Wayne Week — Oct. 20, 2024 by Wayne Week

WEEK Wayne The Price Ne glect of

Thanks to Councilwoman Jamie Taylor, a minimum housing officer salary was included in the city's tight 2024-25 budget, but the cost associated with cleaning up the blight in Goldsboro is, she and others say, worth it.

BY KEN FINE / P 14

OCTOBER 20, 202 4 Volume 2, Issue 9 NEWOLDNORTH.COM

EDITORIAL

EDITOR Ken Fine

EDITOR Renee Carey

DESIGN DIRECTOR Shan Stumpf

PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR Casey Mozingo

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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Hallie Hulse Evans

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE McKayla Alves

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Lara Landers

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WAYNE WEEK (ISSN 2993-9666) is published weekly for $125 per year by New Old North Media, LLC, 219 N. John Street, Goldsboro, NC, 27530. Periodicals postage pending at Goldsboro, NC, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to WAYNE WEEK, 219 N. John Street, Goldsboro, NC 27530.

4 Union Station effort needs jolt

A year ago, a group of citizens launched an effort to raise $750,000 to pay for half of the stabilization of Goldsboro Union Station. In short order, the City Council and Wayne County Commissioners agreed to match the sum to save the landmark and pave the way for the potential return of passenger rail service through Eastern North Carolina. But to date, the Saving Union Station group has raised only a fraction of what is needed to trigger the matching funds — and time is running out.

8 School Board to hold retreat

Last fall, members of the Wayne County Board of Education traveled to Ocracoke to hold a two-day planning retreat that resulted in facilities and leadership changes across the school district. Soon, the board will cross county lines again to discuss issues facing Wayne County Public Schools.

10 Our take

In our view, ensuring historic Union Station is stabilized should be a top priority for those who want to see progress in Wayne Coutny. But to make it happen, we cannot rely on the government to foot the bill.

14 Cover story

When he was a City Council member, Taj Polack bemoaned the fact that, in his view, Goldsboro was not being aggressive enough about getting rid of dilapidated houses that peppered his district — and others. But now, as the city's new minimum housing officer, he understands the challenges that come with ridding the community of blight.

20 Spectator

The Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. held its annual awards banquet at The HUB Oct. 11 — an event that brought hundreds of community leaders, business owners, and downtown enthusiasts to the city's core to celebrate all that was

COVER DESIGN BY SHAN STUMPF

NEWS + VIEWS

Station advocates look to regain momentum

It has been nearly a year since a $750,000 fundraiser was launched with a goal of stabilizing Goldsboro Union Station. To date, less than $10,000 has been donated.

BY KEN FINE

The clock has been ticking since Goldsboro leaders received an appraisal report that valued a morethan-100-year-old city landmark at negative $791,100 — a document that revealed “detrimental conditions within the property,” that would result, should they not be addressed, in a piece of Eastern North Carolina history literally ceasing to exist.

It did not stop when a group of private citizens rallied to pressure city and county elected officials to commit $750,000 toward the stabilization of Goldsboro Union Station last fall.

It was still barreling toward a wouldbe point of no return when Sen. Thom Tillis announced millions of dollars in grant funding for “transformational” rail improvements across the state or when, in April, a report published by the North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division suggested passenger rail service from Raleigh to Wilmington should run through Goldsboro rather than Fayetteville.

And today, the countdown continues.

Experts believe there might only be a year remaining before the once-bustling Carolina Street transportation hub is beyond repair.

And while city and county leaders agreed to match the $750,000 pledged late last year by the Saving Union Station group, less than $10,000 has been raised by the community since.

Doug McGrath, one of the most vocal members of the SUS effort, said that somewhere along the way, the push to fund stabilization of the landmark lost momentum.

But one thing, he added, has not changed.

“The building is critical,” he said. “Establishing rail service through Wayne County is critical.”

So, as 2024 nears its end, he sees an opportunity to “re-engage” the community — and to implore those who, at this time of year, typically look for ways to lower their tax bills, to consider investing in their community’s future.

“People can dig in between now and the end of the year — whether it’s individuals

Continued on page 6

UNION STATION TIMELINE

1906 - Construction of Union Station begins.

1909 - Union Station is opened to the public.

1914 - Goldsboro wins a U.S. Supreme Court decision that enables the city to enforce its rights in the regulation of trains, shifting the rail line from Center Street.

1968 - Passenger rail service ends. Union Station is decommissioned.

1972 - Arthur Perry buys Union Station and its property.

1977 - Union Station is placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

1999 - N.C. Department of Transportation conducts Eastern Rail Passenger Study (ERPS) to explore options for passenger rail service connecting Raleigh to Wilmington.

2005 - ERPS is redone, resulting in support for a Goldsboro route.

2007 - NCDOT acquires Union Station.

- NCDOT utilizes grant money to conduct an environmental study, a conditions assessment, and initial stabilization work at the station.

2009 - NCDOT conveys Union Station and its property to Goldsboro.

2023 - Eastern Carolina Rail announces renewed interest in developing a passenger rail line that would connect Raleigh to Wilmington.

- NCDOT Passenger Rail employees visit Union Station.

- Federal Rail Division announces $36 billion in funding to study North Carolina’s preferred passenger rail routes.

- Appraisal places current value of Union Station at roughly negative $800,000.

- Saving Union Station, a local advocacy group, forms to support saving the station from being lost.

- Members of the Goldsboro City Council and Wayne County Board of Commissioners agree to pay $750,000 to stabilize the station if the community raises the other $750,000.

- North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis announces funding for rail study. Raleigh-to-Wilmington route, which would pass through Wayne County, gets $500,000.

2024 - A report published by the NCDOT Rail Division identifies Goldsboro, not Fayetteville, as the preferred passenger rail link from Raleigh to Wilmington.

Delivery delay expected for Oct. 27, 2024 edition

In the past, on the incredibly rare occasion when an act of God has forced us to suspend delivery of an edition of Wayne Week , we have sent an email to you — our subscribers — that included a link to our digital edition and an explanation of what happened and when you would receive your hard copy.

If things change, we will, as always, keep you in the loop.

Suffice it to say, the aftermath of Hurricane Helene is being felt in much of our state and has, in many ways, come home to Wayne County.

Continued from page 4

with $100 or $1,000 or deeper pockets with $5,000 or $10,000 or $50,000. It absolutely makes sense to invest in our local community with something that would be a tax-reducing event for them rather than send that money to the (federal government),” McGrath said. “We need to redouble our efforts to put Union Station into focus again. And this is the time of year where people, they need some tax write-offs. What better way to do that than to support something that will have an impact on this community for generations to come?”

• • •

Union Station has been standing since 1909 — three years after a decision was made to pay $72,024 to construct it.

And while today, that price tag sounds low, Former Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. Executive Director Julie Metz said more than 100 years ago, it represented a significant investment.

“It sounds ridiculous now because it only cost $72,0244 to construct … but that was a lot of money at the time and the whole town shut down the day it was opened to the public to celebrate its potential impact,” Metz told Wayne Week last year. “Goldsboro was built on this station and the intersection of the three major railways that traversed through here — one of them being the longest rail corridor in the United States at the time at 161 miles. So, we were built because of this building and our forefathers had great ambitions for the citizens of Goldsboro and our community.”

It served Wayne County for more than six decades — providing, among other things, “opportunities.”

“(People) traversed through this station to get to opportunities — whatever they might have been,” Metz said. “Those same opportunities would, in many ways, still be in front of us if we save Union Station.”

But as the routine of life stunted the momentum of the SUS initiative after the City Council and Board of Commissioners rallied behind it, those working to save the landmark know their race against the clock has become more daunting.

The price tag to stabilize the facility hasn’t changed.

And now, the time to raise it has been cut in half.

But Metz remains just as confident today as she was nearly a year ago to the day when she implored the community to become a part of the Saving Union Station movement.

“If there was ever a building to save, it is Union Station, but it needs some love from the community to bring it back now so we can protect its future and demonstrate to our state and federal partners that we are serious about getting passenger rail restored to Wayne County,” she said Tuesday. “We need your help.”

McGrath agrees.

And he wants his neighbors to understand that “the planets aligning” to ensure something of the magnitude of millions of dollars being spent by the government to be a part of this story, “just doesn’t happen.”

“This opportunity is not going to be there in four or five years if we don’t (stabilize Union Station) now,” he said. “We need it to happen. It’s important. It’s important for us economically. It’s important for us to grow Wayne County. It would be important for the base. So, it really is time for people to make that investment in our future. If not now, when?”n

But sometimes, those who are not entirely comfortable using a computer have missed out on that note.

So, knowing that, we are going to try something a little different.

Given circumstances out of our control, we anticipate a disruption in delivery of the Oct. 27 edition of the paper.

And while we have been assured that we will, ultimately, be able to get the product to you, it is unclear when the publication will make its way across Wayne, Johnston, Duplin, and Lenoir counties.

Having this knowledge a week early is beneficial in that it allows us to plan accordingly — and ensure we included notice in this week’s edition so every single one of you would be aware.

The good news?

Everybody will still have access to that edition in time to give it a read on Sunday the 27th, should you decide to flip through the digital link we will provide to every subscriber by Saturday evening.

That way, we get to keep our promise that you will always have your paper by its publication date, and you will have the option to enjoy it.

But we wanted you to know that there is a chance home deliveries will not unfold until early the following week — most likely Monday the 28th and Tuesday the 29th.

And from a delay in receiving our recently completed Travel & Tourism magazine — you will soon have the chance to see that incredible project — to continued uncertainty about our timetable for production of our annual Best of the Boot publication, our company has not come out unscathed.

So, we appreciate your understanding and your patience as we navigate the downstream effects of what has been an unprecedented, widespread disaster.

And we know you will join us in prayer for those who are experiencing far worse than a production delay that, fortunately, we can offset with a digital edition while we wait to deliver our print editions.

Please know how much you are valued by our team and how fortunate we feel to be your newspaper of choice.

Keeping you informed — and giving it to you straight — is how we will, in our small way, repay you for your confidence in our mission.

With that, we hope you enjoy this week’s paper and we will have your Oct. 27 digital edition in your inboxes Oct. 26, with hard copies to follow as soon as we have them in hand.

And note that while we do not anticipate this happening again, we stand ready and willing to roll with the punches should they come.

Have a great week and should you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us at 919-648-9905 or via one of the email addresses located on our masthead.

- Ken and Renee

The interior of Union Station waits to be restored to it former glory. PHOTO BY KEN FINE

School Board heading to Greenville for “retreat”

Last year, several items discussed during the two-day, out-of-town meeting were acted on in the months that followed.

BY RENEE CAREY

Last fall, members of the Wayne County Board of Education traveled to Ocracoke Island and discussed a variety of issues during their “retreat” — everything from “leadership” at certain schools to how to ensure the district they serve was utilizing its existing facilities to the best of its ability.

And the several-day meeting proved consequential, as in the months that followed, Superintendent Dr. Marc Whichard acted on those line items — announcing the relocation of Goldsboro High School, Wayne School of Engineering, Edgewood Community Developmental School, and Wayne Academy and the resignations of several WCPS principals.

But this year, after taking criticism for holding what was billed as a “public” event several hours — and a ferry ride — away in 2023, the board is holding its retreat closer to home at the end of the month.

So, while board members will, unlike their counterparts on the Goldsboro City Council and Wayne County Board of Commissioners, still hold the meeting out of town — in Greenville at East Carolina University — the retreat will be more accessible to whomever in the public wants to see what Whichard’s plans and priorities might be for the coming year.

Complications associated with traveling to Ocracoke last fall did not stop Wayne Week from providing coverage of the School Board’s retreat.

In fact, thanks to freelance journalist Kelley Shinn, much was learned last August about how Whichard intended to approach his role.

She recorded, among other things, the board’s discussion on “facility utilization” — during which the superintendent said the reason the topic was so significant was that addressing steps to properly utilize the space WCPS currently had would take, out of the Wayne County Board of Commissioners’ “arsenal,” the argument that the school district shouldn’t ask for more funding for facilities until it maximizes use of what it already has.

“Don’t give me anymore, ‘We’re not using what we’ve got,’” Whichard said. “Here’s how we’re righting the ship.”

From potentially relocating Wayne School of Engineering and Goldsboro High School to entertaining the notion of bus -

WCPS RETREAT SCHEDULE

The following is the schedule, as provided by WCPS spokesman Ken Derksen. Despite a request from Wayne Week, no budget for the two-day session was provided by the district as of press time.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 28 (ECU STUDENT CENTER)

9:30 a.m. Presentation by East Carolina University College of Education

10:30 a.m. Board Member In-Service Training by Schwartz Law

11:30 a.m. Fund Balance Presentation

12:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30 p.m. Local Supplement Funding Presentation

2:30 p.m. Surplus Property Presentation

3:30 p.m. District Strategic Plan Presentation

4:30 p.m. Closing remarks by Superintendent and Board Members

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29 (ECU STUDENT CENTER)

9:30 a.m. Presentation by East Carolina University College of Education

10:30 a.m. Strategic Staffing Solutions Presentation

11:30 a.m. Population Trends and Schools Assignment Presentation

12:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30 p.m. Public School Forum Presentation on Local Funding

3 p.m. Closing remarks by Superintendent and Board Members

sing Central Attendance District students to the new Fremont Elementary School, Whichard vowed that everything would be on the table — and that a formal facilities

plan would be ready by Spring 2024. “This is going to require a lot of, in some cases, soul searching in what we want to do and how we want to do it,” Whichard

said. “We have a lot of property that can be better utilized. All it takes is a drawing board in terms of how we make those adjustments.”

And when it came to WSE, he argued that the school had the potential to lure nonpublic-school students — and the federal and state money that comes with them — back to WCPS, should the district find the school a building with more space.

“(Principal Gary Hales could) double his program at Wayne School of Engineering if he were in a larger facility. I know that the students that he would bring into that school would not largely come from Wayne County Public Schools. They would come from the charters. They would come from the Christian (schools). They would come from the homeschools. You name it,” Whichard said. “So, that would be a way for us to bring students back to Wayne County Public Schools. One potential solve for Wayne School of Engineering is to move Gary to that location — to the Wayne Academy location.”

In February, the superintendent, and the board, delivered.

WSE would move to a bigger facility and GHS would move into the Titans’ former home.

Edgewood would be shuttered and relocated to the Eastern Wayne High School campus, as would Wayne Academy.

And additional moves, including closing the mobile unit used by the School Nutrition Department as well the School Street campus — and ending WCPS’ lease with AP Exhaust for the building currently being used by the district’s Exceptional Children’s Department and Print Shop — would help realize a $750,000 in savings in operational costs annually.

It is unclear what plans Whichard intends on unveiling at this year’s retreat, but it is worth noting that local supplement funding is on the agenda — an issue that the superintendent has told both the community and commissioners is a critical one, should WCPS have any hopes of being competitive as it pursues the best possible teachers and of continuing to brings schools off the state’s “low-performing” list.

Wayne Week staff will be in attendance at this year's retreat and coverage will appear in the Nov. 3 edition. n

If you have been with Wayne Week since the beginning — or signed up within our first few weeks — you are nearing the end of your 1-year subscription period.

Let’s get back on the tracks

After the events of the last couple of weeks, there are lessons to be learned.

The first: This is one strong, resilient, and determined state.

The second: North Carolinians take care of their own.

We have all watched as volunteers — including many from Wayne County and Goldsboro — have flocked to the mountains to rescue, to rebuild, and to comfort those who have lost so much.

They did not know where they would sleep — and they certainly weren’t getting paid — but they answered the call.

There wasn’t anyone sitting around waiting for a government savior.

There was work to be done, so everyday people got busy.

Roads were cleared and bridges stabilized.

Victims who had been isolated and alone without any means of communicating their need for help finally saw a friendly face.

And then there were the churches, neigh-

bors, and families who got the lists and assembled care packages — thousands of dollars in items that hurricane victims would need to rebuild and to restart.

We were there for our neighbors, and we will continue to be there.

And we will pray for those who were lost and the families who are now struggling to go on without them.

Compassion wasn’t something any of you thought about after Helene devastated North Carolina —not even for a minute.

You simply behaved the way you were raised to operate.

And that made us think a bit — about our town.

We have to do the same thing here.

If we want to have a better community, we have to do the work.

It starts by putting good people into positions of authority — accountable and qualified candidates who understand what serving Wayne County requires.

And when we find ourselves with a bad apple — someone whose main purpose in hold-

ing public office or a public job seems to be self-enrichment — we need to get rid of them.

But we have other responsibilities, too.

We have to step up when we are needed here at home.

If there are community members who need us, we have to give of our time and our own resources to help them get through the rough patch.

And no, that doesn’t mean we get taken advantage of by those who are more interested in freebies than pulling themselves up by their bootstraps.

It means we offer a hand up, not an unlimited supply of hand-outs.

That is how you bring everyone along without bankrupting your residents or wearing out their goodwill.

There is more, of course.

We have talked a lot about how we are setting the stage for this community’s future.

And we are well aware that there is a lot to get done.

But our faith in our neighbors’ ability to meet those challenges comes from the fact

that when the chips are down, Wayne County has always stepped up.

We have set new standards, cleaned house — although we still have some work to do there — and charted a new course.

And there are a few visionaries who have stepped up to lead the way — and who have given of themselves and their companies without even a little fanfare.

They don’t talk about the money they spend. That’s not why they do what they do.

It is about community.

In this week’s News + Views section, you will read about a story we started telling almost exactly one year ago.

And after the first few lines, you might, if you’re anything like us, find yourself shocked and/or saddened.

After a warp-speed effort to gain commitments from the city and county governments to help a group of private citizens build momentum for a potential future that included passenger rail service in Wayne County, less than $10,000 of the $750,000 needed to stabilize one of Eastern North Carolina’s most sacred landmarks has been raised in the many months since the fundraiser was launched.

But in order to help you understand why that is such a blow, let’s rewind.

Late last year, a group of local residents stepped up for Wayne County.

Big time.

They had learned that Goldsboro Union Station was quite literally deteriorating — that if drastic stabilization measures weren’t taken soon, the structure would be lost forever.

But they didn’t jump to action to save an old train depot or preserve a community landmark.

Not entirely.

You see, they understood that while downtown Goldsboro is now a shining example of what development can accomplish, the station remains an abandoned eyesore — and a hinderance to development in an area that has so much potential.

So, this group of local philanthropists issued its community a challenge: Raise $750,000 and force the City Council and County Commissioners to deliver on their promise of matching funds and you can save a piece of history and put a down payment on the future of Wayne County.

They knew the state was looking for spots for high-speed rail.

They knew that Goldsboro was one of those dots on the map — and has, in the

Continued from page 10 months since they made their pitch, even made the state’s short list.

And they also knew that a federal windfall to make all of that a reality does not come along every day — that the potential for the community, both in residential and business investment around a reborn Union Station, was obvious and too good to pass up.

But then the economy got a little tighter and the city had bigger fish to fry.

It is tough to think about the bigger picture when gun violence, homeless encampments, the future of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and some leadership drama were distracting the city’s new council members and the people they serve.

But here’s the thing.

We don’t need the government to get this done. Now is the time to do for ourselves what we have been doing for our neighbors in Western North Carolina.

We — the everyday folks — need to get the job done.

Here’s why:

Union Station is not just a building that provided a scene for a whole lot of memories — although, we have to say, many of you have shared some wonderful stories about childhood days spent there.

It is a linchpin to the next steps for Wayne County — the chance to connect via high-

speed rail to all sorts of residential and business development.

Raleigh is full — and getting fuller.

Being able to offer new residents a chance to live outside the hubbub and high prices of the state capital while giving them a convenient way to get around the state, well, that is one heck of a marketing pitch.

And consider this, too.

We have members of this community who have never gotten the chance to see our state — and North Carolinians who have not had the pleasure of seeing for themselves what a great place Wayne County is.

So, by saving Union Station, we can give our young people a chance to dream, and allow a few new neighbors the opportunity to come sit for a spell.

They just might find out that they have found their new “hometown.”

All of those things would help us move this place we love forward.

But the truth is, we always underestimate what we can do as a community.

It is what happens when you are humble, kind, compassionate, and simple — in a good way — people.

We are too busy raising our families and taking care of our friends and neighbors to get involved in the drama and big-ticket planning that goes on elsewhere.

Yet, we remain the best kind of community.

We know what it means to do the work — to walk the walk.

We know what can be accomplished when everyone puts their shoulders to the plow.

We are there for others — always.

But maybe, just maybe, it is time for us to harness a little more of that can-do spirit for ourselves.

We can get Union Station to the point where it can be saved, and we can create another gem for Wayne County.

We can dream bigger — and take advantage of the opportunities that are waiting just around the corner.

We can do anything we set our minds to.

And here’s the secret: It really won’t take all that much personal sacrifice.

By foregoing one Starbucks next week and dropping that $5 off at the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. office on Center Street, you could make a bigger difference than you know.

Imagine what would happen if every Wayne County citizen chipped in a few dollars. We would have the money to stabilize Union Station by Thanksgiving.

So, we have said it before, but it never gets old.

This little slice of Eastern North Carolina has so much to offer.

All that is stopping us from going bigger is

getting through that first hurdle.

So, let’s see if we can clear it.

In our view, saving Union Station should be our next challenge.

We should not sit around and wait to see who is going to ride in on their white horse to save us and cut us that $750,000 check.

Our parents taught us better.

We can do the work, raise the money, and chart our own course.

And we have no doubt this community will get the job done, because it’s what we do.

It’s what we’ve always done.

But the clock is ticking.

So, we encourage you to make a donation — however big or small — in honor or in memory of someone who taught you to dream big.

And if you’d like, you can send us their names — to letters@newoldnorth.com — and we will find a way to honor them in a future edition of the paper.

For members of our team, it was our parents, grandparents, and even a teacher or two.

We can think of no better way to carry on their legacy than sacrificing a cup of coffee to save a piece of history.

And we can think of nothing more American than meeting a moment to ensure prosperity for future generations.

Our sincere hope is that every person lucky enough to live alongside us agrees.n

The Price Ne glect of

BY KEN FINE / P 14

Editor’s Note: On Wednesday, Oct. 16, Wayne Week Editor Ken Fine took a drive around Goldsboro with the city’s new minimum housing officer — former Mayor Pro Tem Taj Polack — to gain an understanding of how the newly reactivated minimum housing process works and how it differs from the “order to repair” program that had been in place since former city leaders decided to move funding away from what had been, a decade ago, a successful minimum housing program. This story is a reflection of that hour-long conversation.

Taj Polack is no stranger to citizen complaints about deteriorating houses inside Goldsboro’s city limits.

During his tenure as a member of the City Council — and his time as its mayor pro tem — he often engaged other elected officials about the “blight” he saw in his district.

He grew frustrated — on the record during public meetings — about the lack of funding for demolitions and the government’s move from a minimum housing process to the “order to repair” initiative it was replaced with to, as he put it, “shift money around to other places.”

And he bemoaned the fact that his constituents often bombarded him with questions about how the “falling down,” “abandoned” structures located near their properties would impact their quality of life and the value of their homes.

“I must admit, I was ignorant to the process, as a lot of people are,” Polack said Wednesday. “The truth is, you can’t just demolish a house because you want to.”

In his brief stint as Goldsboro’s new minimum housing officer — a position funded, ironically, in the city manager’s 2024-25 fiscal year budget after a push from Polack’s replacement, Councilwoman Jamie Taylor — he has learned other things.

Mainly, the “order to repair” program is not all bad.

But he did not want to simply say so.

Polack wanted to prove it.

“Let’s head down William Street,” he said. “Let me show you what I’m talking about.”

We arrived in “North End” a few minutes later.

“All of this was crack houses,” Polack said, pointing out the window at homes that had new siding and roofs, updated windows, and perfectly manicured lawns. “And look at that house. Looks great. They

were about to tear it down and now, it’s got a new roof and solar panels. Look at those windows, man. Beautiful.”

Progress in what used to be, in Polack’s words, “Crack City.”

“That’s it. This was ‘Crack City.’ See right there? Look at all those bullet holes. They’ve shot that house up. But down there, that’s beautiful. Both of those houses are beautiful. Order to repair did that,” he said. “So, they’re doing good stuff down here. And yes, we could have put them in minimum housing and torn them down, but look at them now. Think about it. It would have been a waste. It would have left a bunch of vacant lots that made this neighborhood look like a desert. How does that help Goldsboro?”

Polack admits his views on blight in the city are notably different these days.

But he also understands that a top concern of councils and residents has been, for decades, the “blight” located just beyond

Goldsboro’s downtown.

“So, yes, order to repair is beneficial,” he said. “But sometimes, we’ve got to tear them down. Let me show you some of the houses I’ve got on the list for demolition.”

Over the next 15 minutes, Polack navigated us to several homes that had been gutted by fires. Those cases, he said, should be a top priority for the city.

“If I see a house that’s burned, I’m putting it straight into minimum housing,” he said. “Burn houses, they are a liability. They need to be torn down ASAP. They are hazards to the community and if we don’t get them torn down quick, they could get someone killed.”

Equally troubling about one particular house is how it burned.

“It was abandoned. Nobody had been living there. Fire Department thinks it was a mattress fire. So, there again, that’s why minimum housing is necessary,” Polack

Continued

Minimum Housing Officer Taj Polack talks about the problem with "burn houses."

PHOTO BY KEN FINE

Vote Billy Strickland for Superior Court Judge

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR RENTAL AGREEMENTS

With every rental agreement come responsibilities for both the occupant and the owner/operator. Here is a breakdown of some of them according to the city of Goldsboro's Minimum Housing Code:

OCCUPANT

• Responsible for maintaining, in a clean and sanitary condition, the part of the place of habitation and premises in which he/she occupies and controls.

• Responsible for keeping the exterior property areas free from any accumulation of rubbish or garbage and using trash receptacles provided by the city of Goldsboro and not maintain or allow a public nuisance.

• Responsible for exercising care in the use of plumbing facilities, water heater, heating facilities, and appliances.

• Responsible for giving owners, agents, and employees access to any part of the place of habitation for the purpose of making repairs or alterations to bring the place of habitation into compliance with this Ordinance or any other lawful order.

• Responsibility of interior extermination of insects, vermin, rodents, or other pests if the owner has satisfied their condition of providing exterior extermination and ensured the place of habitation is reasonably impervious to pest.

OWNER AND/OR OPERATOR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for maintaining, in a clean and sanitary condition, the shared or public spaces of the place of habitation and premises. Shall be maintained and be free from any accumulation of rubbish and garbage and shall ensure that rubbish, garbage and other trash shall be properly kept inside closed and sealed trash receptacles, provided by the city of Goldsboro.

Continued from page 15 said. “We have these abandoned houses that need to be condemned. Those houses are, first of all, uninhabitable. But what happens? They become breeding grounds for things we don’t want in our city — unsanitary types who make them into crack houses, trap houses, and places where the homeless squat. Then, they burn down.”

• Responsible for providing adequate and operable plumbing facilities, as required herein, including an adequate water heater for maintaining such facilities in efficient operating condition.

• Responsible for grading and maintain premises so as to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water thereon, or within any building or structure located thereon.

• Responsible for keeping property and premises free from species of weeds or plant growth which are noxious and detrimental to public health and which are not a public nuisance.

• Responsible for providing adequate and operable heating facilities and appliances, as required herein, and for maintaining them in efficient operating condition.

• Responsible for the extermination of insects, vermin, rodents, or other pests in all exterior areas of the premises. Responsible for ensuring the place of habitation is reasonably impervious to pest.

• Responsible for interior extermination of insects, vermin, rodents, or other pests (multi-family only, when more than 1 unit is infested, infestation of 1 unit places responsibility upon the occupant).

• Responsible for all accessory structures to be maintained structurally sound and in good repair.

• Responsible that the place of habitation remains closed and secured when not occupied.

• Ultimately responsible for violations of this Ordinance irrespective of any agreements made between owner and occupant.

But, when the city’s minimum housing code is enforced, homes that are not repaired are condemned and, when the budget allows, demolished.

“That is a win for the neighborhood. Abandoned houses that are just sitting there, that doesn’t make them harmless,” Polack said. “I guarantee if you walk inside, a lot of them have people in them that shouldn’t be there that, at some point, are gonna do harm. It’s just not safe.”

How, though, does that happen?

Continued on page 19

PREVENTING HAZARDOUS STRUCTURES

Every abandoned structure within the city of Goldsboro is deemed in code violation when it constitutes a hazard to adjacent properties and to the health, safety, or welfare of the city’s citizens as a result of:

• The attraction of insects, rodents, or other health hazards.

• Conditions conducive to creating a fire hazard.

• Dangerous conditions constituting a probable threat to adjacent properties, life, or limb.

• Presence of noticeable structural deterioration or dilapidation.

• Frequent use by persons, not residents, as living quarters in absence of sanitary facilities whether authorized or in trespass.

Here are some other rules for occupied structures:

KITCHEN AND OTHER AREAS

• All plumbing fixtures and waste pipes shall be properly installed and maintained in good sanitary working order, and be kept free from obstructions, leaks and defects, and be capable of performing the function for which such plumbing fixtures are designed.

• All fixtures, receptacles, equipment, and wiring shall be safe and maintained in a state of good repair. There shall be no exposed wiring. There shall be no circuit overloading.

• Tub and shower stall floors and walls shall be watertight.

• There shall be installed in every bathroom and laundry room at least one ceiling or wall type electrical light fixture.

ELECTRICAL

• Every dwelling unit shall be wired for electric lights and convenience receptacles.

• Every public hall and stairway in multi-family dwellings shall be adequately illuminated by electric lights at all times when natural daylight is not sufficient.

• Smoke alarms shall be provided which are operable and in good repair. The landlord is responsible to provide at least one carbon monoxide alarm when there exists an attached garage or fossil-fuel burning heater, fireplace, and/or appliance. Unless the landlord and tenant have a written agreement to the contrary, the landlord shall place new batteries in the alarms at the beginning of each tenancy and the tenant shall replace the batteries as needed during tenancy, except where the alarm is a tamper resistant ten-year lithium battery smoke alarm. The landlord is responsible to repair or replace alarms within fifteen days of receipt of written notification by the tenant of needed repair or replacement.

• Extension cords shall not be used to replace permanent

GENERAL PLUMBING

• Each dwelling unit shall be connected to a potable water supply and public sewer, or an approve and permitted sewage disposal system.

• The water supply shall be maintained free from contamination.

• Fixtures, including water closets, shall not be cracked, broken, leaking or loose from the floor or wall, as applicable.

• The water supply system shall be maintained to provide a sufficient volume of water and at a pressure adequate to enable the fixtures to function properly and safely and free from leaks and defects.

• Every plumbing component shall function safely and effectively and shall be maintained in a satisfactory working condition. It shall be unlawful for any person to deposit any material willfully or maliciously into any plumbing fixture, toilet, or bathtub which may result in the obstruction of any sanitary sewer. Any liability on the part of the occupant shall not relieve the owner of the responsibility of cleaning any resulting blockage.

WATER HEATER

• Water heating facilities shall be properly installed, maintained and capable of providing an adequate amount of water to be drawn at every required sink, lavatory, bathtub, shower, and laundry facility at a temperature between 110- and 140-degrees Fahrenheit.

HEATING

• Each dwelling unit shall have a central or electric heating system or sufficient chimneys, flues, or gas vents with a heating appliance connected, so as to heat all habitable rooms including bathrooms to a minimum temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit measured 3 feet above the floor, with an outside temperature of 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Portable heaters are not acceptable to satisfy the primary heating requirement.

HEAT PUMP

WINDOW

WATER HEATER

FIRE PLACE STAIRS

CHIMNEY

BATHROOM

BEDROOM

KITCHEN

LIVING ROOM

Continued from page 17

How does a 3,000 square-foot home with “good bones” end up as a “burn house” that puts its neighbors at risk?

“That’s a good question. A lot of the houses that we see that are just rotting away — the houses I’m putting on my list and will likely one day be demolished — have multiple heirs. So, the owner died, and the heirs don’t even live here. They might not even know they own these properties,” Polack said. “And they sit, and they deteriorate, and they get to a point where you can’t save them. And when we went through those years without minimum housing enforcement, they turned into squat houses for the homeless and trap houses and crack houses. It’s a cycle that’s been playing out for generations.”

So, for Polack, the answer to the “legitimate” issue of dilapidated homes in Goldsboro is a balance.

“There’s another one,” he said, pointing to a newly renovated home at the corner of Center and Swan. “It’s beautiful. That’s what we need is more people who care about their neighborhoods. I’ll get the ones that don’t. I promise you that. But minimum housing should be a last resort. I should only be involved when a house is

too far gone. If people would drive around and take a look, I think they’ll find what I did. A lot of these areas are getting fixed up because once you put the city on them and start holding people accountable, a lot of them respond. But you can’t be stagnant. And over the last few years, we got stagnant. If people will give me and my department some time, they’re gonna see results.”

• • •

Earlier this year, council members were forced to take a hard look at the initial budget proposed by Interim City Manager Matthew Livingston.

They knew a tax increase would be necessary to fund much-needed raises for members of the Goldsboro police and fire departments, but each noted that “painful cuts” would be required to ensure that hike was as palatable as possible for residents.

Taylor had one “non-negotiable.”

She was not willing to sacrifice funding a minimum housing officer — or a budget of at least $100,000 for demolition costs associated with homes Polack described as “hazards” that were “long past the point of saving.”

“One of the reasons that I decided to run was because I wanted to make sure

that District 3 was treated with the same dignity and respect as the other districts. Two of my main priorities were crime and blight,” Taylor said Wednesday. “We have a bunch of dilapidated houses, burned down structures, and just all-around neglected buildings in District 3. And after finding that the city had done away with the minimum housing inspector job, not only did that make a lot of this make sense, but I realized that in order to do something about it, this was a position we needed.”

So, as cuts were proposed, she refused to back down.

“There were several times when the position and the money for demolition were discussed as being removed from the budget because of constraints, but I was absolutely in no way going to let up on my feelings for this much-needed position,” Taylor said.

“And I am a very stubborn woman, and when I get it in my head that something has to be done, I don’t take lightly to broken promises. I have promised my constituents that I was here to make District 3 a better place to work and live, and this position and the promises it holds for our community are part of that promise.”

Polack is grateful Taylor — and other members of the council — understood the

significance of the work he now does for the city.

Because in his view, Goldsboro can only progress so far if crack houses can be seen a stone’s throw away from downtown.

“Once you get that balance between the order to repair program and minimum housing really working, you’re going to see money being spent improving the blight and money being spent getting rid of houses when we have no choice,” he said. “Both scenarios make this city a way better place to live.”

And in the future, should his department’s goal come to fruition, a live database accessible to the public will provide residents with a real-time snapshot of both the problem properties and the progress.

That way, accountability — which he feels is the cornerstone to improving conditions across the community he has sworn, in various capacities, to serve over the years — will exist in an unprecedented capacity.

“Again, it’s like I said before. Once you start holding people accountable, good things can happen,” Polack said. “So, our job is to give everybody an opportunity to do the right thing. I believe it’s working, and I’m going to do my part to make sure it works even better.” n

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