Main Street Monthly: September
Monthly updates from my campaign to your inbox, talking about community events and my efforts to make Winterville the Premiere Place to Live & Do Business in Pitt County
Better late than never, Am I Right? I wanted to briefly offer my thoughts on the upcoming Council meeting after reviewing the agenda packet.
First, it is great to see community engagement and recognition with this month’s proclamations. Second, infrastructure and service improvements are vitally important as Winterville continues to grow, ideally in a sustainable, efficient and responsible manner. Particularly I am encouraged by the inclusion of a 15 year capital plan for electrical infrastructure which has garnered so much attention recently for reasons such as supporting the growing demand placed on our grid by AI computing but also to harden our infrastructure from possible attacks. Lastly, it is great to see the Town taking advantage of grant funding opportunities which diversifies the sources of revenue the Town can draw from to support needed services.
What I am most intrigued by is something scheduled for the future: A Strategic Plan.
Why? Because strategic plans:
Provides a Roadmap for the Community
Balances Short-Term Needs with Long-Term Goals
Improves Transparency & Accountability
Guides Budgeting & Resource Allocation
Enhances Community Engagement
Builds Organizational Alignment
Sound familiar? That’s because one of the key points of my platform is:
Stellar Service
To deliver citizen-centric services for all of Winterville in an efficient and effective manner that consistently exceeds expectations through streamlined processes and prioritized allocation of resources.
This is a key tenant of what I am running on because it speaks to what strategic planning aims to achieve. It gives an organization goals, objectives, and strategies. It is for this reason that I hope you, the voters of Winterville, will elect me to Town Council this November, to be apart of that conversation and set Winterville on the path as the Premiere Place to Live & Do Business in Pitt County.
September 8th Town Council Meeting
On Monday, Town Council will be holding a regular meeting. Here is what you can expect:
Proclamations
National Recovery Month – Promotes awareness of mental health and substance use recovery.
National Hispanic Heritage Month – Recognizes cultural contributions of Hispanic communities.
Presentations
Winterville Human Relations Board: Back-to-school support for W.H. Robinson Elementary.
Public Comment
Example: Mat de Jesus – Mill and Boyd Street Intersection Report.
Consent Agenda (routine approvals unless pulled for discussion):
Approval of previous meeting minutes (June 9 & Aug 4).
Copier purchase ($44,000 for 5 machines).
Budget Amendment 2025-2026-2 (IT upgrades, grants for police software & economic development).
Tax adjustments, refunds, and charging Tax Collector with 2025-2026 levy.
Eli’s Ridge Annexation – Schedule public hearing for Oct 13, 2025.
T.A. Loving Change Order #4 (Sewer Pumpstation Project).
Bloodhound & Brightspeed Utility Location Agreement.
Old Business
None.
New Business
School Resource Officer Agreement with Pitt County Schools (3 officers for local schools).
Urgent Repair Program – Approval of 4 applicants for home repairs.
Recreation Advisory Board Appointments – Reappoint 3 members, add 1 new.
Ditch Witch Replacement Purchase – $116,259.95 for new trencher.
Electric Engineering & 15-Year Capital Improvement Plan – Approve RGrid PLLC.
Michael Taylor Engineering Contract – Oversight for Old Tar Road widening project.
Other Agenda Items
Water fountains, youth recognition, oversight topics (Councilwoman Hawkins).
Future Agenda Items
Town Strategic Plan, Code amendments, Accessory Dwelling Units.
Announcements
Events: Friday Night Concert (Sept 12), Planning & Zoning (Sept 15), Coffee with a Cop (Sept 19), Candidate Forum (Oct 2), and more.
Closed Session
For real estate negotiations and employment contract discussions.