Public input, parking, property, housing, transportation, property taxes, financial report and audit, outsourcing, appointments and more.
The newly elected New Bern Board of Aldermen received public input and approved several items during their first full regular meeting on Jan. 13, 2026 at City Hall in New Bern, NC.
Alderman Ferguson made a motion to remove item 17 from the agenda and Trey Ferguson (Ward 1), Sharon Bryant (Ward 2), “Bobby” Aster (Ward 3), Lainy White (Ward 4), Barbara Best (Ward 5) and Dana Outlaw (Ward 6) voted for the motion. Mayor Jeffrey Odham (of Ward 6) also voted for the motion.
Prohibit parking
Item #17 – “Consider Adopting a Resolution Prohibiting Parking in the Parcel Connecting Craven and Middle Streets” — relates to city-owned in Ward 1 property that is being used “as a means of ingress and egress to connect the terminus of Middle and Craven Streets,” according to the meeting packet. “With a passable width of 24 feet but lacks sufficient width to safely allow parallel parking. As this could interfere with safe travel, it is requested that parking be prohibited on either side of the property.” The aldermen approved the motion. The mayor also voted for the motion.
Petition of Citizens
A citizen spoke about his experience with the process of rebuilding his house in New Bern after Hurricane Florence and voiced frustration with some officials. He also questioned the city’s vetting process when it comes to hiring convicted child sex offenders.
Another citizen spoke about the Historic Preservation Commission’s design standards, rules and the results of a recent survey. She said outdated practices cost people who pay taxes money and the State Historic Preservation Office doesn’t have the authority in local governing. She said not having an HPC wouldn’t change New Bern’s status on the National Historic Register of Places nor does it affect the availability of tax credits. She said the aldermen are the oversight board and have a lot on their plate. She asked if the newly elected board would make changes to the HPC to better serve the city.
After the meeting, NewBernNow.com asked the aldermen, city manager, and city manager for comment regarding the vetting process. We also asked about their background check policy. City of New Bern Public Information Officer Colleen Roberts provided a copy of the resolution to Ban the Box in Support of Fair Hiring Practices that the Board of Aldermen approved in March 2019, which can be found here and a copy of the administrative order. Alderman Ferguson said he asked the citizen “to provide the name of the individual he was referencing so the city could appropriately investigate the allegation, but no such information has been provided. If there were a legitimate concern about an employee’s background, the responsible course would be to share specific details so the matter could be reviewed, rather than making generalized allegations without supporting information.”
Consent agenda
The aldermen approved the consent agenda with one vote. Consent agenda items included a proclamation for Arbor Day; the validation of NC Firefighters’ and Rescue Squad Workers’ Pension Fund; the closure of the 200-300 blocks of Middle Street, the 300-400 blocks of Pollock Street, the 300 block of Craven Street and the use of the Pollock/Craven Street pay-by-plate parking lot for the First Capital Chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America on May 9; initiating the upset bid process for 1205 Mechanic St. and 615 First Ave.; and the approval of meeting minutes. The mayor also voted for the motion.
Patriot Square
Bob Ainsley of the New Bern Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution asked the Board of Aldermen to allow them to place a monument in honor of New Bern Resolves and a bear for the Daughters of the American Revolution; and a SAR bear in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America next to the flagpoles at City Hall. He said the area would be called “Patriot Square” and they would try to find funding for the project through grants, but if they don’t, they could let citizens buy bricks and put their names on them.
Alderman Best said she thought it was a great cause, but she wasn’t in support of it because they have had problems in the past with putting monuments, statutes and markers on city owned space.
City Manager Foster Hughes said he presented a policy to the board two years, but the board did not approve the policy. He said, it was unanimous that the board “is not interested in entertaining any type of monuments or markers on public space.” He said, if a group wanted to make a presentation to the board, the board would entertain a conversation.
Ferguson made a motion to establish Patriot Square. If the organization is not able to receive funding, the board can revisit it in a year and decide whether to keep the project on hold. Aldermen Bryant, Aster, White, Outlaw and Ferguson voted for the motion and Alderman Best said she was opposed. Mayor Odham voted for the motion.
Background: The aldermen had a lengthy discussion about placing markers, statues and monuments on public property in November 2022. The mayor said, “My vote would be no plaques, no statutes, no anything.” The aldermen appeared to agree. He said, “Our policy is no. If you want an exception you have to petition the board.” He asked City Manager Foster Hughes if it would save him from drafting a policy.
Alderman Rick Prill asked, “Do we need to put that on the agenda to have a formal vote taken to establish this policy that gives direction to the city manager?”
“Well, you can give me directions, and we’ll probably end up updating the ordinance or something just so it’s out there somewhere,” the city manager said.
The aldermen did not vote on a motion nor give direction.
Editor’s note: A draft of the policy was in their meeting packet.
The topic of memorials, markers, statutes and plaques came up again in November 2023 and City Attorney M. Scott Davis told the aldermen that the Monuments, Memorials, Markers and Plaques Policy had not been approved because it didn’t come back to the board after the initial proposal.
In May 2024, Hughes told the board that the city received a request from a community group that proposed placing a historical marker honoring Lauretta Bryant Smith in the right-of-way at the corner of Bern and Cypress streets. Alderman Best noted that since it’s on public property, the city would have to maintain and repair it. She said she was concerned about setting a precedent.
“It’s not an official state historic marker, if it was, we’ve got a precedent for that, we don’t have a precedent for this. So, you’re right, this could start a snowball effect,” The mayor said. He said city staff, aldermen Prill and Royal, and he would meet with the requestor to discuss the matter.
The aldermen did not vote on a motion nor give direction.
The following month, the mayor told the Board of Aldermen that he, the Public Works director, the city manager, and the assistant city manager met with a few members of the community group who wanted the marker. He said the two aldermen were not part of the meeting. He said he told the group that they were trying to find some sort of compromise and the requestor didn’t like his response and “got very offended as did a couple other folks that were with her.”
He told the aldermen that he told the requestor that they can petition the Board of Aldermen during the first meeting of the month.
Odham said, “The mayor doesn’t make motions or second motions” and the majority of the board could decide to add the request to the agenda under new business. “It turned a little too personal for me. I think they took offense because they looked at our decision as a board against this particular person that they wanted to put a marker up for other than the fact that we’re saying this is the case for everyone,” he said.
Alderman Johnnie Ray Kinsey said the decision to not put markers on public property was made due to vandalism with other markers that were in place so they “got out of taking care of that.”
In January 2026, the city manager told aldermen Ferguson, Bryant, Aster, White, Best, Outlaw and Mayor Odham that they would be receiving a request to approve Patriot Square in February. It was said that the proposed site was in the same location where a group had proposed Heritage Park. Hughes said the city was promised that the group would come back to them with a plan and the cost, but they hadn’t heard from them.
In 2022, Alderman Sabrina Bengel told aldermen Harris, Aster, Best, Odham and Mayor Outlaw that they needed to move the site to the greenspace by the parking lot because they are building the City Hall elevator on proposed site. She said the site is going to be half the size of what was planned so they need to scale it down. She said the board needed to give her direction, or Foster Hughes needed direction. She said she didn’t think they needed a resolution, as reported here. She was referring to a project that the Board of Aldermen — Bengel, Victor Taylor, Denny Bucher, Johnnie Ray Kinsey, Bernard White and Dana Outlaw — approved in 2010, which was a monument project requested by the families of New Bern and Craven County, according to meeting minutes. The proposed site of Heritage Park was at Union Point Park and then it was changed to the lot between Christ Episcopal Church and City Hall, which was where the bust of Baron de Graffenried was located. It was said that the monument would honor “American Indians, early and late settlers of the area, native African and African Americans, and other groups who played a part in the area’s history,” according to meeting minutes. It was also said that the money would be raised through private donations.
Finance report and audit
A representative from Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams and Company, P.A., presented the findings of the June 30, 2025, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and audit. He noted, “the expenditures amounted to $43.5 million compared to $32.3 million five years ago.” He said the property tax rate has increased to 39 centers per hundred dollars, and the property value increased to $5 billion compared to $3 billion five years ago. He also said there was a Financial Performance Indicator of Concern regarding the unrestricted cash is less than 16 percent or two months’ worth of expenditures in the Electric Fund.
Awards
The Finance Department was recognized for receiving the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award by the Government Finance Officers Association for fiscal year beginning July 01, 2025.
Rezoning
The board held a public hearing on GO Architectural Design’s request to rezone a 0.178-acre parcel at 507 Contentnea Avenue from R-8 Residential to C-4 Commercial and approved the rezoning.
Parade street closure
Swiss Bear Executive Director Karen Sullivan asked the board to consider providing in-kind services like trash removal, closing parts of Middle, Pollock, Princess and Jones streets and use the former Days Inn parking lot street closures and other things so they could host the Mardi Gras Parade and block party in downtown New Bern on Valentine’s Day. In the past, the Ghent Neighborhood Association hosted the parade in Ghent.
Alderman Best said the city was having a lot of events and asked Kari Warren, the director of Parks and Recreation, how much of a burden would it put on city staff.
Director Warren said they fully supported it. But “from a staff perspective, we’re going to end up doing three parades in five weeks.” She said, “…from a staff standpoint, it is going to be quite a burden with that many within such a short period of time.”
Alderman Ferguson said Swiss Bear is the Main Street program administrator for the city and part of the agreement is to fund part of the program through in-kind contributions for Mumfest, but the festival was cancelled in 2025. “I’ve talked to folks from the departments that are comfortable with this type of support,” he said.
The aldermen unanimously approved the motion to provide city services. The mayor also voted for the motion.
BUILD Grant
The Board of Aldermen adopted a resolution of support to apply for BUILD grant program to improve a two-mile strip of Neuse Boulevard from Racetrack Road to Queen Street. The grant was previously known as the RAISE grant. The mayor also voted for the motion.
Changes to Chapter 70 “Traffic and Vehicles”
The aldermen unanimously approved a motion to change the parking ordinance that added new subsections “indicating parking is prohibited on city-owned property where parking is not specifically lined and on city-owned property marked with no-parking signs,” per the meeting packet. The mayor also voted for the motion.
The city attorney said the ordinance makes “it crystal clear that there is no parking on government property unless the public has been invited to park which means striped and laid out, obviously for parking. This would preclude people from parking in Union Point Park on the grass or city walkways or any other city real property including turning lanes, drive lanes, etc.” He said the amendment also allows the board to identify parcels or areas and “direct staff to stripe it for no parking.”
Budget amendment
Finance Director Kimberly Ostrom asked the board to approve the following operating budget amendments “to appropriate funds necessary to reestablish encumbrances for various outstanding purchase orders and recognize unspent MSD and ARPA-enabled project balances as of June 30, 2025,” as outlined in a memo.
General Fund: $1,841,900
MSD Fund: $30,627
E911 Fund: $14,370
Water Fund: $40,654
Sewer Fund: $220,653
Electric Fund: $557,300
Solid Waste Fund: $13,028
Employees Benefit Fund: $9,936
ARPA Enabled project balances: $2,769,051
The Police Department asked for $34,500 to be appropriated from “fund balance in the Equitable Sharing — US Department of Justice Fund to purchase a replacement K9 and provide training for both the dog and handler.” The request comes after K9 Fredy retired early due to serious medical concerns.
Another amendment transfers $25,000 from the Water Fund to cover the cost of replacing a 2022 Ford F-150 4X4 SuperCab after it was totaled in an accident.
An amendment appropriates $300,000 from the Employees Benefit Insurance Fund balance for the additional estimated cost for January through June 2026.”
The aldermen unanimously approved a motion to amend the 2025-2026 operating budget. The mayor also voted for the motion.
Appointments
Alderman Bryant nominated Victor Dove for appointment to the New Bern Redevelopment Commission. Alderman Ferguson nominated Margo Fesserman for the Planning and Zoning board; Robert West and Alex Setzer for the Police Civil Service Board; and Alderman Bryant, White and Best as liaisons – not ex-officios or voting members — for the Redevelopment Commission. The board unanimously approved the motion. The mayor also voted for the motion.
The mayor said they decided during the retreat that they were no longer going to move forward with a Bike and Pedestrian Committee. He said their work has led to projects that they will be undertaking.
Background: Sixteen years ago, several individuals and city officials met in small groups to create a Pedestrian Plan. In 2022, the Board of Aldermen adopted a Bike and Pedestrian Plan and Alderman Bob Brinson asked them to establish a Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee to help implement the plan. A committee was established and were told that property taxes would have to be raised in order to implement projects within the plan. The committee met several times and talked about several potential projects.
In May 2024, Mayor Odham suggested that the board put a Bond Referendum on the 2025 Ballot to fund the entire Bike and Pedestrian Plan.
Around the same time, the Housing Authority of the City of New Bern’s Board of Commissioners were planning on hiring a consultant to apply for a federal grant. In August 2024, the authority’s developer consultant/interim executive director Reginal “Reggie” Barner told the authority’s Board of Commissioners — Sabrina Bengel, James Copland, Dana Outlaw, Denise Powell, Jennell Reddick and Ronald Scott, “You all got to help carry and lift that load for us to go to the community and say in order for us to get, as Sabrina said before, if we apply for $30 million in CNI (Choice Neighborhood Implementation) money and we have $40 million coming in from FEMA, we got to be able to go to the community and say, are y’all willing to help us get this additional $30 million or 10%, 15% to go towards infrastructure? If they’re not willing to do that and quite frankly, if y’all’s pull is not strong enough to help facilitate that, then let me be the first to tell you, we’re throwing good money out of an open window in the wintertime with the heat on,” as reported here.
Over the next year, the Board of Aldermen talked about several “potential projects” including a new fire station, an amphitheater, a lazy river, and other things and put a referendum on the ballot asking voters if they wanted the city to issue $24 million in general obligation bonds to fund “potential projects” — $8 million for Parks and Recreation, $6 million for Stormwater and $10 million for Roads and Sidewalk plus interest to be repaid through an additional tax by property owners over 20 years. The aldermen did not vote to approve any specific projects.
During the July 2025 Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting, Alderman Rick Prill asked if the committee was aware of the bond projects and someone said they were.
The director of the New Bern Area Metropolitan Transportation Organization, Deanna Trebil, told the committee that they presented their recommendations to the Board of Aldermen and asked them for direction.
She said the mayor suggested that the committee contact Senator Brinson (former Ward 6 alderman) to ask for guidance and money so they could advance projects.
She said the committee identified projects based on wants and without thoughts on the constraints and it might be time to think about things that might be more attainable.
Alderman Prill asked if the committee was following the board’s progress on the proposed bonds and someone said they were. He also asked if they were familiar with the Choice Neighborhoods grant.
Director of Development Services Jessica Rhue told the committee that the Housing Authority is updating their master plan to submit for a federal grant called the Choice Neighborhoods initiative, and they’re looking at revamping four different sections of New Bern. She said the focus would primarily be to rebuild housing for units that were flooded at Trent Court.
She said assuming that the Board of Aldermen say yes to moving forward with us, the city would be the applicant for the grant proposal, and the Housing Authority would be a co-applicant. She said if the city is successful, they could be looking at a potential grant of $40 million plus or minus. She noted the plan called for building about 470 mixed-income units as well as incorporating improvements to utilities, roadways and sidewalks in four areas in the city of New Bern. She noted one of the areas included the site of the former Days Inn.
Editor’s note: It looks like the redevelopment plan calls for transitioning ownership and/or management of public housing from government entities to private corporations.
The city and the Housing Authority have agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding for the New Bern to co-apply for a $24 million Choice Neighborhoods implementation grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to a draft commitment letter provided by the city, New Bern agrees to a financial commitment totaling $20,279,864.
Six months later, City Manager Foster Hughes told the newly elected board and mayor that he recommended that it be disbanded. Director Rhue said the committee had ranked several projects and had fulfilled what the board wanted them to do.
Alderman White asked if they could fund the projects with the bond money.
The city manager said, “We talked about specific projects on that. If the board wants to change what those projects are, that’s within the board’s purview. But if you’re wanting to change some of those, we need to know like pretty quick because we’re biting the bullet on a lot of projects right now.”
White asked if they could look at the projects side by side.
Public Works Director George Chiles told the board they could incorporate some of the work — like stormwater along Oaks Road — if they can pipe certain sections that give them right of way for a sidewalk. He said, “it might not be a full runout plan,” but it was their way of working their way towards Martin Marietta with their ultimate goal of “a walkway from Lawson Creek trail to the Riverfront to Mark Marietta. He said they “have incorporated some of that into the projects we’ve put up for the bond.”
Ferguson said, “I think we’re all in agreement that we can disband this, but with some at maybe the February meeting, a formal recognition thanking them or maybe a letter from the mayor thanking them for their service on it.”
City manager’s report
The Public Works director reported that after a discussion of outsourcing loose leaf and limb collection they issued an RFP for services of bulk waste, leaf and loose-leaf collection of brown and white goods and received proposals. He determined that it wouldn’t be cost effective to outsource the services.
Foster Hughes asked the board if three members wanted to attend an upcoming strategic planning workshop presented by the NC League of Municipalities. Aldermen Ferguson, White and Bryant said they were interested.
He said the NC Mainstreet Conference will be held in March. He also said the NC League of City Clerks announced City Clerk Brenda Blanco advanced to the role as the First Vice President for 2026-2027.
New Business
Trey Ferguson said he wanted to put item #17 (“Consider Adopting a Resolution Prohibiting Parking in the Parcel Connecting Craven and Middle Streets”) on the February agenda.
Bobby Aster asked for a copy of the list of Historic Preservation Commission members and their term limits.
Barbara Best thanked whoever for getting the new chairs and congratulated the city clerk.
Dana Outlaw talked about oversized culverts and loud truck mufflers.
Jeffrey Odham said they were going to implement changes to Petition of Citizens in April that were discussed during the retreat.
Backstory: During the retreat, the mayor told the aldermen that their rules of procedure allow him to move the requests and petition of citizens to a later time on the agenda, and he was hoping the aldermen would consider it.
The rules state, “If at the beginning of the public comment period, the mayor determines that the time required to hear all speakers on the sign-up sheet would unduly disrupt the conduct of city business or cause undue inconvenience to citizens in attendance for other items on the agenda, the mayor may require the designation of spokesman, or the selection of delegates, for groups of persons supporting or opposing the same positions, whose time shall be limited to a maximum of 4 minutes. The mayor may also move the period for public comment to sometime later in the meeting…. Notwithstanding the mayor’s prerogatives under this Rule 5, any decision of the mayor may be appealed and overruled by a majority of the board.”
The aldermen talked about changing the meeting format to only allow the public to speak about something that pertains to the meeting agenda at the beginning of the meeting. If people want to talk about something that’s not on the agenda, they will have to wait until the end of the meeting. After a lengthy discussion, City Attorney Davis said they will draft something and put it on the February meeting agenda to be effective in April. The board did not vote on any item related to the meeting format during the Feb. 10 regular meeting.
This comes after the city changed the Board of Aldermen regular meeting schedule from twice a month to once a month, as reported here.
By Wendy Card, editor. Send an email with questions or comments.