Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the uh meeting of the general government uh committee meeting uh with the clerk.

Please call the role for the members of the committee, please.

Chairperson, Mayor Pur Tim Adams.

Here, Vice Chair, Councilmember Joyner.

Present.

Councilmember Burke here, and Councilmember Hall.

Here.

Thank you so much.

Uh also uh, as many of you know, we have two parts to our agenda.

We have the consent agenda, and we have the general agenda.

And uh we have only one item on the consent of agenda, so and we're gonna do that by voice vote.

So if someone would please uh make a motion.

Move to approve item C1.

A second.

It's been moved and properly seconded.

All those in favor, let it be known by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed, like sign.

Uh our next part of our agenda is a general, and we do have three items, and I will ask the clerk to go ahead and call the first item.

Item G1 resolution removing a city-owned parcel from the list of city-owned sites for affordable housing development and authorizing the sale of that land to Triad Cultural Arts Inc.

to support the shotgun house legacy site.

Yes, uh, thank you, Mr.

Rao.

Good afternoon, Chairperson Adams, Mayor Joins, members of the City Council.

In April 2023, the City Council authorized the sale of two shotgun houses located within Happy Hill to Triad Cultural Arts for one dollar to establish the shotgun house legacy site.

In May of 2024, the city council authorized a contribution of 70,000 from occupy occupancy tax fund reserves to assist in the rehabilitation of one of those houses for the project.

And then this past February, Tri-Cultural Arts held a grand reopening of the restored house at 716 Humphrey Street with over 100 members of the community attending the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Staff from Tri-Cultural Arts has approached city staff about acquiring uh a city-owned parcel that's directly across the street from the shotgun house legacy site.

It's marked uh lot number 249 uh on the map that's included with the uh council action.

That parcel is part right currently part of the uh list of city-owned uh sites that have been designated for affordable housing development, but they're interested in acquiring that site to uh develop it for parking and for a gathering place uh to accommodate their current programming and tours of the site and also to support the next phase of the shotgun house legacy project.

I'd like to introduce Bria Armstrong, the executive director of Tricultural Arts, who uh provide a brief presentation on on their request.

Thank you.

Wonderful, wonderful.

Good afternoon, Miss Armstrong.

Would you please provide your name and address for the record, please?

Absolutely.

Good evening.

My name is Abrea Armstrong.

I reside at 51 East Forest Street, right around the corner.

And I also have our architect with us, Glenn.

Hi, my name is Glenn Falk.

Excellent.

So I'm very grateful that we have the presentation in front of us, but uh City Council member, there's so many of you here.

I'm so pleasantly surprised um at the number of you here, and so I just want to send first certainly greetings to you all to Mr.

Mayor, um, and also a special thank you uh to Ben Rao for all of his help in getting us here.

So, first, today is a great day, council.

Today is a great day uh because we at Tri-Cultural Arts are finally able to present both updates on our current programming needs um and how to protect that previous investment that was mentioned, and also share an opportunity, a new opportunity for us to work together to continue to serve our city proudly.

So last year, thank you, Glenn.

I got a banana white, y'all coming up in the world.

Um last year the city was generous enough to support the shotgun house preservation efforts with that 70,000 dollar gift.

Since then, preservation is 95% done and completed.

Um, and if you all have built a house before, you understand how that last five percent I feel like takes the takes the longest, um, and have welcomed over 500 people to the house, including as was mentioned, a February 22nd ribbon cutting, which several of you attended, and thank you for that, which was standing room only and warranted an above-the-fold feature in the journal, which I think should be here somewhere.

Yeah, there we go.

Um, in in the journal.

The House has held numerous events such as our foodways events, which uh Steph Sheffany Tyson came out and made came out of semi-retirement to offer biscuits and an indication of how the shotgun house brings the best out of our community.

This house also offers exhibits, artifacts, art, um, and provides educational enrichment for people of our of all ages.

So, again, committee just want to acknowledge that this is what it looked like a year ago.

A year ago, this was the shotgun house.

And here we are today.

Evidence of how Tri-Cultural Arts is an excellent steward of city resources and assets.

And so I am here today to share an opportunity for us to both continue to fulfill our mission by serving even more community members through our through an expansion of our facility's footprint.

So, first, just acknowledging the sort of quaint nature of our current parcel as well as the neighbor, the fact that it is is situated in a residential location.

I want to acknowledge how gracious the Happy Hill residents and communities and neighbors have been as in turn, both in terms of supporting and supplying artifacts and oral histories, but also with the slight nuisance of cars clogging up their road, right?

Um, if any of you, I'm sure many of you have been to the shotgun house, you understand the curve that it sits on, and uh, we want to welcome as many visitors as possible, but again, also want to be a good neighbor.

And TCA aims to be the best neighbor we can by moving parking off the street and onto a parking area that serves larger volume vehicles such as school buses and trolleys, and also serve as a gathering space for the neighborhood.

Today, I am here to formally request that the city of Winston-Salem sell its parcel on Humphrey Street, number 249 on the affordable housing list to our organization for a nominal fee, as we see this as an excellent use of the city's resources that further protects its investment in the shotgun house and further supports its investment in one of its most blighted communities, which we can change together.

This parcel has yet to be bid on during previous and current bid processes, likely due to the topographical and environmental challenges posed by the property being situated between a Duke Power Station on one side, the railroad tracks on the other.

While this parcel, if you go and see it today, is currently covered in trees.

When I look at it, I see school buses and loading in the lot and students having lunch at the picnic tables while others tour the house.

I envision fish fries and spades tournaments of the past coming to life in this space.

As proud keepers of culture, we honor the role of fellowship and community the what the role that community also plays in the black experience and see an opportunity to both celebrate this cultural nuance while acknowledging the logistical needs of the shotgun house parking.

As we plan for the future, yes, yes, yes.

This parcel is essential to the short-term functionality, as you've already heard, continued development and long-term sustainability of the shotgun house, and the bill, the full build of the Triad's first full local Black History Museum and Cultural Center.

And I emphasize full in that it's expanding beyond civil rights of what we've seen in Greensboro and really thinking about all types of areas.

So now that we have are wrapping up the reservation restoration of the shotgun house, and during the next three years, Tri-Cultural Arts will conduct a multi-million dollar comprehensive campaign to establish the first broad topic, local black history museum here in the Triad, our most ambitious project yet.

This will provide TCA with more sustainability via earned income from ticket sales.

And while we build this vision, Tri-Cultural Arts will continue delivering high-quality programs, showcasing its capacity, and layering the and laying a foundation for partnerships to enrich the museum and existing shotgun house exhibits.

I'm trying to, there we go, there we go.

Yes, that's what I want y'all to see.

That's what I'm talking about.

Um the the planned space is gonna be about 15,000 square feet.

Um it'll include 120 seat auditorium, an artist pavilion, gallery, exhibit space, and viewing tower with content areas including education, activism, the arts, religion, and industry.

We've already established some incredible partnerships with institutions like Wake Forest, Duke University, the Schaumburg, the Studio Museum of Harlem, the Black Panther Museum in Oakland, and I'm super excited to take these local stories and elevate them to a national and state level level.

So, whether it's telling the story of the Safe Bus, Winston Salem having the first Black Panther Party chapter in the South, the ingenuity of folks like George Black or Wade Bidding, or us having the first hit in victory of North Carolina.

Tri-Cultural Arts is on a path to ensure that our local Black history is forever preserved, so that no matter what happens at the low or the national or state level, we can declare as a community, as a city that I proudly call home, what's important to us, and what we want our children to know about the legacy that they have inherited.

So our ask today is one of the first steps necessary to ensure that we can provide shotgun house tourism to perpetuity and logistically have the space for parking required for this larger facility.

And with that, we want our children to have a strong sense of belonging, self-esteem, and pride, and thus confidence in themselves to strive for more.

Will you join me?

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Armstrong.

And the gentleman from New York.

Could we get his name for the record, please?

And address.

Glenn Folk.

And I'm also I'm Winston Salm Native, Proud RJ Reynolds High School graduate, but uh my address in New York City is 248th Avenue, um, number 3F, New York, New York 1001.

Thank you so much.

Uh I just want to say before Mr.

Ryles speaks that when you did mention 15 years in the making, I remember when uh Cheryl Harry and some others met with me.

Uh I had just gotten elected.

I knew about the shotgun house.

This is like I because I was uh again, my family lived over there when I was born 1954, we were living in that area.

Um but I also knew about the cottages on Thurman as well.

So in between all of these, both of these, uh I have to give it to Tri-Cultural Arts for staying so diligent and and working the process to get this done because when this was brought to me, it seemed like you know, we were all like, well, it might, should have, could have, we may be able to get it done, maybe not.

And now to be able to see it in this true, you know, form and and coming to fruition, it makes me very proud.

Because uh, as I tell people, if you have a dream and you can't believe the dream and go get it, it'll never become a reality.

And I gotta give it to you know, again, Tri-Acultural Arts.

You are the keepers of the culture of African American history in this city, and you always have been.

So I'm gonna thank you, and then I'm gonna let Mr.

Rao do his thing.

Thank you so much.

So the uh item before uh the committee this afternoon is a resolution that really comes in two parts.

Uh the first action would be to remove lot two forty-nine from the list of city-owned sites that have been designated for affordable housing development in order for the city to sell the parcel to tri-cultural arts.

And then the second part of the resolution is for council to authorize an option to purchase uh to tri-cultural arts for one dollar to acquire the property.

Uh it's a it would be a two-year option based on the estimate that they received to construct the parking lot and the gathering place, uh, which for it to be an asphalt lot would be up to 87,000 dollars.

The two years would enable them to be able to raise the funds to be able to develop the parcel for those for those needs.

Um, the terms, if you will, the conditions that if they do not raise the funds within that two-year period, then the city would retain ownership of the parcel and it would go back onto the list of city-owned sites for affordable housing development.

Um, if you could open up exhibit A.

There would also be some additional conditions that would be uh associated with with the sale if they do raise some funds within the two-year period, then the city would uh deed the land over to uh Tri-Cultural Arts with some conditions.

First of all, that the parcel is properly zoned uh to support the use of the shotgun house legacy site, and I believe it have to be rezoned to institutional property.

Uh the property, the parcel is used to provide parking sufficient to meet the UDO requirements for a multi-use center.

The uh tri-cultural arts would construct part of the get place, the parcel as a gathering place to host uh community events or programming at the legacy site.

No city funds would be requested to develop and maintain the parcel.

And then if uh tri-cultural arts does not construct the parking lot and the gathering place uh within a one year of being deeded the land, then the ownership would revert back to a city and the parcel would be added back to the list of city-owned sites designated for affordable housing.

And then finally a final condition would be that tri-cultural arts cannot sell the parcel uh to a you know for a profit, nor can it sublease uh the parcel to another organization.

So the uh the the statutory authority that we we are using to to do uh this partnership is 168-279, which allows local governments to sell property to a nonprofit that's carrying out a public purpose, and in this case the public purpose would be developing a multi-use center, a museum, and that's in 168-488.

So that's that's the uh the item before you this afternoon, the two parts.

I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you.

I'm gonna take questions for comments from the committee and others.

But again, I just want to say I'm excited about this.

Again, when I came home from KDB, I came home to my mom and daddy's duplex, like down the street from this site under the railroad track.

And to be able to see that Western Salem State, Happy Hill, and what's you know transformed now the South East Ward and the East Ward together.

Uh it looks amazing over there.

Uh, council member, the the appearance, the landscaping, the DOT, everything we've done over there in the past 15 years.

I am a static.

Uh, are there any questions or comments from the committee?

And then I'll hear from the council member if there's any councilmember Scipio Yes.

Mr.

Rao, I just want to clarify what the uh restrictive covenant is.

So first there is a two-year lease option.

It would be a two-year option to purchase.

So to buy them the time to raise the funds to actually construct the parking lot and the gathering place.

But if after one year, is that what I read?

So so if they raise the funds uh to construct the lot and the gathering place, then the option fee would revert to the purchase price for what for a dollar.

And then from that point, when the land is deeded to tri-cultural arts, they have a year to actually construct the improvements.

And if they don't construct the lot and the gathering place within a year, then the land would revert back to the city and would be added back to the list of city on sites for affordable housing.

Just want to make sure everybody understands what that time line is and whether or not that would be the best way to go.

Just one more time.

It's a one a two-year option to buy.

That's correct.

Well, to raise the funds to develop the parcel.

Okay, so two years to raise the money.

At this point, though, it's they're gonna buy it for a dollar.

Then they have two years to raise the money, and after two years, they've got one year to build a parking.

Is that choice?

They'll pay us a dollar for an option, so to purchase the property.

And in that two-year period of time, the hope is they'll raise the funds to be able to construct the parking lot and the gathering place.

If they do that, at the end of the two years, then we'll deed the land over to Tricultural Arts, and then from that point, they'll have a year to actually construct the parking lot and the gathering place.

If they do not actually construct the improvements in that one year period, then the land would revert back to the city and would be uh placed back on the the uh sites for affordable housing development.

That just sounds a lot of different things to do.

I I just wondered if it made more sense just to give them five years to actually transition the property.

Well, the reason why it's sequenced like that is first of all that they can't actually construct anything on it until they own it.

That's correct, yes, ma'am.

Yeah, I got you.

Okay.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem.

Um couple of things.

One, I've been to the shotgun house.

The property, it is um the inside speaks volumes to truly what the uh restoration is.

And so I I commend them for that.

The two-year beginning, the one year to actually put the uh the parking lot in place.

Is there um a stipulation of all for an extension or is there an opportunity for any kind of extension?

Say they got they started and but it was the 11th hour or the 11th month, so the parking lot isn't actually done, but they have the means to complete the task.

Is there uh opportunity for them to get a 30-day or 90-day extension to complete the task?

So those particular details are not reflected in the action, but I think if you all want to direct staff to negotiate an option uh that would allow for that, we certainly can do that.

Okay.

Thank you.

Anybody up?

I'm good.

Uh we have a motion.

Can I have a motion on the floor for item G1, please?

Move for approval.

I second.

It is the move and properly seconded.

All those in favor, we are voting electronically.

And all those opposed like signs.

Thank you so much.

The motion passes.

Congratulations, TRC.

Clerk, would you please call the next item?

Item GT, resolution amending Article 2 of the City of Winston-Salem personnel resolution to update language related to competitive market range and pay grade adjustments.

Dr.

Caulfield Jones.

Good evening, Mayor Pro Tum, Council Members and Mayor Joyner.

What you have before you is a resolution to update the class and comp uh section section 30 in the general policy for pay, and that is for competitive market pay range adjustments.

Currently it says that the any changes that are made based on the results of a market study that the if the range changes the employees would go to the minimum of the range, and then though for those employees that are within the range would receive a 5% increase if it does not exceed the max.

The proposal before you is for any changes of that sort.

The employee goes to the minimum of the pay range, and that the city manager would have authority to determine for those employees within the range if an increase is warranted based on the market information.

Thank you.

Are there any questions or comments?

As you all know, we are moving to the direction to get the study done.

And this is just part of uh making sure that it goes according to the wishes of the council.

Are we good?

All right.

May I have a motion, please?

Move for approval.

A second.

It has been moved and probably seconded by Councilmember Burke and Councilman Joiner.

All those in favor, please vote electronically.

Like sign, and all those opposed as well.

Thank you so much.

And the motion passes.

Next item, please, Clerk.

Item G3, resolution authorizing a $2 million contribution to the Winston-Salem Foundation to establish an affordable housing trust fund to address housing needs in Winston Salem.

Thank you so much.

Manager Pate.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem.

Uh, as you know, this was brought to the committee uh last month for discussion and for information.

Um we're back this month because we have heard that council wants to move forward with this.

I will ask um uh budget director uh Scott Tess to come in and tell you how we would uh fund this, but we're the request was for us to put two million dollars into the housing trust fund to as a part of the efforts to show that we've got public commitment to this as they go out to try to seek private investments to maximize out this fund.

Thank you, Mr.

Tesh.

Good afternoon.

Excuse me, Mayor Pro Tem, Mayor, members of the committee and council.

Uh as the city manager said, there's roughly two million dollars that would go into this.

There is a project budget ordinance attached there too.

All of the money that we would be putting towards this are essentially from project and fund balances that are already related to housing projects.

I'll go through them kind of in in three areas.

One is taking $750,000 from the rental rehab fund.

This is a fund that used to be used for federal projects and has some program income it from pro uh program income in it from projects that have been completed.

We do have a series of projects that were funded through general obligation bonds specifically for housing in 2018.

Uh there are balances left over in things like the Acela project for neighborhood services for code enforcement that has been completed.

There are some balances uh left over from neighborhood development in the East Ward.

Um there is also a little bit of money that we'll be taking from the TURN program, and then there is uh an amount of money from the Southeast Gateway project that is 2006 certificates of participation.

That money has been out there for quite some time and has not been used, and so this is an opportunity to use that money.

But again, these are basically project balances from multiple housing projects throughout the years that we have coalesced together to come to this two million dollars.

Thank you.

I'm gonna recognize the mayor at this time.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim.

Uh I just wanted to add my strong support for the cities joining in this program.

Uh as you know, we've been talking about um the need for our local housing trust fund for some time.

Uh I've been on some calls with Ms.

Summerfield as we've talked to some local institutions and businesses to get their buy-in.

I think it's extraordinarily important that the city shows and demonstrates its commitment to this by making this uh small investment towards hopefully as much as a 40 million dollar uh housing trust fund.

So uh I would enthusiastically encourage us to approve this.

Thank you.

Uh is it would be would it be out of order?

Can I call up Ms.

Summerfair, please?

If you have other questions for you, certainly may.

Yes.

Because I know how hard she's been working on this.

A lot of time.

Thank you so much.

Your name and address for the record put.

Good afternoon, Elaine Summerfield.

I'm at 1514 Cloverdale.

And great to be with you this afternoon, Mayor Pro Tem, Mayor and members of council.

Is there a question that I could address for you?

Could you kind of give a short synopsis of how we have gotten to this point and your role to a certain degree of helping us to bring all of this together to even begin the journey?

Yes, yes.

So the Winston Salem Foundation seeks to find ways that we can bring community members together to address common goals.

And I think uh a great way to do that is through public-private partnerships.

This is a an illustration of how successful public-private partnership can come together with the city contributing two million dollars and the private sector um bringing in the rest.

I've been working with um multiple community partners, starting with uh working group last year, over six months meeting and um really investigating what the possibilities could be, and finally settling on the decision to partner with self-help ventures to administer the fund.

So it is also uh, as you well know, a critical community issue that we're seeking multiple approaches to address, this being just one of them.

We also provide grant funding.

We're also supporting the current Forsyth County Housing Network as well as our local impact investing program, which supports um all types of housing opportunities.

So thanks for the opportunity to share a little bit more and look forward to continuing partnering with you.

Thank you.

Anyone have any questions for Councilmember Burke?

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim.

I'm just a little concerned about the money coming from TURN because of uh what it is currently used for, it's used to assist uh homeowners and property owners, I'll just say, to make necessary repairs to their property.

And so how will this leave them?

Mr.

Teth.

Councilmember Burke, thank you for the question.

Ms.Claim, would you like to weigh in on this or your name?

We know y'all, but for the public, your name and title.

Chantel McClellam, neighborhood services director.

Uh good evening, uh Mayor Pro Tim, Mayor Joins, members of the council and committee.

I think it will still leave us in good shape, Councilmember Burke.

We had quite a bit of funding there, and he's taken just a small portion to add towards this two million.

Um I think it's gonna have a greater good in with the housing trust fund.

Um but I think we're gonna be in good shape as it relates to continuing to do those repairs to homes in the the Northeast Ward in that Turn area.

Okay.

Um, Ms.

McClain, yes.

How much do we have in that TURN uh fund right now?

Do you have any idea?

I think it was about 2.3 million.

Councilmember Burke, we will be more than happy to get you the balances of those, but it's in the realm of $2 million.

The amount that we're taking from TERN is less than $200,000, so it would be roughly 10% or less of the available funding in that program.

Okay, thank you.

I have one more question, and probably both of you uh might we need to answer.

Is regarding the rental rehab fund, and uh so according to uh this document, we'll be taking $550,000 from that fund.

The answer to that question is to be $750,000.

The $550 you see in the project budget ordinance is net of some money that's already appropriated there.

But it's $750,000 that would be coming out of that fund.

Okay, so I still have the same question.

How much do we have in that fund total right now?

I'm only thinking about how this will impact uh citizens who may need this assistance.

So that is an old fund.

It has $820,000 left in it.

We're leaving a little bit.

Uh it is still funding one or two active projects that should be close to completion.

The idea is to use the rest of that remaining funding in that fund and close it out so that there would be no money remaining in it, potentially at the end of the fiscal year.

Where uh do we receive funding for this program those are from federal projects that have been completed?

The rental rehab fund is something that has been around for a very long time.

Be more than happy to get you a history of that fund, but it is not one that we are uh expecting to do projects in in the future.

It has grown with a little bit of program income and some interest income over time for the cash that was in it.

But this is an opportunity to use that funding for a housing purpose, and then again to close it out because it just has that $820,000 roughly in it, and there's it's not dedicated to a specific purpose at this point.

Thank you both.

Councilmember Hall.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim Adams.

I do have a question for you, Miss Summerfield, if you could approach back.

And that question is around um the not necessarily the reporting, but just some sort of um update, I guess, with the housing trust fund as you are continuing to seek private funds throughout the city.

Um, if there could be some sort of update that we could get every so often, particularly around where you all are with your um fundraising efforts, and then also if there are any other needs from the city um that you all would just communicate that.

I'm sure you have that somewhere in your mind to do, but just wanted to make sure that I put that and stated that on the record.

Yeah, thanks.

Uh absolutely we will.

Thank you.

One of the things that uh some of you already know, uh, Ms.

Summerfield, Mr.

Pate, the mayor, a few of us, uh, Ms.

Wright Lanier, is that even though we went to visit uh different cities to get an idea of what it what a stretch it was gonna be for us because we had never done this before, and all of our sister cities that we benchmark against had already been in this for a very long time, very long time.

This idea of a trust fund really came up again in 2013, 14, but we weren't able to get any traction with it.

In the meanwhile, we had a housing recession that had gone on and now it was kind of spinning out of control, headed towards COVID.

We had a couple of recessions, and one of them was the great one, and we just kind of as I told Elaine and others when I met with them, I said we stuck.

We are stuck, and we cannot be stuck, not with this.

So this is another uh tool in our toolbox, as she stated.

We have got to get this housing trust fund started.

The mayor, you know, he he's been working hard.

Uh a lot of people know this, the corporate partners, uh nonprofits, philanthropic groups.

You can't be serious about housing in any city outside without a housing trust fund.

And for those of you that are going to the housing conference in Raleigh at the end of the month, they'll talk about how important these initiatives are to your quests uh to do something about housing.

Again, this is just one thing, you know, and hopefully we can raise some money, and hopefully our community partners will get in with us because their employees need housing too.

Am I right?

Right.

So uh again, thank you so much for putting in the work.

Thanks for the I'd say the the group, I won't call you a task force anything.

All of you that came forward and together to try to help our city uh move forward on having another tool in our toolbox.

Thank you so much.

Again, uh the funds that you're seeing that have been called called together, a lot of these funds have been around forever, uh way back, decades back.

And uh it goes to show that years ago, uh the mayor will remember when we said that anything that had not been used, and we really stepped it up over the past couple of years.

Anything that we had voted on and allotted delegated money to, and nothing has been done.

It's time to pull those funds back, like many cities are doing and use them for a greater good in the present versus waiting on what should have been in the past.

So, with that, may I have a motion, please?

I move to approve item G3.

I second that.

It is the move and properly seconded by council members Hall and joins.

All those in favor, please vote electronically by saying yes.

All those opposed, vote no.

Are we working?

Yes.

Okay, passes uh unanimously.

Uh with that being said, I want to thank everybody for being here today and thank you for a short agenda.

Uh, with that, this meeting is adjourned.