Greenville City Council Regular Meeting - August 10, 2026
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Greenville City Council Meeting - August 10, 2026
The Greenville City Council convened at 6:00 PM in City Hall Council Chambers on August 10, 2026. The agenda covered parks and recreation projects, affordable housing initiatives, property exchanges, a comprehensive plan update, and budget amendments. All votes were 5-0 with Councilmember Scully absent.
Special Recognitions
- Recognized graduates of Greenville Fire/Rescue's 2026 Junior Fire Marshal Academy, a week-long program teaching fire prevention, water safety, fire extinguisher use, first aid, and CPR.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Don Cavallini, 41-year resident and co-chair of the Pitt County Coalition Against Racism, expressed concerns about disparities in traffic calming devices, citing pedestrian fatalities in other neighborhoods versus rumble strips in his own (Hooker Road) neighborhood. He also questioned enforcement of a proposed downtown curfew for minors.
- Matthew Greenview raised concerns about Flock Safety cameras, stating they have been abused by police in 50 instances and could be used to surveil ordinary citizens rather than locate missing children.
Consent Calendar
- Approved consent items 2-15 (minus item 11) in a 5-0 vote, including approval of minutes, amended records schedule, right-of-way conveyances, property conveyances to Habitat for Humanity, lease agreements, traffic signal maintenance agreements, firefighter grant applications, security services contract, water feature equipment, Wildwood Park pier project, police asset forfeiture equipment purchases, and tax refunds.
- Separately approved item 11, the Woodlawn Park Improvements construction contract. The $500,000 ADA grant-funded project includes improved ADA access, shelter upgrades, a multi-use sports court, two ADA parking spots, new playground equipment for teens, foosball, and cornhole. The city will self-perform some work to lower costs.
Discussion Items
- Boards and Commissions Presentations: The Planning and Zoning Commission Chair John Collins reported 32 applications reviewed in the past year (14 rezoning, 5 text amendments, 10 preliminary plats, 1 future land use map amendment, 2 street closings) and noted the commission's unanimous recommendation of the Unified Development Ordinance. The Multimodal Transportation Commission Chair James Byrd presented its annual report, highlighting microtransit launch, sidewalk infill, ADA work, and inconsistencies in crosswalk striping along Arlington Boulevard. Byrd also noted a missing 200 feet of sidewalk and six new bus benches. A conversation with Councilmember Willis about traffic calming disparities led to agreement to bring the matter to the commission's next agenda.
- Boardwalk Construction Contract: Awarded to TDUR Marine Construction for $1,505,000 to construct a 685-foot boardwalk connecting Wildwood Park to River Park North. The project is funded in part by a $500,000 Great Trails state grant.
- North Recreational Complex Site Work: Awarded construction contract to Fred Smith Company for $4,032,876. Scope includes grading, subgrade preparation, stormwater and drainage improvements for four fields, which will be used primarily for soccer and lacrosse but can host other rectangle sports.
- Synthetic Turf Purchase: Approved purchase of Shaw Sports Turf, including geofill infill material, for the North Recreational Complex. Benefits cited include reduced surface temperature, eight-year warranty, factory-installed seam tape, cradle-to-cradle certification, lower maintenance costs, and quicker recovery after rain.
- Interlocal Agreement Amendment with Pitt County: Approved an amendment to allow the city to exchange the properties at 2815 E. Tenth Street and 0 E. Fifth Street (instead of only sale), with the county's interest potentially treated as a contribution toward a planned sports complex. A mirror agreement is expected to be considered by the county commissioners.
- Property Exchange with JHV Holdings, LLC: Adopted a resolution authorizing the exchange of the old State Highway Patrol property (2 acres, appraised at $909,000) plus $2,341,000 cash for approximately 160 acres at 455 U.S. 264 Highway East adjacent to the North Recreational Complex. Total cash payout is $2,395,000 from the hotel tax capital fund. Due diligence ends August 31, 2026, and no issues were found.
- Comprehensive Plan Update: Awarded contract to Bolton Mink to update and implement the city's comprehensive plan, replacing Horizons 2026. The 18-24 month process will include a task force, multiple open houses and virtual meetings, a project website, and public hearings.
- 50-in-10 Affordable Housing Initiative: Selected three developers—All Joy Studio, Bernie & Bernie Construction, and Strictly Business Builders—each to receive three city-owned lots in West Greenville for construction of nine affordable homes. Developers have 12 months to complete construction and will market homes subject to affordability requirements.
- Revive & Restore Pilot Program: Approved a memorandum of understanding with the NC Housing Finance Agency and Pitt Community College for a $200,000 pilot program. The two-pronged approach includes acquisition/rehabilitation and exterior enhancements for owner-occupied housing, along with workforce training.
- Budget Ordinance #1 (2026-27): Approved amendments to multiple funds, including $400,000 for the comprehensive plan, $800,000 for code enforcement reorganization, closing the Greenways Capital Projects Fund with remaining balance transferred to the boardwalk project, $169,000 for the ShotSpotter program, $139,000 in federal forfeiture funds, $250,000 for the North-South Connector, and $125,000 donation for the Wildwood West fishing access. The total operating fund budget now exceeds $200 million.
Key Outcomes
- All 13 votes taken during the meeting passed unanimously 5-0.
- Council members expressed strong support for the sports complex, the Wildwood-River Park North boardwalk, code enforcement efforts, the airport fly-in (1,143 attendees), and the conclusion of the Little League Softball World Series.
- City Manager's report welcomed ECU students back and praised staff and volunteers for hosting the softball series.
Meeting Transcript
All right, good evening. I'd like to call the August 10th, 2026 meeting of the Greenville City Council to Order. I'm Mayor P. J. Conley, I'll be presiding over tonight's meeting. First, I'd like to call on Councilmember Jones for the invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. If you'll join me in prayer, dear Lord, we come before you with granitude for the opportunity to serve our community. We ask you for your wisdom, guidance, and discernment as we consider the matters before us today. Help us to listen with open minds, speak with respect, and take this this discussions with fairness, integrity, and compassion. Remind us that our responsibility is to serve all members of our community and to work together for the common good. Give us patience, humility, and courage to do what is right. May our decisions promote peace, safety, opportunity, and the well-being of every person and family we represent. Bless our city, its residents, its leaders, and all those who work to make our community a better place. May we leave this meeting committed to serving others with wisdom, honesty, and grace. In your name we pray. Amen. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Yes, sir. Mayor Connolly. Here. Mayor for Temp Foreman. Councilmember Jones. Here. Councilmember Hardy. Here. Councilmember Scully has let us know he will not be attending this evening. Councilmember Robinson? Here. Councilmember Willis. Here. All right, Mayor Conley Evercorn. Thank you very much. We'll now move on to approval of tonight's agenda. Mr. Manager, any recommendation? No changes. Do I have a motion to approve the agenda? Motion to approve. Alright, motion made by Councilmember Jones, second by Councilmember Robinson. All those in favor say aye. Motion passes by zero. So if you guys would come on up and join us on the stage. It's an exciting week for our staff because we get to bring in um these bright, beautiful faces in from the outside and teach them some very important topics, such as uh fire prevention, water safety. Uh we teach them how to use fire extinguishers, different first aid topics, and how to do CPR. And which uh you don't think that that really makes a difference to the kids this age, but it does because what they do is they go home and they teach other people and other friends how to do it, and it prepares them in the event of an emergency. So we're super excited. We had a really great uh week this year. Again, it's our twelfth year, and it just gets better and better every year. But we just want to recognize these cadets. Um, Chief Bedard and Grace, they do a great job through our life safety division of putting this on every year, and there's a lot of city staff is you know it's no one department that does this, it's um you know, all the departments come together to help us out with with the different things we need during that week.
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