Winston-Salem City Council Meeting - January 20, 2026
Winston-Salem City Council Meeting Summary - January 20, 2026
The Winston-Salem City Council met on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 6:00 PM. Mayor Allen Joines called the meeting to order, and all nine council members were present. The meeting included a City Manager update, recognition of the 2026 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Young Dreamers, approval of the consent agenda, two public hearings on zoning petitions, and a public comment period. The meeting adjourned at 7:01 PM.
City Manager Update
City Manager Patrick Pate provided updates: winter weather preparations (brine trucks, salt deployment), leaf collection schedule, penny shortage procedures, nominations for the Arts Walk of Fame and Sustainability Awards, infrastructure progress (90% of budget spent), and upcoming events (Cookout Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, Bellevue Community Center open house, Peace of the Triad ribbon cutting, Coffee with the City, and a Northeast Suburban Area Plan meeting).
Honorariums
H-1: Resolution Honoring the 2026 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Young Dreamers – The council unanimously (8-0) approved a resolution honoring Victor Aparicio and Corey McCann. The Human Relations Commission presented the awards, and both recipients spoke about their community work. Council Member Scott Andree-Bowen was also recognized for a community leadership award.
Consent Calendar
C-1: Resolution Correcting the 2017 Closure of Kerensky Street and Pershing Avenue – Approved unanimously (8-0). C-2: Approval of the Summary of Minutes from January 5, 2026 – Approved unanimously (8-0). No items were removed from the consent agenda.
Discussion Items
Zoning Petition W-3672 (Parks Family Holdings, LLC) – Public hearing to rezone 0.23 acres at southwest West Walnut and South Broad Street from LB to PB-S for three residential townhomes. Jeremiah Smith (838 South Broad Street), a neighboring property owner, expressed concern that the area’s transformation into a commercial restaurant and coffee shop district might conflict with residential development. Luke Dickey (Stimmel Associates), representing the applicant, argued the rezoning would add density in a growing mixed-use area. The Planning Board had unanimously recommended approval. Council Member Vivián Joiner moved to approve, seconded by Annette Scippio; motion carried 8-0.
Zoning Petition W-3673 (Southern Properties of the Triad, LLC) – Public hearing to rezone 0.39 acres at northeast Brigham and South Hawthorne Road from GO-S to LO. No speakers. Council Member Scott Andree-Bowen moved to approve, seconded by Annette Scippio; motion carried 8-0.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Tara Brown (3612 Wickersham Lane): Urged the city to prioritize energy management for facilities, citing potential cost savings of up to $40,000/year and benefits for resilience and sustainability.
- Mathew Mayers (2844 Wesleyan Lane): Supported energy efficiency, specifically urging the city to utilize Duke Energy's Smart Saver program for LED lighting upgrades, noting subsidies up to 80%.
- Cynthia Hurson (1200 Willie Davis Drive): Spoke on behalf of Christina Handy, who faces eviction from public housing with her four children. She asked the city to use city-owned lots for interim housing and to intervene with housing partners to prevent displacement.
- Olivia Doyle (215 North Peace Haven Road): Continued Christina Handy's case, stating legal aid had been contacted but the eviction remains, and requested city intervention with ASPIRE to allow more time for alternative housing.
- Christina Handy: Alleged bullying and misconduct by ASPIRE and asked the council to take action to prevent her eviction. She stated she has been working with Urban Strategies but received insufficient support.
Mayor Joines directed Assistant City Manager Dr. Right Lanier to follow up with the speakers and to engage with the housing authority.
Key Outcomes
- All votes (Honorariums, Consent Agenda, G-1, G-2, Adjournment) passed unanimously with 8 ayes (mayor not voting).
- Zoning petitions W-3672 and W-3673 approved, allowing new residential and commercial development.
- Staff directed to follow up on Christina Handy's eviction case and coordinate with ASPIRE and Legal Aid.
- Council recognized the MLK Young Dreamers and council member Andree-Bowen's award.
- Meeting adjourned at 7:01 PM.
Meeting Transcript
You're watching WSTV, Digital Media. Thank you, sir. Good evening, everyone. I'm Alan Joins, Mayor of Winston Salem. It's my honor to call to order this meeting of the Winston Salem City Council here on January the 20th and ask the city clerk to call the roll, please. Councilmember Joyner, present. Councilmember Clark. Councilmember Andrew Bowen. Councilmember Scipio. President. Mayor Pray Tim Adams. Here. Councilmember Taylor. Present. Councilmember Hall. Present. And Councilmember Burke. Here. Thank you very much. Would you please join the City Council with me in a moment of silence? Thank you. Would you please join the city council and me in the Pledge of Allegiance? Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. Thank you so much. Thank you for being with us tonight. Keeping us well protected here. Tonight's meeting, of course, is being televised live on TV 13. It will be replayed Wednesday morning, which is tomorrow, obviously at 9 a.m. and again tomorrow night at 9 p.m. Copies of our agenda as well as videos of previous meetings are always available online on the city's website. Uh last week. So the while the amounts remain uncertain, the uh again, the temperatures will be below freezing, uh creating also the potential for black ice on roadways if there's moisture present. So just to give you uh the community uh some background, we are in a state of readiness and have our preparing our brine and salt trucks so they'll be ready for deployment. If it's good if it right now they're calling for rain first before the snow, so that means that our response has to change because if you put down chemicals that the rain just washes off, it doesn't do any good. So we're again having to monitor all of those issues. The bridges and the overpasses would typically be treated with brine and road salt and crews will remain on call for icy conditions as long as needed. Emergency officials are reminding motors to use extreme caution when traveling during winter weather. Our employees will know our inclement weather policy and will be prepared to follow that. And drivers should leave additional space between vehicles and reduce speed on snow or ice-covered roadways. So if you want to follow along or the in the public wants to follow along, we encourage them to look at our emergency preparedness at ReadyforSythe.org or Ready NC dot org. You can follow those on social media by liking their page on Facebook or following them on X or Twitter, whatever it is now. So we encourage people to just to stay informed and we'll communicate information as we have it available. A couple of other uh items, nominations are being accepted through February 27th for the Arts, Culture, and Entertainment Memorial Walk of Fame. Nominees must have sustained excellence in their artistic field, be deceased and former residents of Winston-Salem. Information is available and the nominate including the nomination form on our website at City of Winston Salem.org backslash walk of fame. Our leaf collection, solid waste leaf collection, they're in round two. Collections have moved to quadrants three and four, which are in the west and northwest sections of this of town. And so once these areas have been completed, round three and the final rounds will be quadrants one and two. If it snows, we will not be doing leaf collection during the snow event. As has been widely reported, we are experiencing a shortage of pennies due to the stopping of minting of those.
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