Committee of the Whole City Council Meeting - January 21, 2025
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Committee of the Whole City Council Meeting - January 21, 2025
The Committee of the Whole of the Winston-Salem City Council met on January 21, 2025, at 4:00 PM in the City Hall Council Chamber. Mayor Allen Joines presided. Eight members were present initially; Council Member Barbara Hanes Burke joined later. The meeting covered consent agenda items, a resolution for an affordable housing project extension, a food resilience report, a resolution on natural areas in parks, an ordinance amending administration policies, and a proposed sponsorship policy. The meeting adjourned at 3:57 PM (note: minutes state 3:57 PM, which is before the 4:00 PM start time; likely a typo).
Consent Calendar
- Items C-1 through C-5, C-7 through C-10 were approved unanimously without discussion. These included:
- Approval of minutes from various committees (Public Safety, Community Development/Housing/General Government, Public Works, Finance).
- Resolution supporting Winston-Salem Transit Authority's FY25 Bus Facilities and Low Emission Grant Application.
- Resolution to enter on-call agreements for construction engineering and inspection services.
- Resolution declaring city-owned equipment surplus and authorizing sale by public auction.
- Resolution authorizing the City Manager to amend the interlocal agreement with Lewisville for zoning enforcement.
- Ordinance amending the FY 2024-25 budget ordinances.
- Item C-6 was removed from the consent agenda for individual discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made during the meeting.
Discussion Items
- C-6: Resolution Extending Time for Wynnefield Properties to Close on Purchase of Real Property for The Lofts at Motor Road (Affordable Housing) – Shantell McClam, Director of Neighborhood Services, explained that the developer requested an extension due to receiving a LITEC award and a project-based voucher award from the housing authority, which will increase the number of affordable units. The motion to approve and refer to the full City Council on February 3, 2025, passed unanimously.
- G-1: 2025 Food Resilience Planning Report (Informational) – Dr. Shaylene Miller, Director of Sustainability, presented the report. Key statistics: Over 55,000 food insecure individuals in Forsyth County; Second Harvest Food Bank served 41,000 individuals, 37% under 18, 12% over 60, and for the first time the Hispanic/Latino population was the largest served at 43%. Highest serving zip codes were 27105 and 27107. Seven of eight city wards contain a food desert. The report included 303 resident surveys, four in-person meetings, and stakeholder engagement. Themes included access to groceries, public transportation barriers, and education on resources. Proposed strategies: funding, planning/zoning, transportation, education, and partnerships. Council members expressed support and noted the need to address cultural differences, transit limitations, and urban agriculture.
- G-2: Resolution Recognizing Intradepartmental Collaboration to Facilitate Natural Areas in City Parks – Dr. Miller and Leah Friend (Recreation and Parks) presented. The resolution formalizes the city’s commitment to preserving natural areas in parks, creating management plans, and expanding grant opportunities. It was supported by Forsyth Audubon, the Parks Commission, and the Sustainability Committee. Council members praised the initiative and discussed concerns about pesticide use and edible landscaping. The resolution was approved unanimously and referred to the full City Council on February 3, 2025.
- G-3: Ordinance Amending Article IV of Chapter 2 (Administration) – City Manager William Pate explained this ordinance addresses residency requirements for the city attorney and city manager. The discussion focused on whether to align these requirements with those for other senior managers. Council members noted the need for congruency. The item was moved to the February 2, 2025, council meeting for further action.
- G-4: Information Regarding a Proposed City Sponsorship Policy – Assistant City Manager Ben Rowe presented a draft policy to provide guidelines for city sponsorships. Key elements: must meet a public purpose test, align with city goals, exclude political or religious events, and require council approval for non-budgeted sponsorships. The policy would create an approved list of sponsorships as part of the annual budget. Council members raised questions about funding for new organizations, transparency, and community engagement. The item will return for formal action at a later date.
City Manager’s Update
- City Manager Pate reminded council of upcoming events: Commit to Civility program (Jan 22), Legislative Breakfast (Jan 24, 8:30 AM), city facilities tour, and a strategic planning session on Jan 29-30 facilitated by Ralph Tells. He also noted that a code of conduct and rules of procedures are being developed for council.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda (except C-6) approved unanimously.
- C-6 approved and referred to City Council on 2/3/2025.
- G-2 approved unanimously and referred to City Council on 2/3/2025.
- G-3 moved to the February 2, 2025, City Council meeting for action.
- G-4 received as information; staff will bring back a revised policy for action.
- Adjournment at 3:57 PM (motion by Mayor Pro Tempore Adams, seconded by Council Member Joiner, unanimous).
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. I'm Alan Joins, Mayor of Winston Salem. It's my pleasure to call to order this committee of the whole meeting. And ask the city clerk to call the roll, please. Councilmember joyner. Present. Councilmember Clark. Here. Councilmember Andrew Bowen. Here. Councilmember Scipio. Here. Mayor Pro Tim Adams. Here. Councilmember Taylor. Present. Councilmember Hall. Present. And Councilmember Burke. Thank you very much. We will operate as a committee of the whole pretty much like a council regular council meeting in that we have two items, two sections of the agenda, consent agenda as well as a general agenda. There will be no cons uh discussion of the items on the consent agenda unless the council member so requests and we will remove that item and then consider it individually. Items not removed from the consent agenda will be enacted with one motion. We would just go on and uh are there any items that a council member would like to have pull from the consent agenda? Item CI. Is there a motion on the balance? Move for approval of the consent of the balance of the consent agenda. Second Council McClark, and by the way, we will be voting uh manually tonight, basically. So all those in favor of the motion to approve the consent agenda, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed, and that's unanimous. We'll now go to item C6. Item C6 resolution extending the time for Winfield Properties Inc. to close on the purchase of real property from the city for the purpose of developing the loss at Motor Road to provide affordable housing. Councilmember Jim Adams, you asked. Yes. Since this is part of right now our priority one with the city and us doing a better job of communicating anything that happens with these properties that we've already budgeted for or our funding to some degree. Uh any time it comes up that we are changing uh the process or what they're doing, what we first signed up for. If you could give us a brief description of what is taking place. Thank you. Good afternoon, Mayor Jones, Mayor Pro Tem Adams, and members of City Council, Chantale McClam, Neighborhood Services Director. Um in this situation, Winfield Properties has asked to extend the time frame in which we in which they signed their agreement with us, and that's due to a couple good things. Um they actually received uh a LITEC award, and it's going to take them some time in order to get the financing from that award completed. They also received a uh project-based voucher award from the housing authority, which is also good because it gives us more affordable units. So there's a couple good things that happened to them at the end of the year. It's to where they were unable to sign that agreement with us in order to get that other financing in place. All right. Thank you. I move for approval of item C six. Second.
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