City step closer to $200,000 trail grant
By Matt Caulder
Published in News on April 13, 2014 1:50 AM
The Goldsboro City Council has officially passed the first hurdle to receiving a third Recreational Trails Program grant for $200,000.
Goldsboro Parks and Recreation Director Scott Barnard presented the council with the news Monday night during its work session.
The $50,000 match for the grant would be made up with planning funds from the ongoing greenways master plan, which is expected to be completed this fall.
The plan is being funded through the Goldsboro Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Work is expected to begin on the section funded through the second RTP grant in the coming weeks.
The section will run from just north of Ash Street behind Bicycle World to Royall Avenue along Stoney Creek.
The RTP grants are federally funded through the Federal Highway Administration.
The council also voted to accept the former Gold's Inn and Suites property at 808 W. Grantham St. to clear the lien and tax debt against the former owners after the city demolished the property for $251,000 in 2012. The property currently has a tax debt of $180,000 on it with half of that owed to the county of Wayne. The city also spent about $20,000 on a study to verify if the land was fit to build on. The city is hoping to pay the county its taxes following the sale of the property.
"We have been able to set up this arrangement with the county before," Assistant City Manager Randy Guthrie said.
The city will need to sell the 4.5-acre property to settle the tax debt. It last sold in 2009 for $710,000.
The tax value for the property currently is listed at $681,000.
The city plans to place a sign on the property advertising it for sale when the deed is executed.
During the work session, the council pulled an application to open a church at 123 N. Center St. from the consent agenda to vote on it separately during the regular City Council meeting.
"We don't need any storefront churches on Center Street," Allen said. "We're spending all this money on Center Street, and we don't need more there."
The city has a zoning ordinance requiring churches in the Central Business District be at least 100 feet from each other and the proposed site's parking lot was within 60 feet of another church around the corner on Mulberry Street.
Also pulled from the agenda to be voted on separately was a proposed apartment complex off Oxford Court.
Allen recused himself from the vote because he is a partner in the land used for the development. The council approved the use in a unanimous vote.
Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. Director Julie Metz asked the council to approve $4,000 from the Municipal Service District Fund to purchase eight tents for a downtown farmer's market on Saturdays at Cornerstone Commons.
The tents will be provided at the Saturday market because merchants cannot drive up on the brickwork and to give the market a bright colorful facade.
Parks and Recreation will operate the market with advertising services coming from the DGDC.
The market will be open from 8 a.m. to noon each Saturday beginning May 17 and will run until October.