OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Winston-Salem General Government Committee Meeting – April 13, 2026

Meeting Portal — Monday, April 13, 2026
BodyWinston Salem, North Carolina
SessionMeeting Portal
DateMonday, April 13, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:05:10

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good afternoon, everyone.

0:01

And welcome to the general government meeting.

0:05

I hope everybody's enjoying all this pollen.

0:08

If you got allergies and sinuses, raise your hand.

0:12

Yeah, I know.

0:14

Thank you all so much for being here today.

0:16

When I came in, there wasn't anybody here but a couple of folks.

0:19

I said, well, I guess nobody really wants to do a Monday meeting.

0:22

Okay.

0:22

Well, either they know we got a packed agenda.

0:25

And for those that are presenting, please note that please try to be as as uh as expeditious as you can in your presentation.

0:37

Uh if you have a slide presentation, uh this longer than 10 slides, uh, please you know get us to the point.

0:46

All right.

0:47

Uh not only will we appreciate it, staff will appreciate it, and those visiting us today will appreciate it.

0:54

So thank you with that note.

0:56

Uh with the clerk please call the roll.

0:59

And um councilmember Burke is running a little late.

1:04

Chair, Mayor Pur Tim Adams.

1:06

Here, Vice Chair, Councilmember Joyner.

1:09

Present.

1:09

Councilmember Burke and Councilmember Hall.

1:12

Present.

1:14

Thank you so much.

1:15

Um we have, as you know, a two-part agenda, consent and general.

1:20

And our consent has uh two items on it.

1:24

Uh well, it's no, it's wrong.

1:26

That's presentations.

1:27

I got presentations first, and then I got the consent.

1:30

So, Mr.

1:31

Rao.

1:32

And would the clerk please call it?

1:35

P won resolution electing 2026 inductees to the Winston Salem Arts, Culture and Entertainment Memorial Walk of Fame.

1:48

Good afternoon, Chair, Mayor Pro Tempori Adams, Mayor Joins, members of City Council.

1:54

Back in uh January, the city advertised for uh nominations from the community for the uh Winston Salem Arts, Culture and Entertainment Memorial Walk of Fame.

2:05

Uh just want to go through a brief slide presentation here.

2:10

The uh current committee members uh of the nominating committee are Deedre Anderson, Eureka Felipe, Whitney Harness, Billy Rich, Corless Sellers, Marjorie Silber, and Terry Taylor.

2:22

Uh just a brief recap.

2:24

So the uh class of 2025 included William Grady Benton, Julian Carburrows, James Thackeray Diggs Jr., and Margaret Snodgrass Mueller.

2:33

So we did receive uh six nominations, and uh the criteria that the nominee committee has to consider isn't first that uh the nominees exhibited sustained excellence in his or her field for at least five years, that the nominee made distinguished contributions to the community and provided civic-oriented participation that the nominee is deceased, and that there's proof of that.

2:59

Um that the nominee was a resident of Winston Sound for at least five years.

3:03

And that the nominee made a significant contribution to one of the disciplines of the arts, significant meaning that what they did was iconic in terms of the renown and impact they had on that particular discipline or popular culture.

3:17

So the nominations that we received, we received six, uh Flanny T.

3:23

Anderson, Joshua Brookshire, Big Ron Hunter, Carlotta Samuels, Harold C.

3:28

Tadford, and Robert, uh, Dr.

3:30

Robert Ward.

3:32

And I'm not going to read through the slide.

3:34

I'm just going to highlight some of the uh really just the uh exemplary uh information about the the nominees.

3:42

And so the first one is uh Flanny T.

3:45

Anderson, and that was a discipline of theater.

3:48

Uh she founded the first black community theater in the South in 1952, and later it was became known as the Flany Anderson Theatrical Association.

3:58

She's the first black actor and director uh with the Little Theater of Winston Salem and is acclaimed for her role as Sojourner to uh Truth on PBS in 1976, and she received uh numerous recognitions later on, including distinguished women in the arts.

4:14

Uh she was the author of A Fearsome Force of Nature in 2019, 7 over 70 honorary here recently in 2024, and National Women of Achievement recognition in 2025.

4:26

You can see there's just numerous recognitions in her involvement in the Winston Salem community.

4:32

The next nominee is Joshua Brookshire.

4:34

His stage name was Speaking I.

4:36

He was a co-founder of that duo with his brother.

4:40

Uh he was considered a pillar of the Tiemont Underground scene from 2010 to 2022.

4:47

Uh kind of the psych rock hip hop uh genre of music.

4:51

He was the founder of the annual Winston-Salem wrapped round robin, which currently uh goes on now and is now dedicated in his memory.

5:01

Next um nominee was Big Ron Hunter in the area of music.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing█████████████████████████████████████████████48%
Procedural██████████████15%
Arts And Culture██████████11%
Community Engagement█████████10%
Public Engagement████████9%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████5%
Mental Health Awareness██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Winston-Salem General Government Committee Meeting – April 13, 2026

The General Government Committee of the City of Winston-Salem met on Monday, April 13, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. (rescheduled from 4:00 p.m.) under Chair Mayor Pro Tempore Denise D. Adams. Council Members Vivián V. Joiner, Barbara Hanes Burke (joined late), and Regina Hall were present. The committee considered inductions to the Arts, Culture, and Entertainment Memorial Walk of Fame, an annual report from the College Advisory Board, multiple consent items including demolition orders, and a substantial affordable housing agenda.

Presentations

  • P-1 – 2026 Inductees to the Winston-Salem Arts, Culture, and Entertainment Memorial Walk of Fame: Assistant City Manager Ben Rowe presented six nominees (Flanny T. Anderson, Joshua Brookshire, Big Ron Hunter, Carlotta Samuels, Harold C. Tedford, and Dr. Robert Ward). The committee selected five inductees (excluding Joshua Brookshire) to join the class of 2026. Installation is scheduled for July 24, 2026. The committee recommended approval by a 4–0 vote, referring the resolution to the City Council meeting on May 4, 2026.
  • P-2 – College Advisory Board (CAB) Annual Report: CAB members and liaison Cobert Ose Ousu presented research on housing and harm reduction. Key findings: off-campus affordable housing is lacking, awareness of resources is a hurdle, and harm reduction (preventative care) reduces long-term costs. The board recommended continued partnerships, student awareness initiatives, and development of affordable housing options. The report was received without a vote.

Consent Calendar

The committee approved the following consent items by a 4–0 voice vote:

  • C-1: Youth Advisory Council Annual Report.
  • C-2: Public hearing request for demolition of 844 Rich Ave (East Ward) – referred to City Council May 4, 2026.
  • C-3: Public hearing request for demolition of 1457 Hattie Ave (Northeast Ward) – referred to City Council May 4, 2026.
  • C-4: Public hearing request for demolition of 4541 Indiana Ave (North Ward) – referred to City Council May 4, 2026.
  • C-5: Rescinding a 2018 demolition ordinance for 1120 E. 24th St (Northeast Ward).
  • C-6: Rescinding a 2022 demolition ordinance for 1427 E. 23rd St (Northeast Ward).
  • C-7: Approval of General Government Committee summary minutes from February 9, 2026.

General Agenda – Discussion Items

  • G-1 – Demolition of 1135 Argonne Blvd (Southeast Ward): Councilmember Taylor requested a hold due to a title issue. The committee voted 4–0 to continue the item to the Committee of the Whole on May 11, 2026.
  • G-2 – UDO Text Amendment (UDO-CC34) to Comply with NC House Bill 926: Planner Veronica Romero explained that the amendment (modifying Chapters 2, 3, and 4) is required by state law and had Planning Board approval. The committee voted 4–0 to recommend approval to City Council on May 18, 2026.
  • G-3 – TURN Program Eligibility Amendment: LaToya Kennedy presented an extension of the Transforming Urban Residential Neighborhoods program citywide, with eligibility at 80% AMI and removal of the investor component. The program has $2.3 million available and has previously served 227 residents. The committee voted 4–0 to recommend approval to City Council on May 4, 2026.
  • G-4 – Affordable Housing Development, Financing, and Property Conveyance: Michael Blair, Director of Housing Development, presented a package of eight resolutions. An initial motion to approve the entire package failed, but the committee then voted on each subitem individually:
    • G-4a – Vespers Apartments: $130,000 permanent financing for rehabilitation of 28 affordable elderly rental units (Southeast Ward). Approved 4–0.
    • G-4b – Sage Pointe Apartments: $610,000 financing for 60 affordable rental units (North Ward). Approved 4–0.
    • G-4c – 600 Peters Creek Apartments: $390,000 final permanent financing for 62 affordable family rental units (Southwest Ward). Approved 4–0.
    • G-4d – Cornerstone at Salem: Financing for 148 affordable rental units (Southeast Ward). Approved 4–0.
    • G-4e – Zachary Pointe Apartments: $1 million financing for 60 affordable rental units (South Ward). Approved 4–0.
    • G-4f – Habitat for Humanity Forsyth: Conveyance of one lot and financing for 14 affordable homeownership units (Southeast Ward). Approved 4–0.
    • G-4g – Prosperity Alliance: $30,000 per unit financing for eight affordable homeownership units in Happy Hill (East Ward). Approved 4–0.
    • G-4h – Williams Development & True Homes: Conveyance of five lots for five affordable homeownership units (Southeast Ward). Continued to May 11, 2026 by a 4–0 vote.

Key Outcomes

  • Walk of Fame: 5 inductees approved; installation July 24, 2026.
  • Demolition/Rescission: All demolition and rescission items advanced to public hearings on May 4, 2026 (except 1135 Argonne Blvd continued).
  • UDO Amendment: Recommended to City Council for May 18, 2026.
  • TURN Program: Extended citywide with revised eligibility; recommended to City Council for May 4, 2026.
  • Affordable Housing: Seven of eight resolutions approved (total of 358 rental units and 22 homeownership units funded). One resolution (G-4h) continued. Staff will provide additional information on prior funding and county funding opportunities before the City Council vote on May 4, 2026.
  • Adjournment: 5:05 p.m.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everyone. And welcome to the general government meeting. I hope everybody's enjoying all this pollen. If you got allergies and sinuses, raise your hand. Yeah, I know. Thank you all so much for being here today. When I came in, there wasn't anybody here but a couple of folks. I said, well, I guess nobody really wants to do a Monday meeting. Okay. Well, either they know we got a packed agenda. And for those that are presenting, please note that please try to be as as uh as expeditious as you can in your presentation. Uh if you have a slide presentation, uh this longer than 10 slides, uh, please you know get us to the point. All right. Uh not only will we appreciate it, staff will appreciate it, and those visiting us today will appreciate it. So thank you with that note. Uh with the clerk please call the roll. And um councilmember Burke is running a little late. Chair, Mayor Pur Tim Adams. Here, Vice Chair, Councilmember Joyner. Present. Councilmember Burke and Councilmember Hall. Present. Thank you so much. Um we have, as you know, a two-part agenda, consent and general. And our consent has uh two items on it. Uh well, it's no, it's wrong. That's presentations. I got presentations first, and then I got the consent. So, Mr. Rao. And would the clerk please call it? P won resolution electing 2026 inductees to the Winston Salem Arts, Culture and Entertainment Memorial Walk of Fame. Good afternoon, Chair, Mayor Pro Tempori Adams, Mayor Joins, members of City Council. Back in uh January, the city advertised for uh nominations from the community for the uh Winston Salem Arts, Culture and Entertainment Memorial Walk of Fame. Uh just want to go through a brief slide presentation here. The uh current committee members uh of the nominating committee are Deedre Anderson, Eureka Felipe, Whitney Harness, Billy Rich, Corless Sellers, Marjorie Silber, and Terry Taylor. Uh just a brief recap. So the uh class of 2025 included William Grady Benton, Julian Carburrows, James Thackeray Diggs Jr., and Margaret Snodgrass Mueller. So we did receive uh six nominations, and uh the criteria that the nominee committee has to consider isn't first that uh the nominees exhibited sustained excellence in his or her field for at least five years, that the nominee made distinguished contributions to the community and provided civic-oriented participation that the nominee is deceased, and that there's proof of that. Um that the nominee was a resident of Winston Sound for at least five years. And that the nominee made a significant contribution to one of the disciplines of the arts, significant meaning that what they did was iconic in terms of the renown and impact they had on that particular discipline or popular culture. So the nominations that we received, we received six, uh Flanny T. Anderson, Joshua Brookshire, Big Ron Hunter, Carlotta Samuels, Harold C. Tadford, and Robert, uh, Dr. Robert Ward. And I'm not going to read through the slide. I'm just going to highlight some of the uh really just the uh exemplary uh information about the the nominees. And so the first one is uh Flanny T. Anderson, and that was a discipline of theater. Uh she founded the first black community theater in the South in 1952, and later it was became known as the Flany Anderson Theatrical Association.

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