Greenville City Council Meeting - February 26, 2026
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Greenville City Council Meeting - February 26, 2026
On February 26, 2026, the Greenville City Council held its regular meeting, beginning at approximately 7:00 PM with an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. The meeting included public comments, approval of a consent agenda, a speed limit ordinance for East 10th Street, an update on the five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), a budget ordinance amendment, a schedule amendment, and various reports from council and staff. All votes were unanimous (6-0) unless noted.
Consent Calendar
- Items 2 through 7 were approved unanimously (6-0):
- Resolution accepting dedication of right-of-way and easement for Davenport Farms at Emerald Park Phase 9.
- Reimbursement resolution for the Town Common bulkhead and sports complex.
- Ordinance amending the manual of fees for the North Recreation Complex.
- Design service contract award to ADW Architects PA for Fire Station No. 8.
- Approval to purchase three additional vehicles for the transit division.
- Various tax refunds greater than $100.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Marion Blackburn (River Hills neighborhood) expressed support for the proposed speed reductions on East 10th Street, calling them essential for safety near the greenway and daycare. She recommended extending the 35 mph zone from Brownlee all the way to Greenville Boulevard instead of reverting to 45 mph, citing bus stops, pedestrian crossings, and park access.
- Mike Tan (chair of 5501 Greenville) voiced concerns about federal actions, drawing parallels to Nazi Germany. He called on the council to adopt a “Philadelphia model” to prohibit local police from coordinating with ICE, require officers to display clear identification, and bar ICE from using city property without a judicial warrant.
- Anthony echoed similar concerns about federal overreach, urging the city to avoid signing 287G agreements and to ensure that local law enforcement authority remains clear and accountable to residents. He supported a mayoral executive order prohibiting city participation in 287G.
Discussion Items
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Item 8 – Speed Limit Revision on East 10th Street: Director of Engineering Lisa Kirby presented DOT’s recommendation to reduce the speed limit from 35 mph to 25 mph between Elm and Evans (campus corridor) and adjust transition zones to 35 mph. The study followed the opening of the 10th Street Connector and increased pedestrian activity. The city must concur with DOT’s ordinance; if not, speeds remain unchanged. Councilmember Hardy praised the reduction, noting its long-term importance for pedestrian safety. The council approved the ordinance unanimously (6-0).
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Item 9 – Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Update:
- Fire Rescue: A new live-burn facility was completed ($600,000, with $100,000 donation). Fire Station 8 design was approved (design budget $650,000, construction unfunded at $6 million). Fire Station 9 land acquired near South Central High (design $650,000, construction $6.5 million, unfunded). Renovations of Stations 1, 3, and 4 for gender-diverse accommodations ($2.5 million construction, unfunded).
- Police Department: Evidence storage expansion at Public Safety Annex ($230,000). Additional storage ($2.9 million) and new police headquarters ($25 million) were noted as long-term needs.
- Public Works: Street maintenance facility renovations ($750,000, ongoing). Solid waste office renovations (75% complete). Stormwater pipe replacement phases I and II completed ($12 million); phase III unfunded ($6 million).
- Recreation & Parks: Town Common bulkhead on schedule (completion fall 2026). Woodlawn Park improvements ($600,000: $500,000 grant + $100,000 city). Wildwood River Park North boardwalk connection ($1.7 million, mostly grant-funded). Future needs include Town Common recreation upgrades ($10 million), Bradford Creek soccer field lighting ($1 million), a new gym at Boyd Lee Park, and investments in West and South Greenville.
- Engineering: Lisa Kirby reported on pavement management, stormwater, pedestrian improvements, stream bank stabilization, and traffic safety. Major projects included the North-South Connector multi-use path ($4.3 million), Arts District streetscape, Vision Zero plan, and multiple drainage projects (Quarry Road, Trafalgar, East Fire Tower). Several projects are grant-funded but challenged by FEMA policy changes. Council members highlighted the need for fire station construction (Stations 8, 9, 10) and equity in park investments for underserved communities.
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Item 10 – Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 7: Recognized additional revenues and appropriated funds for transit vans, watershed master plan, stormwater projects, and donations. The total operating budget was set at $204.8 million. Approved unanimously (6-0).
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Item 11 – Amendment to 2026 Meeting Schedule: The council cancelled the February 12 meeting (due to lack of quorum) and moved its items (annexation, MOU for research campus, police stats, transit update) to a special meeting on February 23 at 7:00 PM, adding a 4:00 PM workshop on goals and priorities. Approved unanimously (6-0).
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous approval (6-0) of: consent calendar, speed limit ordinance, budget amendment, and meeting schedule amendment.
- Authorized closed session (6-0) under NCGS §143-318.11 for real property negotiations.
- Council directed staff to continue discussions on extending speed reductions on Memorial Drive and to evaluate pedestrian safety improvements.
- Staff will present findings from the Classification and Compensation Study in March-April 2026, and provide updates on the Vision Zero Action Plan and watershed master plan.
- Council members voiced support for a coat drive (Robinson, Foreman), appreciation for city’s snow response (all members), and a call for increased investment in West and South Greenville recreation and housing (Councilmember Foreman).
- Fire Station renovations (Stations 1, 3, 4) remain unfunded but were elevated as a priority by Councilmember Scully.
Meeting Transcript
Did conduct the true market study in 2022 to align the paid plan to the market. So we're hopeful that because the of the 22 market study that we don't see this huge cost impact as a result of this study. That remains to be seen because we're still getting data, but that's that's where we are. That's we're hopeful. We've uh conducted the study within a six-month timeline. It kicked off in August of last year. Since August, we've been heavily involved in the classification analysis, um, salary market assessment, and um uh working with the consultant Siegel with uh with regard to recommendations. And this month, February, we are awaiting final recommendations from the consultant so that we can then share that information with with council. So our next steps, um already mentioned the February 2026, um March and April of 2026, we will present uh the findings to the joint pay and benefits committee. Um also that same time frame we'll be meeting uh in small groups with council to discuss the findings and then in April uh findings and recommendations will be presented to the joint council and GC uh GUC Board of Commissioners for approval, so it'll be part of the upcoming budget. And again, the primary outcome of the study, of course, we want uh the ability to recruit and retain high performing employees, um, and this aligns with city council goal number six of building a high performing and diverse organization. Any questions? No, okay. Great job. Thank you. Okay. Wow. Item number three, uh affordable housing update. Uh would like to call forward our director of community and development services, Tiana Berryman. And would also like to recognize her. She has just been selected as uh by ECU alumna association. That's right. He's been one of the 40 over 40 uh members. So uh congratulations. He did that on purpose. Thank you. All right, so um, thank you, Michael. I am presenting an affordable housing update. Um so just to get us kicked off with a little bit of background, the city began focused revival revitalization efforts in West Greenville in the early 2000s, um, and we've sustained those efforts largely with C DBG and home allocations from the federal government. Pressure intensified around 2020 with COVID and we saw a need for affordable housing that was exacerbated not just in Greenville but across the across the nation. Um so in response in 2025, City Council supported the 50 and 10 affordable housing initiative. Nope, wrong button, sorry. Uh essentially, this is an ongoing investment in affordable housing that allows us to leverage additional resources and partnerships and expedites progress toward reaching and expanding our housing goals. Um it's also a dedicated resource for West Greenville that started as 200,000 in snowballs each year until reaching one million dollars and maintaining that for five years. So that's what this snowball looks like. Um we started uh this fiscal year with the 200,000. We are looking forward to that 400,000 uh in July, and we will accumulate over the next over a decade a total of eight million dollars that will continue to be reinvested in affordable housing. So uh phase one pick um it we began in August of uh 2025 with the groundbreaking um for the housing projects in partnership with Pitt Community College along Fifth Street. Um many of you were in attendance. Michael is just behind that white bar there. I just want to throw that out. He was there. Um so we had we celebrated with a number of public and private uh financial partners as a demonstration of the community's um the community impact and benefit. So we are really excited about that. In response to or uh specific to the the PCC partnership, it helps us to preserve financial resources, allows for proceeds to be reinvested into ongoing community development activities and supports workforce development because we are or they are utilizing construction trade students to construct the homes. So we initially started off with the anticipation of having three. We council approved two additional homes in the fall for a total of five homes for our first phase. We are also this is hot off the press. Alright, so ongoing development. Our next phase includes seeking to incorporate broader private sector partnership.
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