OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Winston-Salem City Council Meeting - November 3, 2025: Affordable Housing, SNAP Update, and Consent Agenda

Meeting Portal — Monday, November 3, 2025
BodyWinston Salem, North Carolina
SessionMeeting Portal
DateMonday, November 3, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 37:54

Transcript — Verbatim
0:06

City Council and ask the city clerk to call the roll, please.

0:10

Councilmember joyner present.

0:12

Councilmember Clark.

0:13

Here.

0:14

Councilmember Andrew Bowen.

0:15

Here.

0:15

Councilmember Scipio?

0:17

Present.

0:17

Mayor Per Tim Adams.

0:18

Here.

0:19

Councilmember Taylor.

0:20

Present.

0:20

Councilmember Hall, present.

0:22

And Councilmember Burke here.

0:24

Thank you very much.

0:25

Would you please join the City Council and meeting a moment of silence?

0:39

Thank you so much.

0:40

Would you please join the city council and meet in the Pledge of Allegiance?

0:46

Pledge allegiance through the flag of the United States of America.

0:50

To the Republic for standards one nation.

0:56

Indivisible Liberty and Justice.

1:03

Thank you.

1:03

We recognize our Sergeant at Arms tonight, Lieutenant Vernon Q.

1:07

Thank you, Lieutenant, for being with us tonight.

1:09

And our fire marshal tonight is Bradley Watson.

1:12

Fire Marshal was here keeping us safe.

1:17

We uh do uh have uh the uh city manager's update now and I'll turn the meeting over to uh Mr.

1:24

Payton.

1:24

Uh thank you, Your Honor.

1:26

Uh a couple of uh a couple of different things tonight, but first I'm gonna call on um uh Forsyth County Deputy County Manager uh Denise Price, who's here today to share us a little bit of information because there's a lot of publicity on the federal shutdown and how that's impacting uh food services in our area, including those folks that are getting SNAP benefits, and so she's has been providing information to the to the county as a whole, but we uh agree to come and provide it to you as well and to your audience.

1:54

Welcome, Ms.

1:55

Price.

1:55

Thank you for being here.

1:56

Thank you so much.

1:57

Good evening, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, Council.

2:00

It's my pleasure to be here to give you some updates.

2:02

I preface each of these updates with this as true as of I know it at this very moment.

2:08

The chances that something will change while we're speaking is very likely.

2:11

So I'm gonna give you some places that you can go to get updated information in pretty much real time as well before we close.

2:18

So there's two potential um impacts that I want to focus on tonight.

2:23

Both are USDA funded programs.

2:27

One is the supplemental nutrition assistance program, commonly referred to as food stamps, and the other is the women, infants, and children's program, commonly referred to as WIC.

2:39

So both of these programs provide food and nutrition, and Forsyth County, there's about 57,000 individuals enrolled in SNAP benefits.

2:51

This is valued of nutrition that goes into our community of about 10.3 million dollars a month.

2:57

So it is a lot of people who rely on this program for food.

3:01

Benefits are issued on a rolling basis, which means that some people got their benefits toward the beginning of October, some people got it toward the end of October.

3:11

November benefits have not been loaded at this point.

3:16

Um the USDA notified us last week that there was not sufficient funds for November benefits and not to send in our enrollments to get those benefits added to the EBT cards or the transfer cards.

3:29

Over the weekend late last week, we had two federal judges who um ordered the administration to release contingency funding for SNAP.

3:38

I will tell you that this is one of the areas we have an update, so I'm going to look down as opposed to reading from my slides.

3:46

We are still awaiting input as to how to proceed.

3:49

So that's the most important thing to hear.

3:52

News outlets, which we know we have two VAT, but they are reporting that there will be reduced benefits for those enrolled, and that's those that were enrolled before November.

4:05

USAD contingency funds, there's about five billion dollars of those nationally.

4:10

It costs the program about eight billion dollars to operate.

4:14

So the math doesn't exactly math.

4:16

We suspect that there is going to be a reduced benefit.

4:20

We've also been hearing that November individuals that were approved in November will not get benefits in November.

4:29

All to be determined, and we will post as soon as we have an official word on how this is going to roll out.

4:44

So even if benefits are paused or end, we encourage people to continue with that process so that when funding is restored, there is no lapse in them getting their benefits.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing████████████████████████████████32%
Public Engagement██████████████████████22%
Procedural███████████████15%
Community Engagement█████████9%
Food Resilience████████8%
Public Safety██████6%
Education Funding██████6%
Intergovernmental Relations██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Winston-Salem City Council Meeting - November 3, 2025

The Winston-Salem City Council met on Monday, November 3, 2025, at 6:00 PM, adjourning at 6:38 PM. The meeting included a City Manager update on federal shutdown impacts on SNAP and WIC benefits, a resolution honoring City of Winston-Salem University graduates, a consent agenda with six items, and nine general agenda items focused on affordable housing development (Cycle 2). Key votes included approval of multiple affordable housing projects, one denial with a replacement directive, and one withdrawal.

City Manager Update

  • City Manager Pat Pate introduced Forsyth County Deputy Manager Denise Price, who reported on the federal government shutdown's impact on food assistance programs. She stated that approximately 57,000 individuals in Forsyth County are enrolled in SNAP benefits, valued at $10.3 million per month. November benefits had not been loaded due to insufficient federal funds, but recent court orders may restore contingency funding. WIC serves over 10,000 individuals (including 1,900 infants) and injects about $9 million annually; benefits were extended through November 30, 2025. Partners like Second Harvest Food Bank have purchased an additional $500,000 in food. The county launched a webpage for updates.
  • Additional updates: Leaf collection began November 3, with three cycles through January; residents can track trucks via CityLink. The Liberty and Main Street two-way conversion is partially open (south: Academy to Cemetery; north: 6th to MLK Jr. Drive). A three-year market compensation and benefits study for all city employees is underway. Upcoming events: MWBE mixer (Nov 4), Coffee with a Cop (Nov 6), and a community meeting at Carl Russell Center (Nov 13). City offices closed on Veterans Day (Nov 11) and Thanksgiving (Nov 27-28).

Consent Calendar

  • All six items were approved unanimously without discussion:
    • C-1: Contract renewal with LexisNexis Coplogic Solutions, Inc. and addition of BuyCrash Reporting Solution ($49,560).
    • C-2: Purchase of 11 paratransit vehicles for WSTA ($1,234,423.72).
    • C-3: Purchase of 29 2026 Ford Maverick compact hybrid pickup trucks from Parks Ford ($866,404).
    • C-4: Construction contract for Helen Nichols Park walking trail with Hodgin Construction Company (not to exceed $992,000).
    • C-5: Budget amendment for FY 2025-2026.
    • C-6: Approval of City Council minutes from October 20, 2025.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made on any agenda item. The public hearing for the alley closure (G-1) had no speakers.

Discussion Items

  • G-1: Alley Closure off Polo Road (North Ward) – Petition of Juventus Investments, LLC to close and abandon a portion of a 10-foot alleyway. Public hearing opened and closed with no speakers. Approved unanimously (8-0).
  • G-2: National League of Cities 2025 Annual Conference – Resolution appointing Council Member Scippio as voting delegate. Approved unanimously.
  • G-3: Vecino Group (East Ward) – Resolution to convey one city-owned lot for 42 units of single-family affordable rental housing. The developer withdrew the proposal; council accepted the withdrawal.
  • G-4: Affordable Housing Management, Inc. (Southeast Ward) – Resolution for conditional sale of one lot for 84 units of affordable rental housing. Mayor Pro Tempore Adams moved to approve; motion failed for lack of a second. Council Member Taylor then moved to deny the item and bring it back for reconsideration on November 17, 2025. The substitute motion carried unanimously. Council Member Burke expressed willingness to work with the developer on other parcels.
  • G-5: Prosperity Alliance (East Ward) – Sale of eight city-owned lots for eight single-family affordable homes. Approved unanimously.
  • G-6: Prosperity Alliance (Southeast Ward) – Sale of one city-owned lot for 33 single-family affordable townhomes. Approved unanimously.
  • G-7: Moravian Church in America, Southern Province (North, Northwest, Southwest, and East Wards) – Sale of 12 city-owned lots and $525,000 in gap financing for 15 single-family affordable homes. Council Member Hall voted no, citing resident concerns about lack of communication from the developer on architectural fit and neighborhood feedback. The motion passed 7-1.
  • G-8: Whole Man Ministries (East Ward) – Conveyance of one lot with existing structure and $35,000 gap financing for rehabilitation of one single-family affordable home. Approved unanimously.
  • G-9: Bells Property Management (East and Northeast Wards) – Conveyance of three lots with existing structures and $105,000 gap financing for rehabilitation of three single-family affordable rental homes. Approved unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • All consent agenda items approved unanimously.
  • G-1 (alley closure) approved unanimously.
  • G-2 (NLC conference) approved unanimously.
  • G-3 (Vecino Group) withdrawn by developer.
  • G-4 (Affordable Housing Management) denied via substitute motion, with direction to bring back a revised proposal on November 17, 2025.
  • G-5, G-6, G-8, G-9 approved unanimously.
  • G-7 (Moravian Church) approved 7-1 (Council Member Hall opposed).
  • Council members discussed process improvements: reactivating the Affordable Housing Coalition for earlier public input, adjusting timelines, and improving communication with ward council members. Staff noted that approximately $6.1 million remains for the next LITEC cycle, and $615,000 from this cycle's funding will carry forward.
  • Meeting adjourned at 6:38 PM.

Meeting Transcript

City Council and ask the city clerk to call the roll, please. Councilmember joyner present. Councilmember Clark. Here. Councilmember Andrew Bowen. Here. Councilmember Scipio? Present. Mayor Per Tim Adams. Here. Councilmember Taylor. Present. Councilmember Hall, present. And Councilmember Burke here. Thank you very much. Would you please join the City Council and meeting a moment of silence? Thank you so much. Would you please join the city council and meet in the Pledge of Allegiance? Pledge allegiance through the flag of the United States of America. To the Republic for standards one nation. Indivisible Liberty and Justice. Thank you. We recognize our Sergeant at Arms tonight, Lieutenant Vernon Q. Thank you, Lieutenant, for being with us tonight. And our fire marshal tonight is Bradley Watson. Fire Marshal was here keeping us safe. We uh do uh have uh the uh city manager's update now and I'll turn the meeting over to uh Mr. Payton. Uh thank you, Your Honor. Uh a couple of uh a couple of different things tonight, but first I'm gonna call on um uh Forsyth County Deputy County Manager uh Denise Price, who's here today to share us a little bit of information because there's a lot of publicity on the federal shutdown and how that's impacting uh food services in our area, including those folks that are getting SNAP benefits, and so she's has been providing information to the to the county as a whole, but we uh agree to come and provide it to you as well and to your audience. Welcome, Ms. Price. Thank you for being here. Thank you so much. Good evening, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, Council. It's my pleasure to be here to give you some updates. I preface each of these updates with this as true as of I know it at this very moment. The chances that something will change while we're speaking is very likely. So I'm gonna give you some places that you can go to get updated information in pretty much real time as well before we close. So there's two potential um impacts that I want to focus on tonight. Both are USDA funded programs. One is the supplemental nutrition assistance program, commonly referred to as food stamps, and the other is the women, infants, and children's program, commonly referred to as WIC. So both of these programs provide food and nutrition, and Forsyth County, there's about 57,000 individuals enrolled in SNAP benefits. This is valued of nutrition that goes into our community of about 10.3 million dollars a month. So it is a lot of people who rely on this program for food. Benefits are issued on a rolling basis, which means that some people got their benefits toward the beginning of October, some people got it toward the end of October. November benefits have not been loaded at this point. Um the USDA notified us last week that there was not sufficient funds for November benefits and not to send in our enrollments to get those benefits added to the EBT cards or the transfer cards. Over the weekend late last week, we had two federal judges who um ordered the administration to release contingency funding for SNAP. I will tell you that this is one of the areas we have an update, so I'm going to look down as opposed to reading from my slides.

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