Officials will meet with city residents
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on April 24, 2006 1:49 PM
Now that cold winter nights are behind them, city officials say they are ready to take to the streets again.
Tuesday, the spring neighborhood meeting schedule kicks off, on the 600 block of Holly Street at Franklin Bakery's loading dock. And by late fall this year, all of Goldsboro's voting districts will have had their say -- an opportunity to meet, greet, complain and offer praise to City Council members, department heads and other city staff.
Assistant City Manager Tasha Logan said she doesn't know what problems will be identified in the Franklin Bakery neighborhood, but suggested the presence of vacant lots and dilapidated dwellings might be among them. Still, the meeting is about more than just problem identification.
"Really, we want to establish a line of communication out there," she said.
Tuesday evening will also be about the future of the neighborhood, she added.
"We want to hear what the people would like the neighborhood to look like in the coming years," Mrs. Logan said. "And we would like to meet some people who are willing to work to that end."
The Franklin Bakery meeting, and those to be held through the end of October, will hold true to the form of those held on Kornegay Street and Maplewood last fall, she added.
The city will provide a microphone to aid an open comment period after pizza and soft drinks are served and officials are introduced. Then, staff and council members will address some of the issues identified by neighbors.
At the first neighborhood meeting, held last September on South Kornegay Street, neighbors identified a series of problems on their block -- dilapidated houses, drug-related crime and litter.
Earlier this month, City Council member Chuck Allen said officials took note of complaints and suggestions offered by active voices in the neighborhood. Within a few weeks of the meeting, he noted, a problematic dilapidated dwelling on the block was torn down. A new modular home will be located on the cleared lot in the coming months, he added.
"That area and areas around it are my personal No. 1 priority," Allen said. "From what was there and what will soon be there (a new modular home), you can see that these meetings are working."
In the event of rain, the meeting will be moved under the covered bay area at Franklin Bakery. The second spring meeting is scheduled for May 23 at the intersection of Harris Street and Bunche Drive.