Council to Vote on Minimum Wage Increase?

 

It looks like the folks that launched the Greensboro Minimum Wage Campaign have reached their goal and want the City Council to increase the minimum wage in Greensboro.

“We are pleased to announce that our Committee has successfully completed the campaign to obtain the required 5,000+ signatures of registered voters. These voters want the Greensboro City Council to increase the minimum wage in Greensboro to $9.36 per hour. We will deliver our petition signatures to the Board of Elections at 12:30 PM, November 30, 2007. The campaign to gain approval of our initiative will began immediately thereafter on the front steps of the old courthouse.”

They continue, “The Federal Government’s own research shows that the minimum wage would need to be $9.58 per/hr to equal its purchasing power in 1968. Business can afford to pay its workers at least as much as they were paid 38 years ago.”

Some questions to consider. Has the cost of running a business also not increased due to inflation? How many jobs would be lost due to overhead increasing at a much more rapid rate than sales? If the minimum wage does increase are you willing to pay $6 or $7 for something that you used to pay $5 for?

Read more from the campaign here.

 

Sandy Carmany Calls $750k Taken From Willow Oaks A “Small Reduction”

Sandy Carmany has written a response (see below) on her blog to questions about why she voted to reallocate $750,000 from the Willow Oaks Project to the International Civil Rights Museum.

“The city council voted 5-4 on a NON-BINDING resolution to direct the Housing and Community Development staff to include a $250,000 allocation of federal CDBG funds to the International Civil Rights Museum for the three years beginning in the 2008-09 budget. The source of the funds would be a small reduction in the amount allocated for a future phase of the Willow Oaks redevelopment project which has not yet been started. Future councils have the ability to reverse that direction in each of the next three budget cycles.

Greensboro has traditionally spent its CDBG on affordable housing programs, but many other cities routinely use some of their CDBG funding on downtown redevelopment projects (for which the Museum qualifies). When Councilmember Tom Phillips made the motion NOT to use city property tax money for this purpose (which I voted for), he cited CDBG funding as a possible future source which I said at the time I could support. My vote Tuesday evening was consistent with what I had said I could support.”

I have made a second attempt to contact the Executive Director of the Project to find out how many people the $750k would affect, but unfortunately she was not available. Hopefully my call will be returned soon so I can share with you the number of residents that will be affected by this “small reduction,” as Sandy Carmany puts it.

Who Spent 62.1 40 Hour Work Weeks in Council Meetings?

1,764.  That is the estimated number of hours Keith Holiday spent in meetings since he was elected to serve the City of Greensboro.  Sandy Carmany has spent an estimated 2,484 hours.  Carmany’s time equals that of 62.1 40 hour work weeks.  More stats here.

GTCC Taps Into Land Surrounding PTI- City Still Has No Plan

GTCC is purchasing 97 acres 2 miles from PTI to build another major campus that could have up to 14 buildings and thousands of parking spaces.  College officials said the land is an ideal location to expand the community college’s transportation and aviation courses and to build a business and industry training center in an area of extensive development.

“The college will spend about $19 million from a 2004 bond to buy the land and pay for the first building - the training center. That could be official by January.

GTCC leaders hope to ask for another $46 million in a May 2008 referendum to complete the rest of the proposed campus, college officials said Wednesday.” (News & Record)

I recently sent the following questions to members of the City Council:

1. How is or will City Council plan for area around airport?
2. Is there a comprehensive plan out there that divides the areas into zones for what would be appropriate for the land - industrial, retail, commercial, etc.?
3. Will our council plan accordingly with this valuable asset like Dallas/Ft. Worth, or will our area around the airport go the way of Memphis where they allowed unchecked development and now have to go back and spend more money to fix-up the area because it has become an eye-sore due to lack of planning?

According to Robby Perkins, the City does “not yet” have a plan that divides the areas into zones for what would be appropriate for the land surrounding the airport.  T. Dianne Bellamy-Small was kind enough to respond but she simply referred me to Ben Brown who is in charge of economic development.  I then emailed Mr. Brown and have not received a response.

Read the full article on the GTCC expansion here.

Action Greensboro Gets New Executive Director

The following is from an Action Greensboro press release.

“The Greensboro Partnership and Action Greensboro have hired April R. Harris as Executive Director of Action Greensboro effective January 1, 2008.

April brings experience in city government, community leadership, and downtown development. Since November 2005, she has been Special Events Manager for the City of Greensboro. She is the primary representative for the City Manager’s Office for activities and business associated with special events, providing oversight for the allocation of city resources to support events. She also manages the City of Greensboro’s Cultural Center in partnership with the United Arts Council and has piloted several public art initiatives.

From 2001 to 2005, April served as Vice President of Operations for Downtown Greensboro Inc. There, she directed corporate communications and fundraising; managed small business support and development; was the staff lead for formation of the business improvement district; and led the organization’s day-to-day problem solving as a liaison to City departments and other government/community agencies. She has actively participated in Action Greensboro initiatives, including the formation and implementation of the Center City Master Plan and the Greensboro Downtown Greenway Initiative.

A native of Greensboro, April graduated from UNCG with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Arts degree in Public Affairs.

“I believe in strong collaborative partnerships and community engagement,” Harris said. “I look forward to continuing the work of Action Greensboro, especially the challenge of new priorities and expanded public/private partnerships. I am proud of our community and truly honored to work on its behalf.”

The announcement occurs as Action Greensboro prepares for Phase II. Over the next 3-5 years, the organization will focus on three priority areas of work: 1) enhancing public education, 2) capitalizing on higher education assets, and 3) maximizing urban livability.

“April brings a wealth of nonprofit, community, and government experience to the work of Action Greensboro and we look forward to her administrative leadership in the next phase of community work,” stated Skip Moore, President of the Weaver Foundation and Chair of the Action Greensboro Operating Group. “It is clear that the future of community development must be based on successful public/private partnerships and April’s background can only enhance that effort.”

See the News & Record’s coverage here.

City View Apartments Ribbon Cutting

I just left the Ribbon Cutting of City View Apartments in downtown Greensboro. Mayor Holliday was on hand and said “This complex is great for downtown Greensboro and it will open the eyes of people who don’t yet know about the great success our downtown has had. City View was created from a vision that not many people could imagine.”

Former candidate for mayor, Milton Kern was also on hand as he is one of the backers of the project. As residents move in (24 on Sat), only time will tell the true economic impact that they will have on the businesses in Southside as well as downtown Greensboro. When the apartments are at capacity they will add at minimum 250 additional voters to District 2.

Serving on Boards and Commissions

I received an email (cityofgreensboro at gmail.com) from someone who wanted information about serving on a board or commission for the City of Greensboro. The process is listed below.

“To serve on a board or commission, you must live inside the city limits of Greensboro.

Complete the interest form, attach a copy of your resume or bio, and mail to the City Clerk’s Office. You may also call the City Clerk’s Office at 373-2397 if you need additional information.

Names of individuals who wish to be considered for service must be added by Council to the boards and commissions’ data bank during an official Council meeting before an individual can be considered for service. Individuals cannot be added to the data bank and appointed to a board or commission at the same meeting.

At each regular Council meeting, the City Clerk’s Office provides updated information concerning vacancies on City boards and commissions, a copy of the data bank listing the names of Greensboro citizens who have expressed an interest in serving on a board or commission, and a roster of current boards and commissions members.”

Some boards and commissions have special requirements and you can read about that here.

I submitted my resume several months ago and received a letter stating that I had been put in the board and commission database. I have emailed (twice at two different email addresses) my Council representative, Goldie Wells and tried to see if there is anything else I can do to get involved but unfortunately she has never responded.

New Council Members To Be Sworn In

The following is from City Connections, an e-newsletter from the office of Mitchell Johnson. “Greensboro’s new slate of City Council members will begin their two-year terms when they take the oath of office on Tuesday, December 4. The regular meeting will take place beginning at 5:30 pm with the current Council. After all Council business is conducted, the Council will adjourn to meet in an organizational session. When the current Council leaves the dais, the newly-elected Council members will take their seats, and the Clerk will administer the oath of office to Mayor-elect Yvonne Johnson and to the Council members. The Mayor Pro Tem will also be selected at the December 4 meeting.

The new Council is comprised of: Mayor Yvonne Johnson; Sandra Anderson Groat, Robbie Perkins and Mary Rakestraw (At Large); T. Dianne Bellamy-Small (District 1); Goldie Wells (District 2); Zack Matheny (District 3); Mike Barber (District 4); and Trudy Wade (District 5).”

The e-newsletter also covers the annexation that will take effect on June 30, 2008.  Get that info here.

International Civil Rights Museuem Executive Director Intervew

The following is a telephone conversation I had with Amelia Parker, executive director of the International Civil Rights Museum. The main purpose of my call was to get her thoughts on City Council’s decision to reallocate $750,000 from the Willow Oaks Project to the museum.

GP - How do you feel about the City’s decision last week to allocate $750,000 to the museum?

Parker - “This is the first step in the process to develop a plan that would allow the City to access CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) which is a federal appropriation for the purpose of supporting the museum. We are excited about this step and grateful for the support of the Council.”

GP - Receiving the funds is great news for the museum but how do you feel knowing that these funds are being taken away from the Willow Oaks Project?

Parker - “I don’t know that that decision has been made about those details of the transaction.”

GP- Actually the City Council voted last Tuesday to reallocate the funds from the Weaver Project to the museum so the decision has been made.

Parker - “This is an extension of the cities commitment and I have not been informed that our allocation is being taken from any other pot of money.”

GP - Last week Mike Barber brought up that the museum should possibly be called the Greensboro Civil Rights Museum. How do you feel about the idea of the name being changed to help brand Greensboro?

Parker - “The naming termination was made long before I got here. My understanding is that this represents a global step for civil/human rights in general. Leaders from all over the world have talked about how Greensboro has set an example for protest and justice in a non violent manner.”

GP - Barber also made mentioned that he thought the address should be on February One. Is there a possibility that the address will be changed from Elm St to February One, which would in a way be a tribute to the date (Feb 1, 1960) in history?

Parker - “There has been no mention of the address being changed to February One.”

GP - How far are you from your fundraising goal of $16,391,290?

Parker - “We are roughly $7 million from our fundraising goal.”

GP - Given your previous rate of progress is it likely that the museum will not be open for another 5 years?

Parker - “Not hardly.”

GP - Can you give me an estimate in years as to when you think it will be completed?

“I am not prepared at this time to set any kind of date.”

EC Huey Press Conference Announced- “Schools worse than 1 year ago”

Guilford County 2008 School Board at-large candidate Erik “E.C.” Huey will convene a press conference next Monday, Dec. 3, to discuss the status of his 2008 school board campaign.The press event will convene at 12 noon on the sidewalk across from Guilford County Schools’ Administrative Offices at 712 N. Eugene Street in downtown Greensboro. The gathering point will be on the west side of Eugene Street in front of the parking lot.

Huey said today: “We have been on the (pre)campaign trail for one year now and the filing period for the May primary is two months away. Unfortunately in this past year, our schools in many cases are worse off than they were one year ago. It makes my school board campaign much more poignant and vital to the success of Guilford County Schools.”  Continue reading here.