Tonight's Community Affairs Commission meeting canceled
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on March 14, 2017 10:10 AM
Tonight's Goldsboro Community Affairs Commission meeting is canceled.
A notice of cancellation was issued shortly before 9 a.m. this morning out of the city clerk's office for the meeting originally planned at 7 p.m. in City Hall. The cancellation came after Shycole Simpson-Carter, Goldsboro's community relations director, called off the meeting due to a sickness.
Simpson-Carter notified city staff Monday night that she would not be able to attend, said Laura Getz, deputy city clerk. Even though the commission is a city council appointed board, Simpson Carter needed to be at the meeting in her capacity as facilitator, Getz said.
Momentum appeared to surround tonight's meeting, after ChrÃ(c)tien Dumond, a member of the commission, actively sought public participation. Dumond asked residents to attend to voice their concerns about divisions in the city.
His invite followed other events last week, including the local NAACP's call for the city manager's resignation. Sylvia Barnes, NAACP president, called for Scott Stevens, city manager, to resign after he declined to discipline Police Chief Mike West for West's personal social media activity supporting President Trump.
Other issues came to light last week as a group of students and adults shared their concerns about Goldsboro High School before the Wayne County Board of Education, Goldsboro City Council and Wayne County Board of Commissioners.
Dumond sought public involvement as a solution and invited residents to bring their ideas, thoughts and concerns to the Community Affairs Commission.
Dumond said the cancellation "seems a little strange," after a news article highlighted the planned meeting in Sunday's News-Argus.
He received an email from Simpson Carter around 6 p.m. Monday night notifying him and other commission members of the cancellation.
"I feel like the community will lose trust in the commission if we cancel this meeting," Dumond said.
Comantha Johnson, also a member of the commission, said she wasn't concerned about the change.
"It's not a problem that the meeting is postponed until next month," Johnson said.
The commission meets once a month, with its next scheduled meeting on April 11.