City Council started off its first April meeting with several presentations, recognizing the Leadership Wilmington class of 2022, and presenting several members of the Wilmington Police Department with life-saving awards and medals of valor.
Council also congratulating the Wilmington Fire Department for receiving an ISO-1 designation, the highest rating a department can receive.
“Our score includes several other factors such as water supply, 911 communications, community education, and outreach,” said Chief Steve Mason.
Moving on to ordinances, Council approved increasing compensation for City of Wilmington employees after a study found they were underpaid compared to other similarly-sized municipalities. The additional funding totals more than $1.3 million.
“We appreciate all of your hard work and I hope that you recognize that we appreciate you folks, and we wanted to make certain that we got this right. So, thank you,” Mayor Bill Saffo said to the city employees gathered at the meeting.
Next, Council approved state grant funding for the Cape Fear Opioid Overdose Quick Response Team (or QRT) totaling $750,000.
In its first few years, the program connected more than 500 overdose survivors to treatment, with a 90 percent success rate.
“The funds would be able to really boost our team and make us a little bit more robust, because there are some gaps. Especially since the pandemic has happened, we know that overdoses have definitely increased,” said Buffy Taylor, the supervisor of QRT.
Finally, Council approved a $250,000 state grant for the reconstruction of aging tennis courts at Empie Park.
“They were originally constructed in the 1980’s, they’ve undergone several resurfacing projects, and the time has come to completely reconstruct them,” said Amy Beatty, community services director.
The eight reconstructed courts will also get new perimeter fencing, seating, and sidewalk connections.
For more on this meeting you can head to wilmingtonnc.gov.
City council will meet again on April 19 at 6:30 p.m.