Good evening.

I'm Alan Joins, Mayor of Winston Salem.

It's my pleasure to call to order this November 17th meeting at the Winston Salem City Council and ask the city clerk to call the roll, please.

Councilmember Joyner.

Present.

Councilmember Clark.

Here.

Councilmember Andrew Bowen.

Here.

Councilmember Sipio.

Present.

Mayor Pro Tim Adams.

Here.

Councilmember Taylor.

Present.

Councilmember Hall.

Present.

And Councilmember Burke.

Here.

Thank you all very much.

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

Thank you.

Would you please join the City Council meeting the Pledge of Allegiance?

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

One nation under God with the justice.

Thank you.

Our surgeon at arms tonight is Lieutenant Joshua Caffey.

Coffee, excuse me, and our fire marshal is Peter Geit.

Thank you both for being with us tonight.

We're televising this meeting live tonight on the CV 13 as well as the city's YouTube page.

And it will be replayed tomorrow at 9 a.m.

and again Wednesday at 9 p.m.

Callers says you know copies of our agenda as well as videos of previous meetings are always available on the city's website, and just click on the watch meetings online option.

I can recognize our uh city manager for uh his update.

Uh thank you, uh Mayor.

Uh a couple of just items tonight.

When there has been some questions uh are come back from uh generally from the public about uh the WISTA rides during extreme cold conditions.

So just as a reiteration for council of of what's been approved, there is a threshold which is any consecutive four hours where the apparent temperature in the wind chill is at or below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

And then if the forecasted apparent temperature in Winston-Salem, this is based on the forecasted apparent temperature in Winston-Salem as published by the National Weather Service.

And once that is in effect, any operational hour of minimum of four hours that the apparent temperature is going to remain at or below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, we will be operating free bus allowing free bus rides to get people to uh heating shelters um and other uh facilities that may be open.

And we did uh do uh uh one uh operational already the this year.

With the federal government reopened now, we are starting to get some regular updates on the status of some of our grants uh that are moving forward.

Uh we know that federal agencies have begun this process of addressing a huge backlog of grant payments, contract approvals, and program reviews that were delayed during the shutdown.

So we're expecting those uh to continue for the next couple of months before they return to normal.

Federal agencies are expected to issue some updated guidance over the coming weeks outlining any revised grant deadlines, reporting schedules, and contract timelines affected by the lapse and funding.

And uh and I just uh spoke with uh Councilmember Andre Bowen as amongst others.

There is because of the the amount of SNAP benefits and other things that were delayed.

There is still a huge issue with food security in our community.

So we still encourage folks to think about donating to uh appropriate food banks and and other folks that may be in need during this season.

As a reminder, city offices will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, November 27th and 28th.

Solid waste collections will be affected by that, and you can encourage folks to download the Winston-Salem Collects app to keep track of these collection changes.

You can also get the information on our website or by calling CityLink 311.

One recognition I wanted to note our assistant lake manager at Salem Lake, uh, Cody Orman has received the North Carolina Environmental Education Certificate certification, demonstrating his passion and commitment to environmental stewardship, which is reflected in the programming at Salem Lake.

The certification program encourages professional development and educate in environmental education and acknowledges educators committed to environmental stewardship.

The program establishes standards for professional excellence and environmental education for formal and non-formal educators.

So if you know or see Cody, we hope you'll extend your congratulations to him as well.

And that's all I have for tonight.

Thank you, Ms.

Payne.

Any questions from Mr.

Pate?

Oh, Councilmember Andre Bowen.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Good evening.

Do we have an update on the uh pace study that we've uh voted on a few months ago?

The the pace study is is uh as we've reported is still ongoing.

Uh we're getting lots of good data back from the peer communities that are have been requested to get information.

We've got most of the salary data in place.

I think we're still looking for some information on our benefit packages, so that can be put together and brought back uh to council before the end of the year.

Thank you, Mr.

Pate.

We do have a one honorarium on the agenda.

May we have H1, please.

Item H1 resolution honoring the 2025 WSPD Citizens Police Academy graduates, whereas 10 citizens have successfully completed the Winston-Salem Police Department Citizen Police Academy, Deborah Bumpus, Dr.

Cynthia Dixon, Michael Feudell, Angelina Gooch, Patrick Martino, Tammy Melton, Kamara Monet, you lady Rufina Ocampo, Amber Sloan, and Brian Wortman.

And whereas the course is intended to provide residents with a deeper understanding of the inner workings and complexities of law enforcement in the Winston-Salem Police Department.

And whereas the 2025 Citizens Police Academy has included more than 35 hours of interactive instruction across 13 weeks, giving participants a behind-the-scenes look at the Winston-Salem Police Department.

And whereas the coursework covers city governance, police structure, community engagement, investigations, field operations, and constitutional law, and much more.

Whereas participants experience specialized units such as SWAT, K9 Forensics, and the Real Time Crime Center, and have completed a ride-along or sit-along with patrol or communications.

And whereas their dedication has resulted in a better understanding and appreciation of city government and law enforcement, and their participation has given them the resources to serve their community and the world better.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the mayor and the Winston Salem City Council hereby approve honoring the 2025 Winston Salem Police Department Citizens Police Academy graduates and wish them much success with their future as community leaders.

Is there a motion?

So moved.

Thank you.

Second.

Opposed, no.

And that is unanimous.

Uh McKenzie Kate Allen's going to receive this on behalf of the police department.

And if there are graduates from the program here, if you would stand up.

All right.

Thank you on behalf of the city council.

So on behalf of the city council, we uh uh thank you for the hard work in making this happen.

I know it just didn't happen overnight, so thank you for doing this, and thanks to uh your participation in and to all the graduates here as well if you'd like to see a comment.

Absolutely.

Thank you so much.

Good evening.

Thank you, Mayor.

Hi, Mayor Potem on Zoom and City Council members and amazing city staff.

Um, just wanted to say it has been an honor and a privilege to be the senior community educator for the Winston-Salem Police Department.

And I was in every week along with the citizens and the citizens' police academy.

And I want to thank Lieutenant Caffey for his many hours of work and all of our sworn officers and professional staff.

I am shocked and amazed and awed at all the work that they do.

Um is it possible to have Dr.

Dixon say just a few words?

Second.

Can Dr.

Dixon say a few words?

Sure.

Briefly, I promise.

Yeah.

Dr.

Dixon.

Good evening.

Uh to Maya joins, uh, to Pro Temp Adams and to all the council people.

Let me say that we have the best police department in this country.

I was so uh impressed with the information that I received.

Um I will never see law enforcement the same because most people know uh just the field patrol work, but when I saw all of the work that goes on behind the scenes, I was just so in awe of the labor and the service, and I am so thankful that I went through this academy.

I certainly appreciate all of our officers, our lieutenants, our sergeants, and the work that they do.

I certainly esteem uh Chief Penn.

He is doing a phenomenal job, and I'm just so grateful for this police department for allowing me to uh better know what goes on with law enforcement.

Thank you very much.

And we do have a new class starting March 12.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, McKenzie.

We'll now go to our regular agenda.

Our agenda is comprised of two parts, the general agenda and the consent agenda.

It's always the practice of this council to take the consent agenda as first order of business.

Items on this agenda have been unanimously recommended by a committee of the city council or are being submitted in accordance with established city procedure.

There will be no discussion of the items on this agenda unless the city council so request, at which time we will remove that item from the agenda from the consent agenda and consider it individually.

Items not pulled from the consent agenda will be enacted with one motion.

Councilmember there any items you wish to pull.

Not is there a motion second.

Motion by Councilmember Hall, second by uh councilmember Taylor.

All those in favor of approving the consent agenda, please say aye.

Aye.

Anyone opposed, no?

That is unanimous.

We'll now move to the general agenda, which is which includes a conditional sale of city owned lot for townhouse development, a public hearing on a voluntary annexation petition.

There are six public hearings for zoning petitions and a presentation from the Piedmont Environmental Alliance.

When these public hearings are called, persons in the Council Chamber will be given an opportunity to speak.

If there is opposition to the public hearing item, the proponents and the opponents will each be given 15 minutes for presentation and three minutes for rebuttal.

If no one wishes to speak, I'll close the public hearing and the city council will consider the item.

Madam Clerk, may we have item G1, please?

Item G1, resolution authorizing the conditional sale of one city-owned lot for the development of 46 townhomes to Prosperity Alliance Inc.

Item was returning from November 3rd, 2025 meeting.

It's uh councilmember Taylor and recognize you for a motion if you're ready, sir.

Thank you, Mayor.

Members of the Council.

I move for approval of item G1.

Second.

Second by Councilmember Hall.

Any discussion of item G1.

If not, all those in favor of the motion, please say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Anyone opposed, no.

And that is unanimous.

Uh Councilmember uh Mayor Pro Tim Adams.

I think I would need you to state your vote for the record aye.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Mayor Pro Tim.

Uh may we have item G2, please.

Item G2, public hearing and consideration of a resolution for the voluntary annexation of approximately 12.85 acres located south at Brookbury Farm Circle at the eastern stub of Charlotte's Drive.

The project known as Brookbury Farm, phase 13.

I understand that no one has signed up for the public hearing.

Is there anyone in the council chamber who wishes to be heard on this proposed annexation?

Seeing no one I'll declare the public hearing closed.

I recognize uh Councilmember Burke, the chairman of our public works committee for a motion if she's written.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I move for approval of item G2.

Second.

Second by Councilmember Scipio.

Any discussion?

Not all of the favor of the motion, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

No.

And that is unanimous.

Item G three.

Item G3, public hearing in consideration of zoning petition of City of Winston-Salem from County MUS to City MUS.

Properties located at the eastern terminus of Charlotte's Drive and the northern terminus of Hilly Creek Lane.

This is a public hearing.

Again, is there anyone in the Council Chamber who wishes to be heard on this proposed rezoning?

What we're doing is zoning this from county zoning to city zoning.

Property we just annexed.

Yes, thank you, Mayor.

I move the approval of one to consist the statement of consistency for approval of this item and to W 3649.

Second.

Second by Councilmember Scipio.

Any discussion?

Questions?

Not all in favor of the motion, please say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Opposed no.

And that is unanimous.

Thank you.

Item G4.

Item G4, public hearing and consideration of zoning petition of Winston-Salem Forsyth County Board of Education from RS7, RSQ, and RM 18 to RS7L.

Properties located to the east of U.S.

Highway 52 and west of North Cleveland Avenue between East 21st Street and New Hope Lane, containing approximately 7.37 acres.

Thank you.

Is there anyone in Council Chamber who is opposed to this rezoning?

And the petitioner is here for any questions.

Seeing no one, I declare the public hearing closed and recognize Councilmember Burke.

Thank you.

I move for the approval of one, the statement of consistency for the approval of this item and two.

Is there a second?

Second.

Second by Councilmember Hall.

Any further discussion?

Not all with a favor of the motion, please say aye.

Aye.

Opposed, no.

And that is unanimous.

Thank you.

Item G five.

Item G five, public hearing and consideration of zoning petition of Omega Seafood LLC from RS9 to RM8S.

Properties located on the west side of South Stratford Road and south side of Kimwell Drive, containing approximately 13.54 acres.

Thank you.

Again, uh, is there anyone in the council chamber who is opposed to this uh rezoning?

The petitioners here if any questions seeing no one I'll declare the public hearing closed.

Should I recognize Councilmember Andrew Bowen?

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I move for approval of one, the statement of consistency for the approval of this item and two W3664.

Second.

Second by Councilmember Scipio.

Any further discussion?

Questions.

Not all those afraid of the motion, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, no.

And that's unanimous.

And uh Mayor Pro Tim votes I.

I think I thought right.

Good.

Thank you.

Item G6.

Item G6, public hearing in consideration of zoning petition of Parker Real Estate and Development LLC from RS9 to RM5S.

Properties located on the north side of Densmore Street between South Stratford Road and Brandy Wine Road, containing approximately 2.03 acres.

Thank you.

Is there anyone in the council chamber who is opposed to this rezoning?

Seeing no one, I'll declare it appoint the hearing closed and again recognize Councilmember Andrew Bowen.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I move for approval of one, the statement of consistency for the approval of this item, and two W3665.

Second.

Second by Councilmember Hall.

Any further discussion?

If not, all those to favor of the motion, please say aye.

Aye.

Anyone opposed, no.

And that is unanimous.

Thank you.

Item G7.

Item G7, public hearing in consideration of zoning petition of long leaf properties LLC and Wilson Legacy LLC from RM 18 to RMUS.

Properties located on the north side of Bethabra Road and Old Town Road intersection, containing approximately 7.36 acres.

Thank you.

Again, is there anyone in Council Chamber who is opposed to this rezoning?

Seeing no one, I'll declare the public hearing closed.

I know this is in the Mayor Pro Tim's ward, but I think we've determined that we'd really need a motion for someone who is here physically.

So Mayor Pro Tim, I'm going to ask the Councilmember Jorner for a motion.

Thank you, Mayor.

I move for approval of one, the statement of consistency for the approval of this item.

And two, W3667.

Second.

Motion by Jorner, seconded by Councilmember Taylor.

Any further discussion, questions?

Not all those in favor of the motion, please say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, no.

That's unanimous.

Mayor Pro Tim votes aye.

Thank you.

And a thumbs up.

Number G8, please.

Item G8, public hearing in consideration of zoning petition of site plan amendment of Fred and Mary Simmons joint revocable trust for parking area expansion.

Properties located at the northwest intersection of Oakwood Drive and Queen Street, containing approximately 0.58 acres.

Again, is there anyone in the Council Chamber who is opposed to this site plan amendment?

Seeing no one, I declare the public hearing closed and recognize Councilmember Andre Bowen.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I move for approval of one, the statement of consistency for the approval of this item, and two three six six eight.

Thank you.

Second.

Second by Councilmember Hall.

Any discussion?

Questions?

Not all those in favor of the motion, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Anyone opposed?

No.

That's unanimous.

Mayor Pro Tim votes aye.

Thank you.

Item G9 Item G9.

Information on the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project.

We have with us tonight Jessica Mendez Rao from the Piemont Environmental Alliance.

If you would uh state your name for the record, please, and uh presentation.

Good evening, Council, good evening, Mayor, good evening, Pro Tim.

Um my name is Jessica Mendez Rowe.

I work for Piedmont Environmental Alliance.

Um I should be joined momentarily by Robert Leek from Power Up North Carolina.

But we are here tonight to present on the uh proposed Southeast Supply Enhancement Project.

Um we good to go here.

You should be okay.

Cool.

Can I click with okay?

Cool.

Awesome.

Okay, well, again, my name is Jessica Mendez Rowe.

Um, and PEA is helping to raise awareness with community members about this proposed pipeline.

We have had numerous conversations with community members that really don't understand the impact that this project will have on them.

Um so we've been hoping to um just share information, uh, and we're here today to um share that same information with council.

Um, but very briefly, this proposed pipeline is not going to bring any benefit to our local economy and from our perspective only creates risks to health and safety.

Our ask of council is to please consider a resolution at the December 1st meeting um opposing this project, which would be in unity with county commission.

So Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Um or Transco as they're known, seeks to build the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project in FirSyth, Davidson, and Guilford counties.

This project would be a 42-inch diameter pipeline, which would transport methane gas um at a pressure of about is this better?

Okay, sorry, I can't hear myself.

Um so this project would be a 42-inch diameter pipeline to transport methane gas um at a pressure that's typically a hundred and uh uh 1,440 PSI.

Um, you know, think of your car tires are about 32 PSI, so this is a very high pressure pipeline.

About 93 percent of the gas would go to three large companies and would be used for commercial power generation.

Um Piedmont Natural Gas Company is not a um they are not purchasing gas from this pipeline.

Um do you want to introduce yourself real quick?

I was in the other room.

Good afternoon.

Uh Robert Lee the third, and I'm the lead regional organizer for Powerwood, North Carolina, and I serve on Piedmont Environmental Lines Board.

Great.

So who are the regulators?

Um we are on the precipice of action from North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the Federal Energy Regulation Commission Commission.

Um our hope is that once the council passes a resolution against this project, which would again be in unity with the county, that these agencies um must consider and incorporate your comments and concerns into their decision.

This is a Google Earth view of the VA Clinic and the Novont's Kearnersville Medical Center.

Uh this VA clinic is in the middle, and the red arrow that points to the existing Transcore right away and where construction would take place.

Um this clinic is 1400 feet from the proposed pipeline right away.

We are concerned about how close um these uh major medical centers are to the right-of-way.

Uh, this area is also of special concern because the new pipeline will cross the three existing pipelines right next to the clinic.

Um we do not know how this construction, we do not know how this construction would be handled, and it introduced an unusual high amount of uh risk for such a sensitive area with not one but two health uh center health care centers.

There is no formula uh to tell us what the potential impact radius or blast zone.

Um however, this will be a pipeline that crosses underneath three large uh high pressure pipelines.

Uh this is a picture of a local school.

Um in this area of view, we have highlighted the right-of-way in red to show impact on other local institutions such as Summit Church, um Union Cross Baptist, North Carolina Leadership Academy, um, local institutions that should be considered as well.

There are four public schools.

You see Union Cross, I just stated that, and one charter school near the road, and with the Salem City limits.

Uh for Syth County already has 70 miles of methane gas pipeline.

So some of this pipe is more than 50 years old.

It continues to age in place, and Transco isn't proposing to replace or take out any pipe with this project.

So the safety risks of this, the pipeline safety trust pointed out in comments to the FERC that of all the gas pipelines operators in United States that have uh recorded incidents in the past, Transcode holds one of the worst records, records not only a number of incidents, but also in terms of fatalities, uh costs per incident and gas spill per incident.

Uh residents are concerned, um, safety and public health risks have not been equally uh addressed it by Transco or the Federal Um Energy Commission.

Um, however, um the co the co-location affect the potential impact radius.

Um, if there is a pipeline failure, such as an explosion, um, how will this affect surrounding surrounding surrounding community members and who will be responsible for covering the cost of repair and cleanup and emergency service and how would a failure impact Carnersville Crisis Responsive Services.

So this map is Transcoast system, which is really simplified from its production wells to the Gulf operations.

It's important to remember that both Williams Transco and Duke Energy make money by building really big infrastructure and then earning a double digit rate of return, which is funded by the ratepayers, us.

Duke Energy has signed a contract for two-thirds of the capacity on this project.

Um, but we know that this cost is going to be passed directly on to ratepayers.

So Piedmont Natural Gas has not signed up, like I said earlier, for any of the capacity of this pipeline.

So none of the gas is actually going to heat any of our individual homes.

It's only going to commercial production and needs.

But it is anticipated that it will be data centers in Rockingham County and further east in the state.

But again, I asked you to remember that the project is actually being paid for by utility ratepayers and passed to us.

So we pay for the pipeline and we pay for their rate of return.

Um, in fact, Transco admits that there are limited benefits for the folks that are impacted most directly by this project.

Um the fact is that the SSEP pipeline would generate little tax revenue and site and create almost no citable permanent jobs.

Most short-term jobs will be filled by out-of-state contractors.

Further, if tax values end up decreasing on land, which they typically do, where proposed pipeline runs through, that could mean less money for our county and subsequently for our city.

So we understand tonight that there is a hesitation for the city council to pass a resolution since the county commission passed a resolution on this project in August.

But part of the regulation process is for each resolution and comment to be considered on its own merit.

Um a resolution passed by by the city council will show regulators that the city and county stand together in opposition to this project, and important message to send right now.

A resolution in opposition to this project will also put your support behind the people here for Syph County that are concerned about more methane gas being piped through our community without any benefits to our citizens.

Our acts of the What's the Salem City Council is to stand with the county's decision to protect the rights of landlords and the safety of our community.

So we do urge each of you to support a resolution opposition to propose the SSEP pipeline.

We also ask one resolution.

We we also asked once a resolution is passed that the town clerk file such a resolution with the Federal Energy Regulation Commission, North Carolina DEQ, to add it as a comment and state permit process.

There are these are simple acts that will speak volumes on behalf of our community and the landowners in direct pathway of this unnecessarily pipeline.

So my colleague and I and others in the community, we are urging with the Santo City Council to pass a resolution opposing this project, as it is our risks, no benefits for our community.

And we're happy to take any questions.

Any questions?

Well, thank you both.

Reverend Lake's good to see you.

Thank you, everyone.

Well, thank you.

Thank you.

We'll be good looking at this, I guess, in December.

Thank you.

All right, we do uh will now move to the public comment period, which is a time once per month at the city council and I uh allow or ask citizens to uh give us comments on matters that are germane to city government when the public comment period is called, each speaker will be given three minutes for comment and will limit the total comment period to 30 minutes.

Again, public comments should be limited to issues that related to city government.

The city council may not respond to public comments during this meeting, but may of course address them at a later date or ask staff to follow up if necessary.

Uh, speakers are encouraged to be civil and courteous in their language and presentation, insults, profanity, use of vulgar language or gestures or other inappropriate behaviors or discouraged.

Engage in such comment uh conduct may result in the forfeiture of any speaking time.

Individuals who continue to engage in such egregious behavior after being told to cease will be instructed to leave the meetings.

Speakers, of course, can always use other avenues to pursue concerns, including but not limited to personnel issues, litigation, or confidential matters.

We certainly appreciate your uh cooperation.

Uh we have the list up there.

The first person signed up is Emily Harkins.

Good evening.

Um, Emily Harkins at 502 North Broad Street.

So often people come to this podium because they want you to fix something.

And tonight, I'm here for something different.

I want to just say thank you.

Thank you for being part of the solution.

This past weekend, we opened our winter shelter season.

And I want you to hear this clearly.

This is our city's most supported and most partnered and most collaborative shelter season since I've been doing this work since 2013.

In every measurable way, Winston Salem has shown up.

You invested in this resource and you invested in this community and you invested in the people who needed you.

While we all know that there is still much more to do, and while we continue to dream and to work towards more long-term sustainable solutions like permanent housing, we also know that there are real people right now who need shelter and safety and warmth and dignity.

And because of your leadership and your commitment, we were able to meet those needs together.

So thank you for trusting us to do this work.

Thank you for taking a chance on a model that blends city partnership and county partnership and nonprofit partnership and even atrium health for the power of community for our neighbors.

Thank you for listening not only to the challenges but also to the hopes of your people in this city, and then putting your resources and your spaces and your support behind those hopes.

I want to say this as a pastor and as someone who spends my days alongside those who will sleep in these shelters.

When we talk about the homeless, we are not talking about strangers or statistics.

We are talking about neighbors, people who have names and stories and griefs and joys and are filled with possibilities, people who belong to us and people who belong with us.

And this year, we are showing together what it looks like as a city when we decide that neighborliness isn't just a value that we preach, but it is something that we live.

So tonight, on behalf of the dwelling and our community and our partners and our volunteers and every person who will walk through those doors to seek warmth and safety and rest.

That's it.

Simply thank you.

Thank you for investing a ridiculous amount of resources into this work.

And it does not go unnoticed, and people will be saved because of the work and the commitment that you made.

So that's it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Britt Moyer.

Hi, Mr.

Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, members of the City Council.

My name is Brett Moyer.

I am one of the five uh newly elected civil service board members.

So I appreciate all the effort that you've been putting into the time that you've been investing in the rules, the processes that we're working on.

Ms.

French recently or in the earlier meeting today mentioned that there was a lot of agreement.

I think there was a fair amount of agreement.

Um the items that you reviewed in your last meeting, the highlighted items, that's the area where there was significant disagreement.

Um, not amongst the board members.

We voted almost all of those items unanimously.

Um, the disagreement, and and there's always room for fair disagreement, right?

And setting up processes and rules.

And I wanted to walk through a few of these uh in the limited time that I do have.

Um quick thing on the the definitions, not a lot of disagreement, but using the city employee handbook might prove to be problematic if we don't clarify some things.

Only the city council can provide these definitions within the CSB rules.

That handbook can be updated periodically, I believe, by um the city manager's office.

So we might want to clarify which edition, so that those rules are always going to be those created by you.

Um as we look at some of the other issues.

I want to spend a little bit of time on number F6, if you still have that handy, but that was really about the the hearing and bringing up information in the hearing.

And there's been a lot of talk about the CSB simply being an appeals board.

Um, if we were an appeals board like an appeals court, I would ask why do we have rules of evidence?

Why do we have subpoena power?

Why can we compel witness testimony?

Those are things that generally don't happen as far as I'm aware, and no, I'm not an attorney, right?

But I don't believe those things generally happen at appeals courts.

And in fact, in the law, the term is hearing that is most referenced, where an employee in the in the classified service can come to us for a hearing to determine whether the action taken against them was justified.

Um, in the last little bit of time, I wanted to address uh one issue on who the hearing uh who the attorney will be for the CSB.

And I want to read quickly from the city ordinance.

Uh in the city ordinance, it says um to the appearance of and in order to avoid the appearance of any possible conflict of interest, the office of the city attorney shall serve as legal advisor to or attorney for the civil service board, or both, only for those matters or proceedings when specifically requested to do so in a writing that has been signed by no fewer than four members of the civil service board.

Thank you, Miss Moore.

I know your time is tough to cover that, but you can sort of share your thoughts with that with us individually.

Great.

Thank you so much.

Ashton Pronello, please.

Ash and Parinello, 1528 Mallory Circle, 27106.

Good evening, Mayor, Mayor Potem, City Council members.

I'm here tonight on behalf of local 682 as the president to inform the council of a few matters.

The first is how the fire department is yet again being targeted by the city manager's office.

On November 3rd, city employees received an email from the city manager informing us that the United Way campaign had begun.

This email was no different than we had received in years past.

The email stated a paid day off.

It never stated anything different for a 56-hour work week employee.

This new information, which was never given to us, was only found because we had to ask for it.

This is the first time ever since this charity started that the rules have changed, and yet again, only for the fire department.

And I'm aware that this is a charity and not a benefit.

But we are the only city employees being treated differently, and the blatant disrespect from the city manager of not informing anyone from the fire department that we would receive less is nothing short of how the manager's office clearly feels about the fire department, that we are worth only half.

This only hurts those that benefit from United Way.

The firefighters fully support efforts as charity does for those in need.

And historically, the fire department is the number one donor.

We feel once again slighted and targeted against just because our work day is 24 hours.

I'd also like to bring to your attention an extremely pressing matter that is being tampered with, the North Carolina General Statutes regarding the Civil Service Board.

We've been made aware that the city attorney is working to change language to adjust the rules of how the board operates.

This statute exists for a reason to prevent any one office, any one administration, and any one legal team from having too much influence over disciplinary actions, demotions, terminations, or appeals.

It was designed to keep the system honest.

I'm here tonight to ensure that the board remains independent, its rulemaking and hearing authority remains intact, and that any change of language doesn't sneak in, weakening those protections.

The Civil Service Board protects firefighters and police officers, and it protects the employee from politics seeping into a system that was never meant to be political.

Council, I'm asking you to please protect this statute.

Please know that some of these changes are in fact not a benefit to the employee.

They're to control how the board operates from the city attorney and city manager's office, and that is not what we want.

Thank you.

Carol Pooley.

Hello, Mr.

Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, and City Council members.

My name is Carol Pulley, and I'm a downtown resident.

And first, I'd like to thank you for all the work that you've done on updating the city, the codes for the parks and drafting the updates for all of our city parks.

But I'm here to talk about Merchall Park.

And I think Merchal Park holds a special place in our city.

It's right in the heart of downtown, and it creates a first impression for visitors and residents alike.

I think when Marshall Park was originally designed, it wasn't meant to be a place for long stays like some of our other city parks are.

It was meant to be an urban space where people could pause to reflect or maybe meet friends or stop for a moment before they connect to other areas of the city.

But over time, I think, as we all know, the park began to attract daily criminal activity, which drove many people away.

The data clearly showed that Merchill Park has had more incidents and calls for service than any other park in the city.

That's why the recent actions taken by the city council have made such a meaningful difference for us.

Since the removal of the tables and chairs, the park's atmosphere has changed dramatically.

The crime has dropped, and the space now feels safe and welcoming.

What we see is we see people walking through the park, we see people stopping to take pictures, and also using the park as a natural connection or a strollway, even to connect to other areas of the city.

So I think it feels again like the space that it was designed to be.

And we just we want to keep that momentum going.

And with that in mind, we're asking or to consider if it would make sense to wait until spring or summer to actually develop the signs with the new ordinances for the parks, is I think that would give us a chance to see if the ordinances that are in place are effective and if there's still what need to happen when spring and summertime are here.

We also encourage you to take another look at the proposed sunset closing time.

I think that while that may work in other parks, Merchill Park is unique as it's in the middle of downtown, and it's a place that's meant to stay active in the evening with visitors, people coming to attend events, hopefully concerts, visit our restaurants, that down uh Merchal Park makes downtown a very vibrant place to be.

As downtown residents, we just want you to know that we care deeply about this space and about the community.

And we want to keep continuing to partner with city officials to help keep Merchant Park and downtown safe for all of our residents, and we want it to be open to everyone.

Our goal, or I guess what they said our ask, is to continue with the ongoing communication with city leaders that will ensure that the final code of conduct is something that will really be effective for Merchant Park in downtown.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Frank James.

Mayor Joins, Pro Tem Mayor Adams and members of council, thank you for all you do and for listening to my thoughts this evening.

I'm Frank James, a downtown resident.

My wife and I have lived in Winston Salem for 57 years.

Seventeen years ago, we moved downtown because we wanted to downsize to experience the excitement of an emerging downtown with all the diversity of people and to eliminate our outside space work and to be able to walk to restaurants, shops, arts district, and entertainment venues.

As we watched Marshall Park develop from a red dirt hill area to green grass into the park it is today, we were really excited.

Unfortunately, over the last 12 to 24 months, conditions in the park have deteriorated with some unwelcome and worrisome behavior from individuals and groups who stay for long hours during the time they dominate the park and intimidate others who would like to use it.

The block on Trade Street between 4th and 5th Street has also become problematic, and what happens there spills over into the park.

The people experiencing homelessness are not the perpetrators of the frightening and dangerous behavior.

And the police do all they can.

They do a really good job to help out make things better.

Visitors to Collideum include many who do not live here.

What they see in Marshall Park colors their opinions of Winston Salem.

Our city's reputation is at stake.

Removing the tables and chairs markedly improved the park's environment, and many folks now enjoy the park in positive ways.

Please do not restore that furniture as the temperature warms.

My wife and I no longer feel safe near the park or in other downtown areas at night.

We question whether we made the right decision to move downtown and wonder if we would do so today.

As you develop the ordinances for the parks, please make the safety of citizens a priority and restore the downtown as a place for all citizens to enjoy.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to me this evening.

Thank you, Mr.

James.

Deborah Dimsk.

Hello, good evening.

I'm Deborah Dimsky, and I'm uh I live here in Winston Salem, and thank you all for listening to me this evening.

Um I'm here to talk to you about the um Transco Pipeline expansion.

I am a representative of the Foothills Group of the North Carolina Sierra Club, and on behalf of my members, our membership, uh they are who are deeply concerned with the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project.

Our primary concern is the addition of 54 miles of new 42-inch pipeline through six North Carolina counties.

It's not just a new pipe, it's a massive increase in capacity that's going to run through densely populated areas of Guildford and Forsyth counties that the maps you've just seen, specifically that are going through Kernersville, and passing through the schools, very close to the schools, the hospitals, and the churches.

There will be people from Winston-Salem attending those schools, hospitals, and churches.

And we don't know what could happen there.

Even if it came to pass that uh a tragedy happened, and a direct um uh citizen of Winston-Salem was not affected, it it's just not gonna happen.

There's too many of our citizens who work there.

So it definitely would impact us, our citizens, if anything happened.

And we also want to take um TransCO's safety record into consideration.

They have more fatalities, higher costs per incident, larger releases than other uh companies.

Most of their incidents are due to direct causes within their control, like equipment failure and incorrect operation.

It's not bad luck, it's a pattern of poor management with these guys.

Also, if we look at the big picture of what's happening with our energy usage, um, as we as you heard about before, this energy is not coming to our community.

It's not even hardly coming to North Carolina.

And instead of letting Duke Energy or encouraging them to lock our state into this dangerous fossil fuel project for the next 50 years, because once they are given the gut the green light to do this, they can't just turn around and go back.

This is going to lock them in for decades.

And it's going to put a lot of strain on our emphasis for clean energy.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Carol Hoover.

Good evening, Mayor Joins.

Mayor Pro Tem Adams and members of the City Council.

My name is Carol Hoover, and I reside at 515 Archer Road.

I am speaking tonight on behalf of Winston-Salem Bicycle Pedestrian Active Mobility Advisory Committee.

I'm here to urge you to once again champion the reinstatement of state funding for independent pedestrian and bicycle improvements.

A critical step for safety and well-being for our community and other communities across the state.

As you know, since the repeal of the active mobility funding in North Carolina Strategic Transportation Investment Law in 2013, our city and other North Carolina cities have faced severe funding restrictions for standalone pedestrian and bicycle projects.

These funding restrictions have left us with limited options to create safer, more accessible streets for everyone, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and users of personal mobility devices.

Here's what this means for Winston-Salem.

Many of our most urgent pedestrian safety projects, like new sidewalks, cannot get state funding.

That forces us to rely on stretched city budgets and the uncertainty of occasional grants.

Vital street safety improvements are delayed, sometimes for years, because we cannot access the resources we need.

The need for action has never been more urgent.

In 2024, eight pedestrians and one bicyclist lost their lives on our streets.

18 more pedestrians and four bicyclists suffered severe life-changing injuries beyond the painful human costs these tragedies carry.

An ac economic cost to our city represents 130 million dollars.

That's based on research done by the state of North Carolina.

These aren't just numbers, they're families, neighbors, and friends whose lives have been forever altered.

Repealing the state's funding limitations is not just about dollars, it's about saving lives and improving our city for everyone.

Here's why.

Thank you.

Thank you.

McKenzie Gates, Allen, please.

Kate Allen, excuse me.

Good evening, McKinsey Cates Allen, 420 North North Cherry Street.

Are we still there?

Okay.

Um we wear many hats in life, right?

So the first hat is my senior community educator hat.

I think it's sometimes really hard to know how and why the police do what they do.

So if there is any any way I could ever be a bridge between the citizens and the community, I would love to offer myself to that.

I see quite a few agenda items that could potentially touch the law enforcement world.

So MC Allen at Wsp.org.

And I'm going to take off my police hat and then I'm going to put on my Winston-Salem ambassadors hat.

Um nine years ago, I founded the Winston-Salem ambassadors to be um advocates and cheerleaders for our city.

We are still going.

Three years ago, we took over the Winston-Salem Holiday Parade.

It is our third year doing it.

It is the 35th year of the Winston Salem now ambassadors holiday parade.

We are 19 days away, and I just wanted to say thank you to the City Council, to all the city staff, and to the Winston-Salem Police Department for being such a great partner in the holiday parade, and wanted to make sure to specifically invite everybody here, everybody at home and everybody watching out to the parade.

It is rain, shine, snow, or pandemic.

So we will be out there 19 days away.

Please come and support us.

And if you want to volunteer, we would gladly accept that as well.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, McKenzie.

Mike Klein.

Good evening.

My name is Mike Kleinchob.

I live at the uh new Fourth and Green down in the West End.

It's pretty exciting down there if uh anybody's looking for a new place to live.

Uh come on down.

Uh it's a 55 and over place.

It's fantastic.

Um I wanted to talk tonight about uh the Veterans Day parade that we had here in Winston-Salem about a week or so ago.

It's on Saturday, is at 10 o'clock.

I went down to the uh to the parade down there in Forth.

And uh it was great turnout.

Um what I was most impressed about was um all the high schools that had their ROTC uh marching down there on 4th Street.

It wasn't just one or two high school, it was every high school.

And it wasn't four or five ROTC people with the high school, it was like 30 or 40 ROTC.

Um that was very encouraging.

Um also um in the parade, I noticed that um the um uh sheriff's department had a couple four-wheelers and they they had a motorcycle.

I didn't know the sheriff's department had a motorcycle.

It's pretty exciting.

Uh, where I was uh standing, I took um I probably took a hundred pictures or so, did a couple videos and so forth, so I caught the whole parade in its entirety.

Um I turned around just behind me.

Uh right on the intersection, there was a Winston Salem police department officer almost standing at parade rest in front of his car.

And um, what a feeling that was to see the protection we have here in Winston Salem and especially downtown Weston Salem.

Unfortunately, this morning in the Winston Salem Journal, I woke up to this article.

Lease juvenile dies from a gunshot wound.

And um, there's not a whole lot of details on it yet.

Um they're doing still doing investigations and so forth.

It happened Saturday night uh shortly after 9 30 p.m.

Um happened over at 3550 North Patterson Avenue.

I have 10 seconds left, and I'd just like to um to offer any help that I can to the Winston-Salem Police Department and especially Chief Penn.

Thank you, Mr.

Klein.

Catherine Hashri.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Mr.

Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, City Council members.

My name is Catherine Hoshimi.

Um, my husband and I own Just B.

We're located on the corner of Fourth and Trade, directly across from Merchant Park.

I'm here today, not just as a business owner, but as a concerned member of our community who observes our city's public spaces daily.

While I appreciate their revisions to the code of conduct for parks, it does not address the specific issues that occur in Marshall Park that feed into behaviors on Trade Street.

I want to make it clear that I and fellow citizens who are advocating for new park rules are not in any way pushing these guidelines to be anti-unhoused.

In fact, the police have stated that the majority of disturbances and fights have been by individuals with home addresses.

For far too long, my employees, my customers, and I have witnessed an escalating pattern of public safety issues that are fundamentally undermining the quality of our of life in our neighborhood and threatening the vitality of our local businesses.

On a daily basis, we face disturbances that have become so routine, they are nearly normalized.

Customers visiting from out of town regularly ask, is it safe to walk around downtown?

What area should I avoid?

And does this happen all the time?

What's really difficult is that I'm not always sure how to answer.

I want to have a positive answer because this is where I choose to put my business.

However, my employees feel unsafe walking to their cars after dark, and we are increasing and they are increasingly distressed by the constant disturbances they encounter.

We have watched countless fights, a shooting in the middle of the street, and an incident where an officer ended up being surrounded right in front of our store.

No employee should have to witness these incidents.

One of the core issues is people lingering in the area for hours on end.

They aren't patronizing any local businesses, but rather drinking alcohol, which often leads to disruptive and aggressive behavior.

When people come downtown to check out the area and see this behavior, they are unlikely to make downtown their home, open a new business in one of the empty storefronts, or stop by on their next trip.

We appreciate the efforts to revise the city's code of conduct.

However, we need stronger, more enforceable ordinances that specifically target lingering in the park too long.

All of the city's parks are very different.

Shouldn't the park roles be different based on the needs of each park?

I would like city council to keep the conversation going with residents and business owners who are directly affected by these parks.

Thank you very much.

Councilmember, we're at we're at the 30-minute limit there.

Would it be without objection?

We could add uh two more individuals there.

Okay.

Lauren Carter.

I um my name's Lauren Carter, and I just thought that I'd stop by and and say I'm very grateful for the overflow shelter that's begun.

But as a part of the actual homeless population, there still is no real place for people with without an address to go and wash up or be warm, or you know, even call, you know, have an address.

Citywood dwellings is a great place to go during the week, three days a week from two to four p.m.

But other than that, then where can you go if you're not making a purchase?

So I just thought I really want to say that and access to water.

The only place that I know of in all of Winston Salem and I walk um everywhere or take the bus is the Salvation Army, which um oh the rescue missions only for men, the Samaritans only for men.

Salvation Army is for women with children, and there's domestic violence shelters and shelters for if you're coming off of drugs.

But other than that, if you're just a female looking for a place and you don't have access, there's uh limited affordable housing, then you're just SOL.

So I just want to put that out there.

There was just one place anywhere that stayed open, you know, where people could just kind of come and go as long as you didn't get banned or get in any trouble.

Charge your phone or wash up, it would just be great because I'm not a criminal and I don't try and wreak havoc on society, but the cops are always getting called on me, and it's just because I don't ever have anywhere to go.

Maybe those people that were going to the park, maybe they didn't have anywhere else to go either.

Anyways, that's all.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Carter.

Parg uh Milton Blighten, excuse me.

Good evening, Mayor Tariq Blige.

Good evening, counsel, ladies and gentlemen in the audience.

Uh I've been here before a few times, and the last two speakers are actually tapping in on issues that I came to discuss.

So I'm also, well, I'm the current owner of Royality Creations and the former owner of the Royality 415 North Trade Streets.

I was neighbors with Just B.

So I'm familiar with a lot of the issues that she deals with on a regular occurrence, as well as the other speakers discussing the park issues.

I think part of the problem that this city has and that these issues that we're discussing has is that people are addressing the fruit and not the root of the problem.

If we change the hours of the park, it doesn't change the problem.

So I have presented this before and I'm here to present it again.

I've seen on the news recently, Greensboro has moved forward with another tiny house community.

I own an acre of land on the south side of Winston.

I also build tiny houses and food trailers as my main business.

Also, well, this is our third year in a row in Winston Salem doing our Thanksgiving giveaway, seventh year period.

Rayao the giveaway will be going down at the Greyhound bus station the day before Thanksgiving.

Hope to see everybody there.

Everybody have a great night.

Mayor, Council.

Thank you.

I'll declare the uh public comment period ended, and we do have a need for a closed session.

Thank you, Mayor.

I move that the ones to Salem City Council go into closed session pursuant to general statute one forty-three-three eighteen eleven A five I to instruct the public body staff or negotiate agents concerning the position to be taken by or on behalf of the public body in negotiating the price and other material terms of a contract or proposed contract for the acquisition of real property by purchase option, exchange or lease.

That's unanimous.

We'll go in close session.

Yeah, I know.

That's the reason I put the ticket back.

I don't know.

I I hope it would be that why?

And then I also remember that three.

That's how it could do.

I know they need to do something.

But why they have windows and screen now?

I don't really know.

Wait, you you can do it.

With a more local here.

That was that was why we it would come up by admin.

But anyway.

All right, let's I'm gonna try something else.

I need to come down here.

I'm not gonna send that to the out.

I don't know.

That's why we've got that.

I was thinking about that.

Oh, this is that we should work.

Is there a motion?

Oh motion by council or tailor second several people and uh Scipio.

All those in favor adjourning, please say I want to pose.

No, we are adjourned.