Chris Suggs of Kinston Teens addresses the city council during Monday's meeting. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News

The first Kinston City Council meeting of the new fiscal year took place this week.

Among the highlights of the meeting was the unanimous decision to adopt a resolution for the execution and delivery of the installment financing agreement and related documents with Grainger Stadium. Most of the renovations and improvements have already been put into place with a $2.5 million agreement between the city and the Texas Rangers (owner of the Down East Wood Ducks), including the Mother Earth Pavilion, lighting and the clubhouse area.

“The only thing we have left is the office additions,” Kinston Budget Administrator Catherine Gwynn said. “Afterwards, we’ll look to set aside excess money from our debt service and by the end, we hope to have at least ($500,000) saved up for any additional improvements. We’ve got a great partnership with the Rangers organization and they’ve been very helpful.”

The council also appropriated $180,000 for street resurfacing, with six areas — Haskett Road, East Street, Cavalier Circle, Pollock Street, Jones Avenue and Darby Avenue — as the ones selected for the improvements. The project will be done by Tripp and Sons of Snow Hill.

“We’ve been getting asked about getting these streets paved and we’re working on that, along with cleaning up a couple of capital outlay issues,” Councilman Robbie Swinson said. “Hopefully, we can keep moving in the right direction.”

The Kinston Teens organization also gave a short presentation on its summer internship program, along with the six participants — North Lenoir High School sophomore Cameron Williams, Lenoir County Early College junior Derecka Langley, Kinston High School senior Jay’Lynn Harrison, North Carolina Central University sophomore Aja’ Harvey, N.C. A&T junior Gintiana Williams and Winston-Salem State University senior Sinia McPhail.

The six interns will focus on civic engagement in preparation for the 2018 midterm election, including door-to-door canvassing, voter registration and working to inform the masses on the importance of casting a ballot.

“We always welcome the public to come and speak about any issues, especially the youth, who want to make a difference in the community,” said Kinston councilwoman Kristal Suggs, who is an advisor to the organization.

The next city council meeting will take place Monday, Aug. 6.