Retail Strategies decision among talking points in Tuesday's City Council meeting

There is a lone bullet point on the action agenda, but it is an important one.

The Kinston City Council will make a decision Tuesday on the approval or denial of a contract request with Retail Strategies. Kinston has worked with the organization since December 2014 and has invested $38,000 since. The contractual obligations of the initial partnership ended last month and Retail Strategies is asking for a $25,000-per-year commitment to continue services.

“I brought it to the Council last time, so this time around, the question will be whether they will fund it or not,” Kinston City Manager Tony Sears said. “We talked about the benefit of Retail Strategies, which helped bring businesses like Gamestop and Cookout, recruiting other businesses and helping to showcase Kinston on a broader scale.”

The Council’s work session meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. with the regular meeting to commence at 7 p.m. Because of the Martin Luther King holiday, the meeting was pushed back a day.

Citizens can address the Council during the regular meeting, and must sign in prior to 7 p.m. Residents must state their name and address prior to beginning their comments and may speak for up to three minutes.