The New Bern Board of Aldermen and mayor ranked their preferences for ten potential projects via an electronic survey.
On February 12, 2026, we reported that the City Manager Foster Hughes said during the Jan. 7 retreat, that the Board of Aldermen and mayor had completed (electronic) surveys to identify their goals and strategies. He said “we” have been working on a concept for the last year to use Municipal Service District funds to build about seven specialty shops at the corner of Hancock and South Front streets in New Bern, NC. We also reported one of Mayor Jeffrey Odham’s survey responses was “Incubator chalets on the old railroad lot.”
We asked the city in February if the board had discussed the project during their groups of three meetings and Public Information Officer Colleen Roberts said the governing board completed a follow up survey after the retreat in mid-January, and the small shops project had scored very high.
We asked for copies of the survey and responses and received them on Feb. 13.
The combined survey score based on input from the six aldermen show
-“New Fire Station (West New Bern)” ranked #1.
-“The development of a stand-alone, long-term strategic plan” ranked #2.
-Specialty shops across from the New Bern Farmers Market ranked #3.
-Riverwalk Expansion from Union Point Park to Persimmons ranked #4.
-“Youth Leadership New Bern Program” ranked #5.
-Evergreen Cemetery upgrades ranked #6.
-Greenways using indigenous plants ranked #7.
-Equipment sharing with area cities ranked #8.
-Kafer Park restroom addition ranked #9.
-Elizabeth Avenue safety issues ranked #10.
The combined survey score based on input from the six aldermen plus the mayor’s input shows
-A tie between the specialty shops project and the new fire station for the top ranked item.
-The development of a long-term strategic plan ranked #3.
-The Riverwalk expansion ranked #4.
-The Youth Leadership New Bern Program ranked #5.
-A Kafer Park restroom addition ranked #6
-Evergreen Cemetery upgrades ranked #7.
-A tie between greenways using indigenous plants and equipment sharing with area cities was ranked #8.
-Elizabeth Avenue safety issues ranked #10.
Who voted for what?
Related news
The Board of Aldermen will meet on March 10, 2026 at 6 p.m. in the second-floor courtroom at City Hall, 300 Pollock St. in New Bern, NC.
Meeting agendas, packets and minutes can be found here. Most meeting videos are available City 3 TV, the city’s Facebook page and the city’s YouTube channel.
By Wendy Card, editor. Send an email with questions or comments.