Greensboro City Council voted to approve a petition to appoint Ashley Kyser to fill the unexpired term of Councilmember Scott Naylor, who resigned earlier this year. Naylor’s departure left an unexpired term of two years for the city’s District 3 council seat. Alabama’s next municipal elections will be held in 2025.
Kyser, a Main Street resident, was the only District 3 resident to come before the council expressing interest in filling out the unexpired term. He and his supporters gathered signatures from District 3 residents to support his appointment to the city’s governing body.
Kyser’s first meeting as a member of the council will be Tuesday, May 23.
In other news, the council approved a $5,120.00 appropriation to the Hale County Enrichment Society. The organization places students and young people from Hale County in summer work positions throughout the county each summer.
The council also heard a request from Shundria Banks, head coach of the Greensboro Middle School volleyball team. The team has an upcoming summer camp set for July in Birmingham. Banks asked the council for any financial support they could provide.
Mayor J.B. Washington said that, because the team was a private organization, the city itself was legally barred from appropriating funding to it.
He encouraged council members to donate to the team’s efforts personally.
“Bring whatever you can afford to the next council meeting to help these young ladies out,” he said.
The council also heard a request from Toyvian Brand of the Men of Valor, a nonprofit organiztion in Greensboro, which is planning its third annual Juneteenth celebration in the city’s downtown. Brand first asked if the city would allow them the use of the city’s parking lot as a location for the event’s stage.
He then went on to ask the city for any financial help they could provide.
“We do all of this out of pocket. We bring revenue to the city. It just doesn’t look right if the city is not a part of this,” said Brand.
Councilmember Bobbie Curtis asked if the city could donate?
City Clerk Lorrie Cook said donations would have to come from individual council members. “You could offer in-kind services,” she clarified, like city labor to help with setup or cleanup. Cook said the city was legally barred from making donations to private organiztions.
“Everything we do we do for the city of Greensboro,” said Brand. “To make the city look good. I’m telling y’all that stuff don’t sit well with my spirit. Not to get help from the city and it’s a city event. But it’s all good, though.”
