City Council Work Session

Melvin Municipal Building

300 W. Washington Street

Greensboro, NC 27401

City of Greensboro

Meeting Minutes - Final

City Council Work Session

4:30 PM Plaza Level Conference RoomTuesday, August 21, 2018

I. Call To Order

This City Council work session of the City of Greensboro was called to order at 4:30 p.m. on the above date in the

Plaza Level Conference Room of the Melvin Municipal Office Building with the following members present:

Mayor Nancy Vaughan, Mayor Pro-Tem Yvonne Johnson, Councilmembers Marikay Abuzuaiter, Sharon Hightower,

Nancy Hoffmann, Michelle Kennedy, Justin Outling, Tammi Thurm, and Goldie Wells.

II. Presentations

1. ID 18-0529 Minority and Women Enterprise (M/WBE) Disparity Study Update

City Manager Parrish introduced the first item and recognized Assistant City Manager Barbara Harris.

Assistant City Manager Barbara Harris gave a handout on the staff preliminary response to the M /WBE Disparity

Study (Study) Recommendations; spoke to the recommendations to be accepted by Council, and incorporated into

the program; to the amendment for the Study; to the feedback from the review committees; to continued

conversations going forward as part of the M/WBE program; and to holding a public hearing to receive the amended

ordinance for the program plan.

City Attorney Tom Carruthers introduced experts from Griffin & Strong, P .C. (GSPC): Michele Clark Jenkins,

Vincent Eagan, Rodney Strong, David Maher, and Ted Edwards from The Banks Law Firm, P .A. City Attorney

Carruthers continued to speak to the rough draft sent to GSPC; to the M /WBE committee and staff submitted input

for the Study; to the revision of the goal setting program; and to an effective way to raise the level of expertise to

determine goals to make the program more defendable.

Ms. Jenkins spoke to the process of goal setting being challenged 13 times; to how the Federal Disadvantaged

Business Enterprise (DBE) program worked; to aspirational goals; to setting contract goals; to contract availability;

to the Business-to-Government Now (B2Gnow) software used; and to having commodity codes to be used in the

B2Gnow software.

Councilmember Hightower asked if the software was being used now; and how contracts were monitored.

Assistant City Manager Harris gave an update to the B2Gnow software upgrade; spoke to getting the Lawson

system fully integrated with the new software; and to how contracts were monitored.

Ms. Jenkins spoke to the importance of updated information for vendors in the B 2Gnow software; and to incentives

for firms for accurate updated vendor information.

City Attorney Carruthers voiced concerns of the fifty point system, and good faith efforts used by contractors when

negotiating with sub-contractors.

Mr. Edwards spoke to the City’s ability to add additional requirements to the fifty point system.

Councilmember Hightower expressed how strong the good faith effort program for the Guilford County School Board

was.

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