Second neighborhood will get chance to talk to city officials
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on May 18, 2006 1:49 PM
City officials will once again ask local residents what they think as Goldsboro's neighborhood meetings schedule continues Tuesday.
The event -- the second of the year -- will be held rain or shine at the W.A. Foster Center on Leslie Street. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. and is expected to follow a similar script to those held last fall -- introductions, dinner, discussion.
Neighbors will get an opportunity to meet and converse with elected officials and city staff, share issues they believe are of great concern to the community and discuss potential resolutions to those problems.
Goldsboro Assistant City Manager Tasha Logan said she hopes a large number of residents will turn out for the meeting.
"I think this meeting will be one of the more highly attended ones," she said, adding this particular neighborhood "tends to be close-knit."
And while it would be difficult to predict what concerns will be identified by those neighbors who do turn out Tuesday, Mrs. Logan said even if no problems are exposed the meeting will provide other opportunities for both the city and neighbors.
"We haven't heard about any complaints from that area," she said. "We'll be looking into establishing a connection."
That connection will help open the lines of communication. Mrs. Logan said she hopes that doing so will create an atmosphere that fosters discussion between neighbors and officials that might trigger a more diligent self-governance system in the area -- perhaps a neighborhood watch program.
The last meeting was held April 25 in the loading dock area of Franklin Bakery and concerns over drugs, "thugs" and unemployed youth dominated discussions.
Mrs. Logan said the comments and problems voiced helped the city gain some insight on the "real" problems facing Goldsboro.
"People there had some very passionate comments and valid concerns," she said. "They are concerns we are all worried about."