The Greensboro City Council will hold the first meeting of the month on Tuesday, March 7 beginning at 4:45 p.m. in the Katie Dorsett Council Chamber.

The meeting begins at 4:45 p.m. with a closed session.  The public portion of the meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. but could be delayed if the closed session runs long.  However, even if the closed session is shorter than expected, the public portion of the meeting won’t be called to order before 5:30 p.m.

The main purpose of the first meeting of the month is to hold a public forum where speakers are invited to the podium to speak on the subject of their choice. It is also called “speakers from the floor on non-agenda items.”

A great many speakers attended the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on Wednesday, March 1 to speak about the proposed ordinance regulating short term rentals, the type popularized by Airbnb, VRBO and others.

The City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on that ordinance on Tuesday, March 27 and the public will have another chance to speak on the proposed ordinance.

However, those who feel strongly about the issue can get another bite at the apple, by coming and speaking on the proposed ordinance at the Tuesday, March 7 public forum.

Since many of the regular speakers at the monthly public forum come to loudly proclaim the same tired old cliches they have been proclaiming for years, reasonable people making reasonable arguments in a reasonable tone of voice would likely be well received by the city councilmembers.

The only public hearing item on the agenda is on the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HOME American Rescue Plan (ARP) grant.

The $6.6 million HOME-ARP grant is to be used for affordable rental housing development for extremely low- and very low-income qualifying populations, provide supportive housing services and tenant based rental assistance for housing stability.

The funds must be spent by Sept. 30, 2030, but the way this City Council spends money it’s hard to see how that could be a problem.