Council to adopt park plan
By Matt Caulder
Published in News on February 17, 2014 1:46 PM
The Goldsboro City Council is expected to adopt the conceptual master plan for Mina Weil Park as well as Herman Park and Herman Park Center at its meeting tonight.
The plan was pulled from the consent agenda during the meeting Feb. 3 to give the Council an opportunity to inspect the plan in detail following Goldsboro Parks and Recreation Director Scott Barnard's presentation on the plan during the work session.
The plan is set to be put in place as part of an $18.9 million bond referendum vote in May for Parks and Recreation projects.
Barnard said having the plan in place will allow the city to show Goldsboro citizens what they would be voting for if the bond passes as well as allowing the city to apply for more grants to multiply the proceeds from the sale of the bonds.
Having a plan ready to build on is a hallmark of grant applications, Barnard said.
If the plan is approved and the bond passed, Barnard said his first priority will be finding grants to add to the funds.
The plan includes new walking tracks, another bathroom as well as improvements to the parking behind Herman Park Center and a new pedestrian entrance.
Improvements to Herman Park Center include a double gym, new offices and programming rooms while preserving the historic facade of the building.
Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. Director Julie Metz will ask the City Council to approve a $4,333 expenditure from Municipal Service District funds for 10 cigarette butt canisters for high traffic areas in downtown.
The City Council is also expected to accept Carolina Earth Movers' bid for the Wayne Memorial Drive sidewalk project to add 2,000 square feet of four-foot sidewalk between U.S. 70 and Royall Avenue.
Carolina Earth Movers, a Smithfield based company, came in with the lowest of the 10 bids received at nearly $128,000.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation will reimburse the city for $50,000 of the cost and the city has $60,000 in its sidewalk fund.
To avoid paying the remaining $18,000 out of fund balance the City
Council is also being asked to pull the sidewalk back from Royall Avenue up to Sixth Street.
The reduction will save the $18,000 needed to not dip into fund balance.
Carolina Earth Movers has agreed to the change and the job will cost $110,000.
Three public hearings will be held at the City Council meeting, beginning at 7 p.m. in Historic City Hall.
The first refers to a request to operate an Internet cafe for the use of online sweepstakes on Spence Avenue between Royall Avenue and U.S. 70.
The cafe would be located in the North Plaza shopping center across from Wal-Mart.
A second public hearing for a place of entertainment without an ABC permit will be heard for Tier Zero Gaming.
The proposed use for the location on Ash Street between Lionel and Leslie streets will be for card and game accessories as well as card game competitions.
First Pentecostal Holiness Church is requesting a zoning change to nine lots owned or under contract to be bought by the church to be used for church related uses only.
Currently some single family dwellings stand on the properties in question.