that time, it was because business owners were having an extremely difficult time, and there was no assistance to help them in fixing up their properties, so we did reduce that so they would have those funds in order to fix up their properties.

It worked really well then, but times changed, and I understand that.

And we did hear a lot on the the downtown, and I hear from downtown owners and people in the community about uh as many have mentioned this evening that you can have a great property you're taking care of, but if your neighbor isn't, we've got a problem because your your property value comes down.

Um so uh you know it will lift everyone up, but I do want to hear from those who are affected by this who have issues with this, um, to see if we do need to look further at any parts of it.

But I do know that a lot of hard work went into this, and I appreciate everybody being on board with it to move it forward with the stipulation, of course, that any ordinance can be amended.

So I do want to say that.

So uh Ms.

Black.

Um, thank you.

Um this ordinance has been long in the making.

Uh, as a community organizer, I advocated for the strengthening of the former good repair ordinance.

Um, as I experienced firsthand the wall that was in place uh that prevented our code compliance department uh from being able to remedy some of the residents' concerns.

Uh during my campaign, um I heard that we needed stronger code enforcement from a numerous people within my district.

Um that was the greatest request that was asked for.

Today I am pleased to see that my colleagues have heard the voices of the community and supported this new pathway for addressing blight in our city.

Blight problems are not simply aesthetic, they are also economic, environmental, and public health issues.

You see, blight not only hurts property values, it hurts people.

It makes our blocks feel unsafe, it drives away investment, and it erodes the pride we have in our neighborhoods.

Here's what I know quality begets quality, blight begets blight.

Revitalization isn't just about demolishing what's broken, it is also about building up what's worth saving.

It's about making sure every resident in every one of our five districts has a place they they're proud of to call home.

I'd like to thank the organizations that were willing to come to the table to collaborate on the language of the ordinance.

None of us got a hundred percent of what we'd like to see in this ordinance.

However, I believe that we have a product that is fair and just I look forward to seeing how this tool will be a catalyst for setting a standard on how we foster livability in our communities.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

Anyone else?

Hearing none, I would accept a motion.

So moved.

Moved by Miss Black.

Do I hear a second?

Seconded by Ms.

Parker.

Council, please vote.

And that passes nine to zero.

Thank you all very much.

Moving on to item I eight resolution to approve the legislative agenda.

Do I hear a motion or are there any questions?

Discussion.

Hearing none, I would accept a motion.

So moved.

Moved by Mr.

Holston.

Do I hear a second?

Second by Ms.

Black.

Council, please vote.

Madam Mayor, I'm I don't mean to um would you like to say something?

I would not just like to tell you that that next item goes with the legislative agenda.

Okay.

So item I 9.

Yes.

So should I read them together or separate vote?

Okay.

Um I would read them together.

Okay, we will vote on item I eight and item I 9 at the same time.

And item I 9 is resolution supporting repeal of the amendment to North Carolina General Statute 160 D-601D.

And this is a vote for both of those.

Move the item.

Yes.

Second.

I think we we're good.

Did yours work?

Councilmember Allen.

Mr.

Allen, did you vote?

Here's the results for I eight, but I need a vote for I 9 as well.

I thought we were taking them together.

Mayor, they were already.

Okay, so yes.

You've already motioned seconds, so vote on I 9.

Nothing's there.

We go.

Councilmember Black.

And that passes nine to zero.

Thank you very much.

Moving on to item I 10, boards and commissions appointments for March 17, 2026.

I will start down with Ms.

Parker.

Boards and Commissions.

Sorry, I was looking it up.

Uh do you mind if I say what I have vacant?

Um I will be announcing my after my review of all applications received in the second meeting in April.

And so I'd like for all of District 3 representative, I'm sorry, residents to consider applying for the commission of the status of women, human rights, uh GSO Transit Advisory Library Board of Trustees, minimum housing.

I hope I can get an abundance of applications so I can review.

And um, so if your individuals committed to public service and community leadership, please apply and I will announce them at that later council date.

That's fine.

All right, Mr.

Marshall.

None for me tonight.

Ms.

Crawford, none this evening.

Mayor Pro Tem.

Yes, Mayor.

Uh thank you.

I wanted to thank the council members uh that either had the opportunity to come out or that were with us in spirit uh this Saturday.

We worked in commission.

Sorry.

You we'll come back to it.

Don't worry, she's so excited about council comments.

It's okay, it's okay.

All right, Miss Black.

Any boards and commissions?

No, none for me.

Mr.

Allen.

Uh none this evening, but I would like to solicit to the community that we are looking to fill 10 slots on our ACAG commission.

Uh we are doing a total rebuild.

So if you are interested in serving uh this is the ad hoc committee on African American disparities.

Uh we are uh in dire need of of the community's uh input and uh participation, so uh please be aware of that, and we will uh definitely look forward to uh those applications that get submitted.

So uh please be aware of that, and we will uh definitely look forward to uh those applications to get submitted.

All right, Mr.

Holston.

Yes, Madam Nair.

I do have one for this evening is for the Parks and Rec Commission replacing uh councilmember CC Crawford.

I recommend uh Mr.

Charles Jackson.

All right, do I hear a second?

Seconded by Miss Thurm.

All in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

That passes unanimously.

Anything else?

Nothing else.

All right, Mrs.

Thurm.

Okay, I do have a um removal for council.

I am uh removing Mr.

Samuel Hawkins from the minimum housing standards commission.

And I would need a second on that, and I would also need a full vote of a vote.

Second, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem.

All in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Uh that passes unanimously.

Thank you all very much.

Moving on to um council comments.

We'll start with you, Mayor Pro Tim.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um this Saturday, uh, as a part of Habitat for Humanity of Greensboro.

We had uh what's called women build in honor of uh women's month uh in the month of March.

Um in our system, we have quite a few women that are heads of households, and home ownership is one of the core paths to um economic mobility for families.

So I want to thank the council members who are had an opportunity to come out and to work hands on.

Um, and I want to thank those that were there in spirit because I think everyone wanted to be there if they could.

We have a few pictures here that we're sharing, but I tell you what, this is a hard group working group of people.

Um they came in, they turned on the radio and they started um putting insulation.

I'm happy to report that we passed installation at Monday because of this group of people.

Um so the the work um really uh was significant, both for the family that will move into this home, but just overall for our community.

So thank you all for your time and your sweat equity.

Appreciate you.

Super.

All right, we'll go down the other way this time.

All right, Miss Crawford.

So I'm glad that we uh were able to pass the commercial code this evening.

Um, I have to echo what April said.

Uh Crystal came in like a storm uh and knew exactly um from the community and from her work in the community what needed to be uh adjusted in our code ordinances.

Um and it it is uh I wanted her to have the say around that, but uh even driving from the TZ Osborne uh wastewater plant um this morning, uh coming down East Market Street.

I immediately recognized quite a number of buildings that this code is gonna help to address.

Uh when I go down Cone to look at, you know, I used to live on Yanceyville and I used to love to go up uh to save a lot or to grab me some uh conches or whatnot from a specific um commercial development.

And you know, just driving down Cone and seeing the potholes and seeing um, you know, some of the buildings that have been boarded up uh for quite some time.

Uh it is it is time to care about what district one and district two look like.

It is time to handle the blight that I am sad to say that you know we get used to.

Uh and so this looks to get to um the systems that have allowed uh these commercial properties to look like this.

Um and the secondary part is coming.

Uh we are almost done with the residential that will come alongside this and make our communities uh more sustainable uh both uh economically and uh health-wise and safety-wise.

Um and along those lines, uh tomorrow night I have a town hall, our first district to town hall.

Uh it is from 6 until 7:30.

I hope that you will join us.

We'll be at Peeler Recreation Center.

Uh, and we are going to talk about the three biggest things that I heard while running and even uh up until the current time, which is uh number one, believe it or not, speeding.

Um so the first table around speeding will have our uh Greensboro Police Department and our Department of Transportation.

The second most important housing.

Uh and so as we look to uh revise these residential codes, we want to make sure that homeowners are prepared uh for those changes.

So uh housing and neighborhood development will be at that table.

Uh come and talk to them if you are a homeowner uh and you are looking for help uh to make repairs in your home.

Uh we might be able to do that at the city.

Um also co-compliance will be there.

If you are a renter and you are having problems with getting maintenance done in your units or in your house, please come tomorrow night and speak with co-compliance on how you can file a complaint.

And lastly, um the uh human relations will be there.

Um if you are facing discrimination in your housing, please come and talk to someone.

And the last issue that we've heard a lot about is um community engagement with our youth and with our seniors, and so that third table will be parks and rec so that you can come and see uh the programs that your children can get involved with over the summer, over the spring, and even uh for our elders, come and see some of the really great programming that Parks and Rec has uh to keep us all in shape.

I'm a us now because this this the senior, yeah.

I can't believe that anyway.

Um, but we don't want people to sit in their homes and be unengaged with community, come out, meet other people, make friends, stay vibrant.

Uh thank you very much.

Super Mr.

Marshall.

Yeah, I um attended the guns and hoses hockey game um with uh council member Thurm and Mayor Abbaswader.

Uh is this was a charity event with the police department and the fire department.

Uh the police prevailed on the ice, but um this raised a lot of money for the Special Olympics of North Carolina and the Firefighters charitable charitable relief fund.

So this was for a great cause.

It was a lot of fun.

I I'm looking forward to it next year.

There were some good brawls on the ice too.

Um wanna remind folks that the district for budget town hall is on March 19th at 6 p.m.

at the Lindley Recreation Center with myself and our good friend assistant city manager Larry Davis.

Um just uh a brief follow-up on the the commercial code.

We talk about blight and and that being in one and two, I can assure you there's plenty of that in District 4 also that that this ordinance is going to uh go a long way towards addressing.

So I think it's important that this got passed tonight.

Thank you, Ms.

Parker.

Just a few announcements.

My budget uh meeting for District Three is tomorrow, March 18th at 6 p.m.

Greensboro Science Center.

It's in the Sales Center Great Hall on Lawndale.

And also uh my community office hours if you'd like to come by with uh coffee with the councilwoman will be hosted uh the last Tuesday of each month, and this month it's gonna be on March 31st at the Pine.

Uh so that's 230 North Elm Street, suite 125 from 8:30 to 10 a.m.

Super.

We'll go down this way, Miss Thurm.

Just a couple of short things.

Um, number one, just as a housekeeping thing.

Can we get the time changed on the clock?

It looks like the time at the back of the room is still off an hour.

Somebody put it um, let's see.

Umoram Roth, Mayor, I was waiter and I had um a great time celebrating at the Guilford Green Gala this past Saturday night.

Um, it was a great event, um, which I understand was totally sold out.

Um, and a lot of fun and congratulations to them on reaching their goal.

We know that they far exceeded their goal of sixty thousand dollars raised.

So, congratulations to that organization.

I also want to thank um Mayor Pro Tem for inviting us to participate.

I learned more about cutting insulation than I ever wanted to know.

Um, but it was a great experience.

I enjoyed it and enjoyed working with my fellow council members.

We had a good time, and Irving, your daughter is adorable and was so good.

Um my last item want to thank uh G Dot.

I have complained for several times now about the um neighborhood traffic situation on David Caldwell, and I know that G DOT held neighborhood meetings, they've met with the residents.

And I know that G DOT held neighborhood meetings.

They've met with the residents.

There is a plan to go forward, and I do appreciate that department moving forward and taking action on the problems that were in that neighborhood.

So please thank them on my behalf very much and for the on behalf of the residents.

That's it for tonight.

All right, Mr.

Holston.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Just a couple of things here.

One is I want to say again, congratulations to Master Sergeant Timothy Walker.

He had his 40th uh anniversary retirement at the Charlotte Hawkins Brown this past weekend.

And uh it was a it was a true honor to be there to represent the city and uh to congratulate him and send him on his way.

Uh next is uh I believe it's council member Black and I attended the 135th uh Chancellor's convocation at North Carolina AT.

Uh Chancellor James R.

Martin was officially installed.

He had been on campus for about a year and a half, but as the installations go and convocations go, uh it was a great event, and it took me back.

You know, we talked about the the Vision 36, we talked about the the council retreat, we talked a lot about uh that time uh leveraging the colleges and universities in our community.

We have a really unique opportunity here uh in the triad in Greensboro with the seven to eight different colleges and universities.

Uh, we look forward to leveraging and engaging with uh those students and a university on a on an ongoing basis.

Uh Mayor Pro Tim Uh Denise, I want to say thank you so much again for that invitation.

And uh I think it was our music and our singing that uh carried the day.

No.

As we uh as we fought the insulation up and down the walls, but what a what a great opportunity that was, and also to see many of those who are going to be moving into the homes there putting in their sweat sweat equity, um working side by side with us and uh building stronger neighborhoods in our community.

And that's all I have, Madam Mayor.

Thank you.

Okay, all right.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Holston.

Mr.

Allen.

Yes, just a few things.

Uh first and foremost, I want to thank uh city staff uh for their responsiveness for the inclement weather that we went through uh the last few days and uh I rode up and down the roads, probably shouldn't have been outside some of the times, but uh was able to see uh folks at work and taking care of uh our city and our community.

So I'm really grateful for uh those folks.

Uh want to also congratulate Coach David Price of Dudley High School for uh having the gymnasium named after him.

Coach Price is a two-time 3-A champion and one time uh two-time 4-A champion and one time 3A champion uh at Dudley High School coaching and posted a uh record of 449 wins and 139 uh one losses.

Uh so that's an impeccable record.

He uh left an impeccable history on Dudley High School, and I want to congratulate him uh for his accomplishment, uh, even though he did not let me play on the team uh my uh freshman year, uh, probably rightfully so.

Uh also want to uh in that vein um uh make folks aware of a son of the city, Joseph Jackson, who will be competing for the IBA uh boxing uh title belt uh this weekend uh at Dudley High School, and he also attended Dudley High School so you can uh look up that information if you are interested in attending that.

Uh but uh just had to put a little Panther Pride in uh the mix.

Definitely.

All right, Ms.

Black.

Thank you.

Um I wanted to uh first uplift our staff that uh presented our budget town halls.

Um I think if I didn't get anything else, I got feedback from the community of how engaging they were compared to past uh presentations, so I want to make sure that they know that that feedback came from residents that the presentation was very well done, and uh we love the cartoon figures of our ourselves within that.

Um I look like me, so I don't have any complaints.

But um it very well done, very well done.

I also want to uh say yesterday was supposed to be our last series of Bingham Park meetings, but because of the weather, we are gonna have to reschedule those.

So if you could look out for a change in date, uh we will get that out to you as soon as we can.

Um, I wanted to also thank um ACM Harold as well as uh Brett Dochharm for their hard work that they put behind the uh commercial ordinance.

Umerous emails, numerous meetings, numerous sidebar conversations that they gave toward this project, and um just top tier work that you all did, and I really appreciate you seeing it through to the end.

Um I have a town hall coming up March 23rd at 6 p.m.

It will be at the Von Johnson Event Center.

I'm very excited about it and hope that our district one residents will take advantage of coming out and hearing how we plan to move forward in District One as well as in East Greensboro.

And lastly, um I wanted to thank Mayor Pro Tim for uh giving us the experience of learning how to lay insulation in a house.

Um I was very itchy when I left.

Um, but I will say that it was a great team building experience.

Um, you know, my iPhone never worked so hard from the Apple playlist, and uh we were singing 80s music in which Ur found two songs that he reminded us were familiar to him.

Other than that, he didn't know what the playlist was.

Uh, but it was just really nice being out in community and in community spirit with uh my colleagues here.

I hope that we do more of that because it really kind of took the veil down and allowed us to just be people for a moment.

So I thank you for giving us that opportunity, and that's all I have, Madam Mayor.

Thank you.

Great, yes, great comments this evening.

I do have a couple.

Um and um Mayor Pro Tim, we the city manager and I were not able to attend the habitat.

I have done habitat in the past, but we were actually at the uh old battleground.

If you don't know who Peter Francisco is, you need to look him up.

He is a Portuguese, he was kidnapped as a very young child by pirates and brought to the United States and was enslaved.

And after he was enslaved, he got his freedom and um by being a private soldier in the Revolutionary War.

He single-handedly um pretty much destroyed the British troops at Old Battleground.

So I I highly encourage everyone to look him up because uh we were there for the 250th celebration of the United States, but um there is going to be a uh series about him.

And and to say it all, I could tell so much more about his exciting life, but please look him up.

And the documentary, you know, of course, highlights Greensboro because this is where he came to fight.

He lived in Virginia but came here to fight and followed the war and the soldiers.

So it was uh very intriguing and a great turnout for this uh event.

So I encourage you to look him up.

Um let's see.

So I did want to give congratulations to Providence Baptist Church on their 160th anniversary.

I see Michael McKinney in the back deacon, correct?

He's a deacon there, and congratulations.

If you look back 160 years when they started at a behind an area on East Market Street, and now look where they are and have lasted 160 years, so they are to be commended.

Huge sports announcement, of course.

The Norwegian soccer team is coming to base in Greensboro, and they will be staying here locally, and they will be practicing at UNC Greensboro.

Um, I was honored to be there for the announcement, then they are playing uh the FIFA announcement, and they will be playing, of course, in the world, you know, in the FIFA tournament, you know, when all the soccer teams, everybody's gonna be watching.

Everybody's gonna be watching Greensboro, and that is so exciting.

Um, I was also at the installation of Chancellor Martin.

Uh thankful for that, and um, it was also their founder's day.

And several of us were at the Smart Intersections talking about when Mr.

Holston was talking about the innovation and everything.

We are bringing this here, so the Smart Intersections is using LIDAR and Sonar and all other technologies that are gonna help with intersections to make sure that pedestrians are safe.

And I think that's all I have.

Uh Mr.

City Manager.

None tonight, thank you.

All right, uh, Madam City Attorney.

Nothing tonight, Madam Mayor.

All right, with nothing else presented, I would ask for a motion to adjourn.

Moved by Mr.

Holston.

Seconded by Ms.

Crawford.

All in favor, please say aye.

We are adjourned.

Thank you.