Council eyes downtown grant
By Ty Johnson
Published in News on November 20, 2011 1:50 AM
The future of a downtown facade grant and the approval of two more sweepstakes/Internet parlors in the city are among the agenda items to be discussed at the Goldsboro City Council's work session meeting Monday night.
The session will begin at 5 p.m. in the City Hall Annex, with the regular meeting starting at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Historic City Hall.
Glenn Barwick, the chairperson of the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. Design Committee, is scheduled to address the council on the department's facade grant program and its impact on downtown since its creation in 1994 in an effort to show the value of the grants in case of future budget restructuring.
Other items addressed during the work session will include vacancies on various standing boards and committees within the city, the adoption of Herman Park as a Leadership Wayne Project and an update on renovations at H.V. Brown Park. There will also be a presentation from the city's engineering department on the Stoney Creek Enhancement Project.
Two public hearings on conditional use permits are scheduled for Monday night, with two applicants seeking to open Internet cafes and sweepstakes parlors in the city.
Rumzi Allan wants to operate at North Gate Shopping Center on the north side of West Patetown Road between North William Street and Highway 117 and Parkash Patel will seek a permit to open a site in the Wal-Mart Shopping Center on Highway 70 West between N.C. Route 581 and Westbrook Avenue.
There will also be public hearings on three annexation requests Monday night. The areas being considered to join the city limits include Waynesborough Park on the west side of Highway 117 South, an area of land on the west side of Wayne Memorial Drive between Hospital Road and West New Hope Road and land on the East Side of North Oak Forest Road.
The council is also expected to make a decision on Franklin Baking Company's rezoning request. The rezoning has been challenged by residents near the business who are unsure of the company's growth intentions. The area is reportedly being considered to become a regional distribution center for Flowers Foods, and officials have said the rezoning would make Goldsboro a more attractive site for the expansion.
On the consent agenda, the council will seek to approve the annexation of the area on the north side of Windsor Creek Parkway known as Windsor Creek Phase 2 and a resolution requesting the dedication of the Wayne County portion of I-795 in honor of Andy Anderson and H. Martin Lancaster. The council is also expected to approve Phase 2 of the rehabilitation of Fire Station No. 3 and phase 1 of the Stoney Creek Stream Enhancement Project.
Rounding out the consent agenda is a memorandum changing the speed limit on Stevens Mill Road within the city limits from 45 mph to 20 mph and two requests for street closings for the Christmas Parade and Lights Up! downtown events.