Board of Aldermen to discuss the budget on April 28. Here’s a recap of the first two meetings of the year.
The New Bern Board of Aldermen discussed the vacant alderman seat, elections, infrastructure, parks and recreation, the audit and several other items in January 2025.
The Jan. 14, 2025 meeting began with Requests and Petition of Citizens.
A resident said she was disappointed with their cable television provider, and they were no longer carrying channel 9 and other channels. She said the company had a monopoly. She asked the board to consider allowing another company to provide services.
Mayor Jeffrey Odham said the city doesn’t have any control. He said there was nothing the city could do except ask for more competition, “which we’ve done.”
The resident said, “Unfortunately, Metronet does not provide cable service.”
The mayor said that was true.
The 2018-22 Board of Aldermen entered into a pole attachment agreement with Metronet which allowed them to conduct a mass scale installation of fiber onto the City of New Bern’s Electric Utility’s infrastructure.
The cable provider that was referenced has reached a contract agreement to broadcast channel 9 and other channels.
Another resident said it was time for fresh leadership in Ward 6 and asked the Board of Aldermen to fill the vacant alderman seat.
A resident asked about the methodology that was used to allow people who pay the additional Municipal Service District tax to serve on the MSD Advisory Committee.
Jeffery Odham said, “I believe the only vacancy is the ex officio from the board vacancy.”
According to the December 2023 meeting minutes, three seats on the committee expired in December 2024, but they weren’t filled.
Audit
Alan Thompson of Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams and Company reported the findings of the June 30, 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. He said the city needed to ensure revenues were collected for projects that had negative fund balances; “otherwise transfers need to be budgeted and recorded to clear the negative balances. Additionally, management needed to review the use of contra expense accounts and how to properly account for asset additions in operating and project funds,” according to the meeting minutes.
Real property and development
The Board of Aldermen approved a request to annex portions of property at 784 and 760 Highway 55 West.
They approved a request to rezone approximately eight acres of land located between Washington Post Road and Highway 55, identified as Craven County Tax Parcel ID 8-222-204, from an A-5 Agriculture to R-6 Residential district.
The board approved an amended Transfer and Reversion Agreement which allows Habitat for Humanity of Craven County to have an additional five years to develop two parcels.
The BOA adopted a resolution to Sell 513 First Ave.
They adopted an ordinance to demolish 618 Crawford St. The Minimum Housing and Nuisance Abatement Supervisor said the ordinance would be enacted if the owners failed to bring the property into compliance when permits were issued.
Parks and Recreation
They approved an amended Schedule of Fees and Charges that include fees for the new Stanley A. White Recreation Center.
The board adopted an ordinance to amend the Broad Street Pier Project Fund to include a contribution of $115,000 from the NC Wildlife Habitation Foundation.
Enterprise Funds
They appropriated $205,327 from the Water Fund, $27,690 from the Electric Fund and $64,896 from the Sewer Fund to be used to reestablish encumbrances for additional outstanding purchase orders.
Appointments
Alderman Robert “Bobby” Aster was appointed as an ex-officio member of the Municipal Service District Advisory Committee.
City Manager’s report
Foster Hughes asked the Board of Aldermen if they wanted to keep the candidate filing fees for the city’s 2025 Election the same and asked if they wanted to continue with early voting. After a lengthy discussion, the board tabled the matter to the next meeting as previously reported here.
New Business
Bobby Aster nominated former Mayor Dana Outlaw to fill the vacant Ward 6 seat. Aldermen Aster of Ward 3, Johnnie Ray Kinsey of Ward 4 and Mayor Jeffrey Odham voted yes, and Mayor Pro Tem Rick Prill of Ward 1 and Aldermen Hazel Royal of Ward 2 and Barbara Best of Ward 5 voted no.
Alderman Best nominated Darlene Brown to fill the vacant seat. Prill, Royal and Best voted yes and Aster, Kinsey and Odham voted no.
Best also asked if a special meeting was scheduled to discuss the Ward 6 vacancy. Mayor Odham said he asked the city clerk to poll the aldermen about their availability but had not called for the meeting.
The alderman seat remains vacant since Bob Brinson resigned in July 2024 to become a state senator.
Mayor Odham proposed that the board spend $100,000 of Ward 6 ARPA “enabled” funds to construct a building to store Christmas decorations and buy new ones. Alderman Aster made a motion which passed unanimously.
They board approved Mayor Pro Tem Prill’s motion to spend $5,000 to construct a base for the Battle of New Bern historical marker as reported here.
Jan 28. Board of Aldermen meeting
The Jan. 28 meeting began with the mayor questioning whether an item could be pulled from the Consent Agenda after Alderman Kinsey asked for the board to discuss the Community Development Block Grant.
Assistant City Attorney Jaimee Bullock said they could pull an item.
The Board of Aldermen implemented the use of a consent agenda on March 22, 2016 as a “way to obtain board approval of matters that do not require individual consideration or discussion. Matters are listed and voted on as a group and the single vote constitutes legal action on each matter,” according to meeting minutes.
“Any individual board member may request an item be removed from the consent agenda for separate discussion and vote. For purposes of demonstrating how the agenda would be structured (City Manager) Mr. Stephens referred the Board to a draft of tonight’s meeting content utilizing the consent agenda feature. Alderman Odham made a motion to direct the city manager to implement a consent agenda which will not include any financial items.”
As alderman, “Odham noted even financial items that are provided for in the budget should not be included on the consent agenda,” the 2016 minutes said.
Community Development Block Grant Program
After a lengthy discussion on CBDG grant funds, the Board of Aldermen adopted a resolution that called for a public hearing on a substantial amendment to the FY2022 CDBG Annual Action Plan. The change would take $100,000 from the housing rehabilitation program and add a $50,000 project that allocates funding to The Village for the purchase and install playground equipment. It would also add a $50,000 project that would allocate funding to the Omega Center to construct ADA compliant bathrooms.
Planning and Zoning
Attorney Bullock said the NC General Assembly passed Senate Bill 382 in December 2024. She said the impact of the legislation “negates local governments ability to change their zoning regulations.”
She said the legislation restricts down zoning and “anytime you want to make a change to a zoning district, especially non-residential zoning districts, to change permitted uses, to add uses, to do anything that might create a non-conformity, now this piece of legislation requires that every citizen that owns property in that affected area has to consent in writing, which as you can imagine is very burdensome.”
She said the legislation is retroactive, so local governments actually lost their ability to change their zoning regulations going back to June of 2024 even before the act was passed.”
Development Services Director Jessica Rhue reported that the city is working on a comprehensive update to the zoning map and all of the standards and they are on hold until they have direction on where this is going…”
After a discussion, the board adopted a resolution to request a local bill that would exempt New Bern from the provisions of Part III of Senate Bill 382.
Utility relocation
The board adopted a resolution to authorize Foster Hughes to execute a $884,620 contract with Chris Dixon Land Clearing, Inc. for the 5777C Road Improvement Project. The city has an agreement with the NC Department of Transportation to relocate utilities to accommodate for the Highway 70 widening project between Thurman Road and Lewis Farm. The cost to clear the right of way for the proposed power line will be reimbursed by NCDOT.
New Bern River Station
The BOA adopted a resolution that accepted ownership and maintenance of a section of East Front Street in the New Bern River Station area. Public Works Director George Chiles said, “The fire code that is listed in the in the memo will be applicable due to the no turnaround on this street and the length of the street and the height of the building so there will be no parking allowed on either side (of the street).”
In November, a resident told the Board of Aldermen that he had a house built on East Front Street in the River Station area. He said it would be a real problem if they couldn’t park on the street. He said they “were never told that it was any possibility that it would ever happen.”
“We just found out this year that the property owners own that street and would like to turn it over to the city. The problem we have here is by turning it over to the city, it goes into a fire code,” he said.
He said he thought it may be possible for the street to be modified and asked if the board could work with him for safety reasons.
The mayor said he, the city manager and Alderman Prill met with the resident. He said that he believed that Foster Hughes “said that legal counsel said that when a road is constructed to city standards and they asked it to be accepted, we legally have to accept the road even if that means there will be some things such as no parking on the street, which would be a burden to the homeowners.”
“When developers build to the standards that we set, there is a presumption that if you do so the liability will ultimately transfer to the city. If we deviate from that in some way it certainly calls into question going further whether developers will choose to build to our standards and I don’t think that’s a pathway this board is inclined to go down,” Assistant City Attorney Bullock said.
The board also approved an amendment to New Bern’s Code of Ordinances to add a three-way stop intersection at East Front and Queen Streets.
Appointments
Ashleigh Howell was appointed to the Board of Adjustment.
George Oliver, Dr. Jim Polo and Mike Lentz were appointed to the Municipal Service District Advisory Committee.
City Manager report
The board discussed the upcoming elections as reported here and Foster Hughes said the filing period will run from July 7-18 and the election is scheduled for Oct. 7, 2025. If a runoff is needed, it will be held on Nov. 4.
The city manager reported they were notified that Verizon and T-Mobile cellular customers weren’t able to call city offices.
New Business
Alderman Best made a motion for $50,000 to be used to construct a shelter in Evergreen Cemetery. Alderman Royal volunteered funding be taken from Ward 2’s ARPA “enabled” funds, and the motion carried unanimously.
Video of the meetings are available on the city’s Facebook page, City 3 TV and YouTube channel.
Related news:
The Board of Aldermen will meet for a budget work session on April 28, 2025 at 9 a.m. in the Stanley A. White Recreation Center at 601 Third Ave. in New Bern, NC.
The meeting agenda and packet can be found here.
NewBernNow.com is working on stories that take time to report and will be publishing recaps of the February – April meetings.
By Wendy Card, Editor. Send an email with questions or comments.