Committee of the Whole of City Council November 9 2026

The City of Winston-Salem Committee of the Whole met on November 9, 2026. The council approved a resolution to provide $100,000 toward reopening day and evening shelter services at the Bethesda Center through April, with Family Services managing funds and day-to-day operations during a six-month interim period. Council also approved modifying the city’s existing $2 million assistance agreement for the 1001/1007 South Marshall Street redevelopment—$1 million allocated to each phase, with no additional city funding requested and revised completion deadlines. The project’s stated total development cost is approximately $47 million, excluding a hotel still in early planning. Separately, council approved forgiving a $500,000 loan to the Forsyth County Development Corporation after the adjacent industrial site met the agreement’s investment and job-creation conditions; escrowed repayment funds are expected to support Union Cross Business Park sidewalks and other economic development projects.

Council approved pursuing funding for a comprehensive study of downtown transit-center operations and future facility needs, with an estimated study cost of about $300,000 and an 80/20 funding arrangement involving the regional TPO and Greater Winston-Salem Inc. The study would assess possible modernization or relocation, operating impacts, public engagement, and funding options; it does not authorize relocation. Staff also reported more than $30 million in general-government capital-project spending during FY2025–26 and more than $8 million for recreation and public-assembly facility maintenance and expansion. The council advanced a UDO amendment for a December 7 public hearing to remove minimum off-street parking requirements as required by state House Bill 162, while retaining other parking design and accessibility rules. The consent agenda was approved unanimously; information items were deferred to December 15 committee meetings.