OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Winston-Salem City Council Committee of the Whole - May 11, 2026

Meeting Portal — Monday, May 11, 2026
BodyWinston Salem, North Carolina
SessionMeeting Portal
DateMonday, May 11, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:22:01

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

City Council acting as a committee of the whole and ask the city clerk to call the roll, please.

0:08

Councilmember joyner.

0:09

Present.

0:10

Councilmember Clark.

0:11

Here.

0:11

Councilmember Andrew Bowen.

0:13

Here.

0:13

Councilmember Scipio.

0:14

Present.

0:15

Mayor Pro Tim Adams.

0:16

Here.

0:17

Councilmember Taylor.

0:18

Present.

0:18

Councilmember Hall.

0:19

Present.

0:19

And Councilmember Burke.

0:21

Here.

0:22

Thank you very much.

0:23

We'll proceed with today's meeting like we typically do where our committee of the whole we'll consider the consent agenda.

0:29

And then I'll recognize the appropriate city uh committee chairs to move forward.

0:34

So we do have consent agenda, which uh involves items that have are submitted in accordance with established city procedure.

0:40

Uh be no discussion of these items less one of our council members request which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered individually.

0:49

Items not removed will be considered with one motion.

0:52

Councilmember is are there any items on the consent agenda you'd like to have removed?

0:56

I'd like to have C4 review.

0:59

All right.

1:00

C eight and C ten.

1:03

Okay.

1:03

All right, is there a motion on the balance?

1:05

Move for approval of the consent, the balance of the consent agenda.

1:09

Second.

1:10

Second by Council Member Hall, I believe.

1:12

All those in favor of the motion, please say aye.

1:14

Aye.

1:15

Anyone opposed?

1:16

No, that's unanimous.

1:17

We'll now consider item C4.

1:20

Item C4 resolution adopting the fiscal year 2027 consolidated housing and community development program and the proposed 2026-2027 consolidated housing and community development plan submission to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

1:35

Mayor Pro Tim.

1:36

Yes, good afternoon, Miss Floyd.

1:38

Good afternoon.

1:40

As I've stated before, when we create these CARFs, or when the council needs to receive information, or the community.

2:00

And again, as I call it government speak, and we appreciate all of that training and subject subject matter expertise that you and staff have.

2:10

But I need you to break this down briefly as to what this really means because you have these dollar amounts in here and everything.

2:22

What does this mean to the city of Winston-Salem and the constituency?

4:54

Do you all see any improvements in the services being rendered in the life, the quality of life of the people that were serving?

5:02

Or we just checking boxes because we got money from the Feds in the state.

5:09

So in the last few years, our department has become more involved in community work.

5:14

So we're not just in our offices as um much as we were previous years.

5:19

So a lot of the work that we are doing is in the community.

5:22

So we're training um individuals in the community.

5:25

We're doing street outreach, which is something that we are funding through CDBG with city staff workers.

5:31

We are doing these events such as Project Homeless Connect.

5:34

Um we are doing that as the city.

5:37

So a lot of our um things that we have done previously, we are more community-based in our department.

5:42

We have done a lot more community meetings.

5:45

So anytime there's a new program, any time there is an application process that is coming up.

5:50

We no longer just post it on our website.

5:52

We're actually in different communities, we actually in different community meetings and making sure that we're meeting people where they at, where they're at.

5:58

Um as well as with homeless services, making sure we're connecting with other departments, making sure we're connecting with individuals where they're staying so that we can know the even though we may create programs that we feel may be helpful.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████25%
Affordable Housing█████████████████████21%
Public Safety█████████████13%
Procedural██████████10%
Environmental Protection█████████9%
Public Engagement█████5%
Racial Equity█████5%
Homelessness███3%
Emergency Management███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Winston-Salem City Council Committee of the Whole - May 11, 2026

On May 11, 2026, the Winston-Salem City Council met as a Committee of the Whole to consider consent agenda items, receive presentations on hurricane preparedness and police staff awards, discuss amendments to the noise ordinance, review recommended census tracts for Opportunity Zones 2.0, and approve funding for affordable housing rehabilitation. All votes taken during the meeting were unanimous.

Consent Calendar

  • C-1, C-2, C-3: Requests for public hearings on demolition ordinances for structures at 1331 Houston Street, 2705 Stokes Avenue, and 410 Barry Street, set for June 1, 2026. Approved without discussion.
  • C-5: Resolution authorizing a change order ($352,262.78) for additional engineering design services for the Multi-Use Path Western Section. Approved.
  • C-6: Resolution authorizing the sale of city-owned property at 2203 Woodland Ave under upset bid procedure ($1,600). Approved.
  • C-7: Resolution authorizing acquisition of easements for the Twenty-Seventh Street Drainage Improvements Project ($5,600). Approved.
  • C-9: Resolution awarding a contract for the Glade Street Bridge Replacement Project design to Whitman, Requardt & Associates, LLP ($845,000). Approved.
  • C-11: Approval of Committee of the Whole summary of minutes from March 9, 2026. Approved.
  • C-4, C-8, C-10: Removed from consent agenda for individual discussion (see below).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments or testimony were presented during the meeting.

Discussion Items

  • C-4: FY2027 Consolidated Housing and Community Development Plan (CHCD). Mayor Pro Tem Adams requested explanation of outcomes. Staff (Ms. Floyd) described increased community engagement, street outreach, and events like Project Homeless Connect. Council approved unanimously.
  • C-8: Abandonment of public utility easements for Longwood Village Development. Councilmember Scipio questioned why the city is involved in property outside city limits. Staff explained utilities are held in city name; easements are no longer needed. No money exchanged. Approved unanimously.
  • C-10: FY2025-2026 Budget Ordinances. Councilmember Scipio asked about interest earnings on grant funds for "The Grounds" and fairgrounds budget variances. Staff clarified interest must go to grant purpose; fairgrounds net loss projected $450,000 higher due to lower revenues and higher costs. Approved unanimously.
  • Public Safety Item 1: Hurricane Preparedness Week and Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP). Mr. August Vernon presented on hurricane risks and a COOP project for all city/county departments. Councilmember Clark recalled Hurricane Hazel. Approved as information; no vote.
  • Public Safety Item 2: WSPD Staff Members of the Year. Captain Mayb presented awards to Officer Sherm (Officer of the Year), Corporal Cheek (runner-up), Jonathan Lewis (Professional Staff Member of the Year), Tommy Leonard (runner-up), and Brittany Gomez (Positive Wolf Award). Approved as information; no vote.
  • General Government Item 1: Demolition at 1135 Argonne Boulevard. Request for public hearing on June 1, 2026. Approved unanimously.
  • General Government Item 2: Amended resolution to convey five lots for affordable homeownership by Williams Development & True Homes. Staff explained original 2022 agreement allowed lots at $20,000 each; developers requested $1 per lot due to increased construction costs. Councilmember Clark noted developer previously paid market price. Approved unanimously.
  • General Government Item 3: Phase 2 amendments to Noise Ordinance (Chapter 46). Mr. Rao presented information on regulating amplified sound from commercial establishments, complaint-based enforcement, decibel thresholds, and penalties for chronic violators. Council discussed crowd noise, barking dogs, and sidewalk cafes. Councilmember Hall urged clarity on "chronic" definition. Information only; no vote.
  • General Government Item 4: Opportunity Zones 2.0. Director Millet recommended five census tracts (map numbers 1, 3, 4, 11, 22) for nomination. Council debated equity and inclusion, with several members advocating for including map 23 (part of original Opportunity Zones, covering East Winston). Councilmember Taylor specifically requested map 23 be included. Councilmember Scipio highlighted historic disinvestment in East Winston. City manager noted deadline June 7, 2026. Council directed staff to send individual preferences to the city manager by May 12, with apparent consensus to replace one recommended tract with map 23. No vote taken.
  • Finance Item 5: Use of $1,031,800 in HOME ARP funds for rehab of eight apartment units at 1600 E. 24th St (Curry Apartments). Staff (Ms. Floyd) described master lease model for permanent supportive housing for homeless families. Councilmember Clark raised concerns about the owner potentially selling the property after rehab. Staff and city attorney noted deed restrictions would remain, but owner could sell with restrictions. Councilmember Clark requested contract language to prevent windfall. Councilmember Hall sought clarification on rent and management. Councilmember Burke asked about property history (vacant ~25 years). Councilmember Scipio requested handicap accessibility. Approved unanimously (G-5).

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda items C-4, C-8, C-10 approved individually by unanimous votes.
  • General Government Item 1 (1135 Argonne demolition) approved unanimously; public hearing set for June 1, 2026.
  • General Government Item 2 (Williams Development lots) approved unanimously.
  • Finance Item 5 (Curry Apartments rehab) approved unanimously; contract language to be developed to address resale windfall concerns.
  • Opportunity Zones 2.0: No vote taken; council directed staff to compile councilmember preferences and bring a revised recommendation for a vote at the next meeting (May 18 or June 1) before the June 7, 2026 deadline.
  • Phase 2 Noise Ordinance amendments remain as information; staff will incorporate feedback and bring back for future action.
  • Budget amendments (C-10) approved; staff to provide more detail on fairgrounds expenses.
  • Public safety presentations received without formal action.

Meeting Transcript

City Council acting as a committee of the whole and ask the city clerk to call the roll, please. Councilmember joyner. Present. Councilmember Clark. Here. Councilmember Andrew Bowen. Here. Councilmember Scipio. Present. Mayor Pro Tim Adams. Here. Councilmember Taylor. Present. Councilmember Hall. Present. And Councilmember Burke. Here. Thank you very much. We'll proceed with today's meeting like we typically do where our committee of the whole we'll consider the consent agenda. And then I'll recognize the appropriate city uh committee chairs to move forward. So we do have consent agenda, which uh involves items that have are submitted in accordance with established city procedure. Uh be no discussion of these items less one of our council members request which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered individually. Items not removed will be considered with one motion. Councilmember is are there any items on the consent agenda you'd like to have removed? I'd like to have C4 review. All right. C eight and C ten. Okay. All right, is there a motion on the balance? Move for approval of the consent, the balance of the consent agenda. Second. Second by Council Member Hall, I believe. All those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? No, that's unanimous. We'll now consider item C4. Item C4 resolution adopting the fiscal year 2027 consolidated housing and community development program and the proposed 2026-2027 consolidated housing and community development plan submission to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mayor Pro Tim. Yes, good afternoon, Miss Floyd. Good afternoon. As I've stated before, when we create these CARFs, or when the council needs to receive information, or the community. And again, as I call it government speak, and we appreciate all of that training and subject subject matter expertise that you and staff have. But I need you to break this down briefly as to what this really means because you have these dollar amounts in here and everything. What does this mean to the city of Winston-Salem and the constituency? Do you all see any improvements in the services being rendered in the life, the quality of life of the people that were serving? Or we just checking boxes because we got money from the Feds in the state. So in the last few years, our department has become more involved in community work. So we're not just in our offices as um much as we were previous years. So a lot of the work that we are doing is in the community.

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