Local businesses have notified the City of New Bern that they’ve been getting calls from people posing as the “City of New Bern Utilities/Electric Department.” The callers say the business owes money for an overdue utility bill and they must pay it immediately over the phone or the caller will disconnect service. “HIS IS A SCAM! THIS IS *NOT* THE CITY OF NEW BERN!,” the city said in a news release. “These scammers are trying to steal your credit card and personal information over the phone. We will NEVER call you demanding payment or asking for your personal information.” If you have a question aboutRead More →

Eagle Scouts work on previous Battlefield Park project. Submitted photo   Since 1996, the Civil War Trust has sponsored Park Day, an annual hands-on preservation event to help Civil War, Revolutionary War, and War of 1812 battlefields and historic sites take on maintenance projects large and small. This year on April 7 New Bern’s Battlefield Park will join in this national event.   While our beautiful park reflects the work of many volunteers from Battlefield Guides clearing trails, to Boy Scouts building observation platforms to Marines building bridges, there is always much to be done.  Jon Miller, Battlefield Manager hopes volunteers will help clear outRead More →

The City of New Bern is teaming up with Habitat for Humanity of Craven County and Garris Evans for the third year of Paint Your Heart Out New Bern! Paint Your Heart Out New Bern is an annual volunteer-based program where local private and public partners provide free painting and cosmetic repairs to low-moderate income, elderly, and disabled homeowners within the community. Eligibility requirements for homeowners are listed below. Eligibility Requirements: Own and live in the home as primary residence Be physically or financially unable to complete the work Homes selected must be located within New Bern City limits The home must be in NEEDRead More →

A group spearheaded by Ebenezer Presbyterian Church Pastor Robert and retired chemist Anne Schout is taking the initiative to fix problems in the Duffyfield neighborhood of New Bern. The group is called Duffyfield Phoenix Project, and it plans to lead a wide range of projects in Duffyfield, including: Assessment of Duffyfield’s properties, their conditions and their owners. Determine which properties need upgrade or repair, whether owners want or need assistance, and which properties could be razed. Obtain grants for infrastructure and housing improvements. Improve the appearance of two cemeteries and apply for a grant to pay for a brick entrance to Evergreen Cemetery. Reinter 13Read More →

Updated 3/25/2018 at 10:23 a.m. Now that the Craven Terrace low-income housing project has been outsourced, downsized, and renovated, the New Bern Housing Authority is turning its sights on what to do about Trent Court. In a memo to the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners (members listed here), Housing Authority Executive Director Martin Blaney said the agency is going to apply for a 9 percent low-income housing tax credit from the N.C, Housing Finance Agency, but first must “secure site control of an eligible and competitive location.” The “competitive location” would be used to build new low-income housing to add to, and in some casesRead More →

(Note: Links for documentation expire when the next agenda is posted) CITY OF NEW BERN BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING MARCH 27, 2018 – 6:00 P.M. CITY HALL COURTROOM 300 POLLOCK STREET 1. Meeting opened by Mayor Dana E. Outlaw.  Prayer Coordinated by Alderman Aster.  Pledge of Allegiance. 2. Roll Call. Consent Agenda. 3. Consider Adopting a Resolution to Close Specific Streets on April 21, 2018 for United Worship Center’s Community Day. (Ward 1) Walter Linsey, an elder with United Worship Center, has requested the 800 block of West Street and 900 block of Main Street be closed to vehicular traffic from 12 noon until 4 p.m.Read More →

Preliminary plans have been released for the proposed 850-acre Martin Marietta Park that depict something the size and scope of which would make it one of the most significant municipal parks in the state. Aldermen, the mayor, staff and advisers will meet upstairs at City Hall at 1 p.m. Monday to discuss the park and a proposed city redevelopment area and commission. (Link to agenda; note that the link has a limited shelf life.) As depicted in maps, Martin Marietta Park would include a large amphitheater, swimming area, boating area, hiking trails and numerous other features. The plan does not indicate how the city wouldRead More →

Site plans are being reviewed for a new, expanded and relocated Brewery 99. Brewery 99, a micro-brewery off Hancock Street operated by Pete Frey, has submitted plans for a new location on Pollock Street that is about three times larger than its original location. I’ve reached out to Frey for information about the project and will update this story once I hear back.Read More →

Fresh from her first National League of Cities conference in Washington D.C., Alderman Jameesha Harris returned  to New Bern on Tuesday eager to spread the conference’s theme, “Rebuild with Us.” During her return trip from D.C., her head filled with all sorts of dynamic, innovative things that she was eager to see happen here, Harris excitedly texted her fellow aldermen and city staff to look into a program called Opportunity Zones. And then she got shut down. (Anyone who has ever attended a professional conference, only to have everything you’ve learned dismissed by the gatekeepers in the home office, raise your hand.) According to Goman+York,Read More →