Council ponders park
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on December 2, 2014 1:46 PM
The Goldsboro City Council's public comment period stole the show during Monday night's meeting, as seven residents stepped forward to voice concerns and requests.
Two youths, Josh Lancaster and Kevin Gillepse, requested a skate park for the city.
The pair collected more than 500 signatures on an online petition for a skate park in less than two weeks, and Goldsboro's Parks and Recreation department already has a modular skate park in storage, just waiting to be used.
All that's lacking is the land to put the park on, and Parks and Recreation Director Scott Barnard said Goldsboro should be closing on property for the skate park by the end of the month, though the exact location is being kept secret until the deal is final.
A skate park is necessary for the safety of skaters, Lancaster said, as 90 percent of skateboarding accidents happen on roadways, endangering skaters, motorists and pedestrians alike.
Furthermore, he said, skateboarding is a $2.5 billion industry nationwide, and would bring extra revenue to Goldsboro if a skate park is allowed in the city.
Barnard was impressed by Lancaster and Gillepse's ambition for their cause.
"It was probably eight or nine o' clock at night and I got an email to my phone from Josh that said he was petitioning for a skate park in Goldsboro," Barnard said. "I clicked on the link he sent me and he had already collected about 200 signatures for the petition in about a day."
Barnard said the day after he received the email, Lancaster paid him a personal visit in his Parks and Recreation office. Then, Barnard guided Lancaster through the process of petitioning city council.
"I want to make sure people know that this was totally organic," Barnard said. "Josh came to me with this idea and it gave it the kick in the rear it needed, because we've had that skate park in storage for about a year and a half now. I told him, you know, going to city council is going to be intimidating, but here are the angles you can come at it from, and he knocked it out of the park tonight."
Lancaster went door to door to request signatures for his petition in addition to the online copy, and has placed a physical petition at Bicycle World as well.
Linda Jordan and her sister, Dianne, also stepped forward during the public comment period to express their support for the council lending a helping hand to the Wayne County Special Olympics foundation by way of funding a coordinator position, as the current coordinator Rich Walderman is stepping down after 10 years.
Dianne has a storied history of competing in the Special Olympics, and has been decorated with numerous medals over the years for her mastery of bocce ball, bowling, basketball and more.
After discussing the matter in the work session prior to the council meeting, Goldsboro's city council resolved to act on the matter by Jan. 1. Details on the funding for the position, which will require someone to work 20 hours per week, will be discussed at the next council meeting.
In other business, the council decided in the work session to allocate a total of $52,000 for city employee bonuses this year, bumping the average bonus from $200 to $300 per employee.
Finance director Kaye Scott said bonuses will be distributed based on merit, and employees will be judged for their performance from Oct. 1, 2013, to Sept. 30, 2014.