City officials will meet with neighbors Sept. 18
By Anessa Myers
Published in News on September 10, 2007 2:16 PM
Hilde Holloman is tired of trash.
Fred Lomax is cautious of traffic.
Mary Rhoe said she wants to see less "dropped drawers" of young Goldsboro citizens.
These were just a few of the concerns voiced at the last city-sponsored neighborhood meeting.
City officials are hoping to hear other residents' views on the city and its services at the next and final neighborhood meeting of the year scheduled for Sept. 18 at 6 p.m.
The meeting will be held on the lawn of Fire Station No. 2 on Royall Avenue.
Residents around the area, including those from William Street to Quail Park, are invited to lend their suggestions to city officials' ears. The meeting will cover a narrow part of town from Royall Avenue to U.S. Highway 70.
Assistant City Manager Tasha Logan is expecting to hear residents talk about drainage issues.
"The drainage issue spans throughout several neighborhoods in the city," she said. "This is one of the areas that was hit hard in the last storm, so we may hear about that, too."
She added that some of the other concerns she has heard from this neighborhood in the past have focused on children and youth activities.
"We really haven't gotten a lot of comments from the area," she said.
She urges those who live in the neighborhood to come out and allow city officials to help them improve their community.
"The meeting is an opportunity to hear about concerns," she said. "If we haven't gotten any concerns, I'm sure that doesn't mean there aren't any. We need to hear them."
Goldsboro City Council members and Mayor Al King also will be at the meeting and will be available to speak with residents one-on-one.
Each city department also will be represented.
If residents are microphone shy, there is another way to speak up.
"If someone isn't comfortable to come to the microphone to talk, they can talk with people from any department on the side," Ms. Logan said.
Representatives from the city's Division of Commu-nity Affairs are among those who will be present, Ms. Logan said.
"They take comments from individuals so we can follow up on things," she said. "They also help to coordinate activities for the Neighborhood Committee."
At each neighborhood meeting, city officials encourage one or two people to join the Neighborhood Committee.
"We use these people (on the committee) as an extension to get information back to the city from their community when they have concerns," Ms. Logan said. "When you have some type of emergency, they know the people. And if there is someone who needs special assistance, we will know about it through them."
Pizza and refreshments will be provided.
Parking for the event will be available at North Drive School.
If inclement weather occurs, the city will cancel the meeting by 3 p.m. that day and most likely reschedule for the next Tuesday.
This is the last in this year's series of the meetings.
The next set of meetings will be determined by the City Council in January.