OFFICIAL MINUTES JOINT MEETING OF THE GREENVILLE CITY COUNCIL AND THE PITT COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2017 Having been properly advertised, a joint session of the Greenville City Council (City) and the Pitt County Board of Commissioners (County) was held on, at 5:30 p.m. in Meeting Room A at Sheppard Memorial Library, located at 530 Evans Street in Greenville. Chairman McLawhorn called the meeting to order for the County and ascertained that a quorum was present. He then congratulated newly appointed Mayor, Kandie Smith, newly appointed City Manager, Ann E. Wall and newly appointed District 1 Council Member, Shawan M. Barr. Mayor Smith called the meeting to order for the City and ascertained that a quorum was present. Vice-Chair Owens gave the invocation, followed Mayor Pro-Tem Glover, who led the Pledge of Allegiance. Those present from the City Council: Mayor Kandie D. Smith, Mayor Pro-Tem Rose H. Glover and Council Members Shawan M. Barr, McLean Godley, Rick Smiley, PJ Connelly and Calvin Mercer Also present from the City of Greenville: City Manager Ann E. Wall, City Attorney David A. Holec and City Clerk Carol L. Barwick Those present from the Pitt County Board of Commissioners: Chair Melvin McLawhorn, Vice-Chair Mark W. Owens, Jr. and Commissioners Tom Coulson, Jimmy Garris, Ann Floyd Huggins, Beth B. Ward and Glenn Webb Also present from Pitt County: County Manager Scott Elliott, County Attorney Janis Gallagher and Clerk to the Board Kimberly Hines Those absent: Pitt County Commissioners Charles Farley and Mary Perkins-Williams. There were no absences from the City. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Upon motion by Council Member Mercer and seconded by Mayor Pro-Tem Glover, the Greenville City Council unanimously approved the agenda.
Page 2 of 16 Upon motion by Commissioner Ward and seconded by Commissioner Webb, the Pitt County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the agenda. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD Mayor Smith opened the public comment period at 5:36 p.m. and explained the procedures to be followed by anyone who wished to speak. There being no one present who wished to speak, Mayor Smith closed the public comment period at 5:37 p.m. NEW BUSINESS RETAIL STRATEGIES UPDATE Economic Development Manager Roger Johnson & Senior Economic Developer Christian Lockamy discussed the following Power Point presentation:
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Page 7 of 16 Economic Development Manager Johnson stated in December that the City and County, in partnership with Uptown Greenville and with a grant from ElectriCities, entered into a three-year contract with Alabama-based Retail Strategies to undertake a study of the community's retail market and a recruitment strategy which will focus on bringing more retail business to areas north of the Tar River, uptown Greenville and Pitt County as a whole. He stated the consultants will also recruit businesses and developers to the community. He stated Retail Strategies wrapped up its initial study in June. Senior Economic Developer Lockamy stated the company recommends focusing on health and wellness companies, with an emphasis on building a pharmacy in northern Pitt County. He stated there also is a need for specialty grocery stores such as Trader Joe s and restaurants. He said recommending the recruitment of more restaurants may be surprising, but as retail stores decline, the restaurant industry is growing at a rate of 40 percent. He stated the consultants study found that on a monthly basis, 692,383 people shop in Greenville and Pitt County, coming from as far east at Edenton and as far west from Interstate 95. The median household income of these shoppers is $40,474 annually. He stated on a weekly basis, 236,884 people shop locally and are mainly from Pitt and the counties immediately east of it. The median household income of this group is $42,120. However, Greenville loses approximately $25 million annually to people shopping in Raleigh and Charlotte. That s because Greenville lacks specialty stores, lawn and garden retailers and furniture retailers. He stated bringing in more retail business will benefit Greenville and Pitt County. A chain restaurant typically has a tax value of $1 million, bringing in $12,000 in combined city and county property tax revenue and $56,250 in sales tax. A big box retailer with a tax value of $5 million would generate $60 million in combined property tax and more than $146,000 in sales tax. He stated Retail Strategies already has contacted 65 retailers and project developers. That work will continue along with developing marketing materials pinpointing specific businesses. Mr. Johnson said there has already been interest expressed in opening a pharmacy north of the river, although he couldn't release details. Mayor Smith asked if the airport s developable land is identified as a development area. Mr. Lockamy said no, but would ask for its inclusion. Chairman McLawhorn spoke in regard to the numbers of students (East Carolina University and Pitt Community College) that contribute to the overall population. Mr. Lockamy stated there are approximately 30,000 students that contribute to the population. Mr. Johnson stated there are certain retailers that target students. Commissioner Garris asked why Walmart never opened at a location off US Hwy 11 at U.S. 264 Bypass near Belvoir Highway. Mr. Johnson said he did not have a formal written response from Wal-Mart about the reason. Mr. Lockamy said city staff was verbally told the project was shelved because construction costs were too high but they have heard the project could go back out to bid in 2019.
Page 8 of 16 Mayor Smith asked how aggressive the consultants are being with trying to bring Walmart North of the river. Mr. Lockamy stated Walmart is one of the hardest retailers to connect with but they continue to make contact with them. Commissioner Ward asked if the Walmart will be a super Walmart or a neighborhood Walmart. Mr. Lockamy stated it will be a Super Walmart. ANIMAL SERVICES UPDATE Animal Services Director Michele Whaley discussed the following Power Point presentation:
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Page 15 of 16 Commissioner Coulson stated he asked that this be a subject matter to bring before the City because he made a proposal that the City and County join services. He stated under the existing system, Pitt County government provides animal control services in the unincorporated areas of the county. He stated several small municipalities also work with the county to provide services. Greenville and other municipalities house some stray animals in the county shelter when there is room, and often rely on shelter staff to euthanize animals. He stated several month back, the city and county discussed unification of animal services to resolve difficulties in managing the number of animals being brought into the shelter. He said that if county government took over animal control operations, not only in Greenville but in all Pitt County municipalities, it would justify a possible tax increase to expand the existing shelter. He stated there needs to be a better system in place for the residents. Council Member Smiley asked city staff how far the conversation had progressed. Commissioner Coulson stated Mr. Elliott and Mrs. Whaley provided a presentation to the Council, but the discussions ended quickly. Mr. Elliott said there were concerns that the county wouldn t provide the same level of service the city did (i.e. picking up dead animals). Mayor Smith said she believes there was concern that the city would see its level of animal control services decrease while being asked to pay an animal services fee. City Manager Ann E. Wall said that since she didn t know the background, she wanted to research the proposal s history and talk with the county manager. Mayor Smith said the County and City have a history of jointly operating the Sheppard Memorial Library and the Pitt-Greenville Airport, so it was worth having a discussion about animal control services. She also expressed her displeasure with the Board of Commissioners supporting a resolution asking that airport runways and taxiways be exempted from property billed for stormwater fees. Upon motion by Council Member Mercer and second by Council Member Smiley, the City Council voted unanimously to direct staff to renew discussion with the County about Animal Services issues, investigate further and report back. Upon motion by Vice-Chair Owens and second by Commissioner Coulson, the Pitt County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to direct staff to renew discussion with the City about Animal Services issues, investigate further and report back. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, motion was made by Council Member Smiley and seconded by Council Member Mercer to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously, and Mayor Smith declared the meeting adjourned for the City at 6:30 p.m.
Page 16 of 16 There being no further business, motion was made by Vice Chair Owens and seconded by Commissioner Floyd Huggins to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously, and Chairman McLawhorn declared the meeting adjourned for the County at 6:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Carol L. Barwick, CMC City Clerk