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Record of Proceedings

Winston-Salem Finance Committee Meeting February 11, 2025

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, February 11, 2025
BodyWinston Salem, North Carolina
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, February 11, 2025
StatusFILED
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:28

Let me call the meeting to order.

0:29

Welcome everybody here to the February Finance Committee.

0:34

Hang on a minute.

0:35

My thing is all the bad.

0:46

Oh, hit the wrong button.

0:50

Okay, we'll start with the consent agenda.

0:52

We have four items.

0:53

Is there any item anyone would like full?

0:57

C one, Ms.

1:00

Adams.

1:01

I make a motion to approve the balance.

1:03

We have second.

1:04

Motion bounce through the agenda.

1:05

I think we're just doing it by voice vote.

1:08

No.

1:08

Is that right?

1:10

Correct.

1:10

All in favor, say aye.

1:11

Aye.

1:12

Those likewise.

1:14

Those are approved.

1:15

We'll now go to C one if the city clerk will please read it.

1:19

Item C one resolution awarding contract for parking lot resurfacing at 14 city parks.

1:26

Could you like to introduce it?

1:28

And then we'll go from there.

1:30

Sure.

1:30

This is a bid for recreation to resurface 14 recenter parking lots.

1:37

We did competitive bids and received three.

1:40

We did have MWBE goals and the low bidder submitted less than the five and five required for the project.

1:49

However, the uh committee met and determined that it did make a good faith effort.

1:54

And so we're recommending award of this in the amount of one point six one seven million to Rustin Paving, who has performed work for us in the past.

2:04

Okay.

2:06

Yeah.

2:06

Thank you so much.

2:07

I just want to possibly make an admittive correction, administrative correction on exhibit A.

2:14

Okay.

2:15

When you look at it, it goes down to Old Town Park.

2:18

Well shadow line, it says the North Ward.

2:21

I'm not sure about that.

2:22

I thought it was the Northwest Wood.

2:24

Mr.

2:24

King.

2:26

I've never had that park.

2:28

I mean, way way back in the day, even before I got on the council, maybe, but uh I was that was always Councilmember Mackintosh's.

2:36

Now I'll be glad to take it.

2:39

So if we could check on that and check it, Mr.

2:41

Royston again, I'm pretty much sure.

2:44

And the only reason when I have community meetings, I go up there is because we don't have other parks as you know, uh in the far north uh end of the uh North Ward, and that's where I usually do the pop town way up, you know, that that committee.

3:00

If the staff will check that and if it needs to be corrected to correct for next Monday night when we voted.

3:06

Okay, so other than that, I move forward.

3:08

We have a motion to approve item C One is there second.

3:12

Second.

3:12

All in favor say aye.

3:14

Aye.

3:14

Opposed likewise.

3:16

That is approved.

3:17

Thank you very much.

3:20

Well, I didn't fail to make the uh comment.

3:23

Once we finish the items listed, we will be going into closed session.

3:27

The committee.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████49%
Community Engagement██████████████████████24%
Procedural█████████10%
Public Safety██████6%
Budget Equity Analysis█████5%
Racial Equity████4%
Procurement and Contracts██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Winston-Salem Finance Committee Meeting

Date: February 11, 2025
Time: 4:00 PM – 5:15 PM
Location: 101 North Main Street, Winston-Salem, NC
Committee Members Present: Council Member Robert C. Clark (Chair), Mayor Pro Tempore Denise D. Adams (Vice Chair), Council Member Annette Scippio, Council Member James Taylor Jr.
Other Attendees: Council Members B. Burke, V. Joiner, S. Andree-Bowen

The Finance Committee met to review consent agenda items, discuss a proposed City Sponsorship Policy, and enter closed session. All consent items were approved unanimously and will be referred to the City Council on March 3, 2025. The sponsorship policy was held for further refinement and will return to the committee on April 15, 2025.

Consent Agenda

  • C-1: Parking Lot Resurfacing at 14 City Parks – Award to Ruston Paving Company, Inc. ($1,617,281)
    Mayor Pro Tempore Adams asked staff to verify the ward designation for Old Town Park on Exhibit A (she believed it should be Northwest Ward, not North Ward). Staff will correct if needed. The contract was awarded unanimously.

  • C-2: Supplemental Agreement with NCDOT for Robinhood Road Sidewalk (West Ward)
    Authorized additional funding from NCDOT. Approved unanimously.

  • C-3: Construction Contract for Robinhood Road Sidewalk – Award to Country Boy Landscaping, Inc. ($620,154.24)
    Approved unanimously.

  • C-4: Ordinance Amending the Project Budget Ordinance for FY 2024-2025
    Approved unanimously.

All consent items recommended to City Council for approval on March 3, 2025.

Discussion Items

  • G-1: Resolution Establishing a City Sponsorship Policy
    Presented by Assistant City Manager Ben Rowe as an information item. The policy aims to govern how the city supports local festivals, events, and community projects through financial or in-kind sponsorships. Key elements include:

    • Defining "approved sponsorships" (those listed in the annual budget) and "departmental sponsorships" (requiring city manager approval).
    • Requiring that expenditures meet the public purpose test under NC General Statute 168-209C and the state constitution.
    • Creating an application process requiring submissions at least 30 days before the event (discussed as possibly too short; may need to align with the 45-day special event permit process).
    • Restricting sponsorships to governmental entities or nonprofits with at least one year of operating history; exceptions for religious groups providing secular public services (e.g., soup kitchens) were discussed.
    • Adding controls to prevent duplicate requests to multiple departments.
    • Proposing that unapproved sponsorships would require repayment by the city official or employee.

    Council discussions raised several concerns:

    • Mayor Pro Tempore Adams expressed concern about the 30-day submission window, noting that police and other departments need more lead time for permitting; she also emphasized that smaller nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status should not be excluded unfairly.
    • Council Member Scippio questioned how new or small organizations would get on the approved list, whether past recipients automatically remain, and whether there is a dollar threshold for council approval. She suggested the process should allow at least six months of lead time.
    • Council Member Clark highlighted the need to distinguish between small donations (e.g., $500 program ads) and significant commitments (e.g., major events requiring police support). He stressed the importance of not breaking public purpose laws and ensuring equitable treatment.
    • Mayor Pro Tempore Adams called for a matrix to clarify funding levels and audience impact, and for a policy that ensures equitable access for all nonprofits, referencing historical inequities in city funding.

    The committee held the item for further refinement and plans to bring back a revised policy in April.

Closed Session

  • The committee unanimously approved a motion to enter closed session under N.C.G.S. §143-318.11(a)(4) to discuss financial considerations, location, and/or expansion of a spec building within the city limits. The closed session ended, and the meeting adjourned at 5:15 PM.

Key Outcomes

  • All consent agenda items (C-1 through C-4) approved unanimously and referred to City Council on March 3, 2025.
  • Sponsorship policy (G-1) held in committee; will return to the Finance Committee on April 15, 2025, with revisions based on council feedback.
  • Staff to correct ward designation for Old Town Park on Exhibit A if necessary.
  • Closed session authorized for discussion of a spec building; no votes taken.

Meeting Transcript

Let me call the meeting to order. Welcome everybody here to the February Finance Committee. Hang on a minute. My thing is all the bad. Oh, hit the wrong button. Okay, we'll start with the consent agenda. We have four items. Is there any item anyone would like full? C one, Ms. Adams. I make a motion to approve the balance. We have second. Motion bounce through the agenda. I think we're just doing it by voice vote. No. Is that right? Correct. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Those likewise. Those are approved. We'll now go to C one if the city clerk will please read it. Item C one resolution awarding contract for parking lot resurfacing at 14 city parks. Could you like to introduce it? And then we'll go from there. Sure. This is a bid for recreation to resurface 14 recenter parking lots. We did competitive bids and received three. We did have MWBE goals and the low bidder submitted less than the five and five required for the project. However, the uh committee met and determined that it did make a good faith effort. And so we're recommending award of this in the amount of one point six one seven million to Rustin Paving, who has performed work for us in the past. Okay. Yeah. Thank you so much. I just want to possibly make an admittive correction, administrative correction on exhibit A. Okay. When you look at it, it goes down to Old Town Park. Well shadow line, it says the North Ward. I'm not sure about that. I thought it was the Northwest Wood. Mr. King. I've never had that park. I mean, way way back in the day, even before I got on the council, maybe, but uh I was that was always Councilmember Mackintosh's. Now I'll be glad to take it. So if we could check on that and check it, Mr. Royston again, I'm pretty much sure. And the only reason when I have community meetings, I go up there is because we don't have other parks as you know, uh in the far north uh end of the uh North Ward, and that's where I usually do the pop town way up, you know, that that committee. If the staff will check that and if it needs to be corrected to correct for next Monday night when we voted. Okay, so other than that, I move forward.

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