Council debates use of one‑time money for transit benches, crosswalks and festival support

Councilors spent time arguing how to spend a set of one‑time funds: options included non‑FTA transit benches and trash cans, bus shelters, pedestrian crosswalks near the new Cape Fear Regional Theater and a partial allocation for the 9/10 festival.

Staff described the transit one‑time line as $50,000 for benches and trash cans and noted an additional $250,000 council had discussed moving back into transit from another line. Council Member Green (Speaker 8) asked that the council consider replacing festival funding with transit or mental‑health resources and proposed pulling $200,000 for the 9/10 festival for next year based on the festival’s stated need of $350,000. "They said they needed $350,000 and we're offering $200,000," Speaker 8 said in debate over timing and prioritization.

Assistant City Manager (Speaker 6) cautioned that one‑time funding should not be used to create ongoing commitments. "Anytime you create an ongoing commitment with 1 time money, you create a structural imbalance," he said, explaining that hiring or recurring service obligations funded by one‑time dollars would need a sustainable ongoing revenue source going forward.

Separately, councilors urged staff to ensure crosswalk and pedestrian safety investments match Department of Transportation improvements near the theater and questioned how quickly public‑services projects (like crosswalk installs) could be prioritized and deployed. Staff said some high‑visibility crosswalk installations could be completed this fall and that additional requests should be sent to public services for prioritization.