Winston-Salem City Council Meeting Merry-Go-Round: Redeemer And Ardmore Reach A Compromise, The Mayor Names Board Members

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Monday’s night’s meeting of the Winston-Salem City Council was a fairly bland affair, like the Super Bowl halftime show if Franklin Graham had his way. It started out with the City Council honoring Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Mayor Pro Tempore Burke, who was uncharacteristically absent from recent City Council meetings, personally thanked Alpha Kappa Alpha for their contributions to the community. Rezoning the property at the corner of Waughtown and Sprague was up first on the Council’s agenda. The former Rite Aid building property has been vacant for several months.

Crystal Towers Residents Want The City To Address The Sixth Street Freeway In Front Of Their Building

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There wasn’t a lot on the Public Safety Committee’s agenda last night. After going through a list of routine items, there was time available for the residents of Crystal Towers to speak. Three residents of Crystal Towers took to the people’s microphone last night and asked the City to address unsafe intersections at and around Crystal Towers. Shockingly, there aren’t adequate safety measures in place at Sixth and Polar,  in front of Crystal Towers. The 200-unit, 100 percent disability building, should have one of the safest intersections in the city at its doorstep.

The People’s Business: December 9, 2019

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Monday

Finance Committee meeting: 4:30 p.m. 2nd Monday of every month, City Hall
101 N Main Street, Room 239. Finance Committee Agenda-December 9, 2019

Public Safety Committee meeting: 6 p.m. 2nd Monday of every month, City Hall
101 N Main Street, Room 239. Public Safety Agenda-December 9, 2019

Tuesday

Community Development, Housing & General Government Committee
meetings: 4:30 p.m., 2nd Tuesday of every month, City Hall 101 N Main Street,
Room 239. General Government Agenda-December 10, 2019

Public Works Committee meeting: Canceled at the request of the Public Works Chair, Dan Besse

For additional information, visit the City’s website: https://www.cityofws.org/calendar.aspx

700 Words On Crossnore And Climate Change

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The City Council debated giving the Piedmont Land Conservancy $200,000 to help them buy an easement to protect Crossnore/Children’s Home’s land from development for weeks. During committee meetings and two meetings of the full City Council, the question was, should the City help fund a land conservation project, or would tax dollars be better spent maintaining parks throughout the city? But none of the eight members of the City Council or Mayor Joines mentioned climate change during the Crossnore land conservation debate. Our local paper hasn’t done any better. The Journal didn’t mention climate change in the plethora of articles it published on the subject.

Replacing Dixie Is A Conundrum For Winston-Salem’s City Council

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At next Monday’s City Council meeting, the council will finally decide what the new name for the Dixie Classic Fair will be. Tuesday, the General Government Committee failed to reach consensus. They were split. Some council members preferred Carolina Classic Fair while others supported the Piedmont Classic Fair. Both names lack originality.

Ashley Gets Land, But The Neighborhood Gets Blamed For Inaction

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Monday afternoon, the City Council’s Finance Committee unanimously approved selling City property in the area of New Hope Lane and East Twenty-First Street to the WS/FC Schools, to be used for a new Ashley Elementary. The full City Council will vote on the matter next Monday. Finally, local officials are moving to acquire land for a school that desperately needs replacing. Eunice Campbell and other activists that spoke before the City Council last month deserve a lot of credit for getting the City and WS/FC Schools to strike a deal. The lots in question were optioned to the Housing Authority in 2005.

Disunion Station

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“Union Station is a project without a purpose.” -Robert Clark

Winston’s Union Station closed in 1970. After decades operating as Davis Garage, and years spent acquiring and rehabilitating the property, Union Station is finally open to the public. After spending a mere $20 million on the project, the City of Winston-Salem now owns a marvelous, historic building. But what exactly the City is going to do with Union Station is still anyone’s guess. Sadly, after yesterday’s grand opening, the building closed and won’t be open to the public for a while longer.

The Winston-Salem City Council’s Dixie Debate Word-For-Word

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Monday night’s Winston-Salem City Council meeting was one for the history books. The resolution to rename the Dixie Classic Fair passed by a 4-2 margin, with one abstention, effectively the resolution passed 5-2. Denise Adams, Dan Besse, Vivian Burke, and Annette Scippio voted yes. John Larson and Jeff MacIntosh voted no. And James Taylor, who was the first politician to suggest that the Dixie Classic Fair’s name should be changed in 2015, abstained.

Aggressive Panhandling Or Aggressive Policing?

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Earlier this week the City of Winston-Salem held its monthly Public Safety News Conference. Chief Catrina A. Thompson announced when and where the WSPD’s backpack program and Cookies With A Cop events would be held. Assistant Chief, Wilson Weaver II announced that this year’s Dixie Classic Fair would have added security measures: bag checks and electronic scanners, to deter weapons from coming into the fairgrounds. Weaver ended his comments by asking the City’s residents to “please continue to attend our events and have fun. We will be there to keep you safe.”