Council May Rename Durham Street for Longtime Mayor

Vivian Street could soon be renamed after longtime Durham Mayor William V. Bill Bell.

Bell, a former IBM senior engineer, served as the city’s mayor from 2001 to 2017. He has also been chair of the Durham County Board of Commissioners.

The proposal will be discussed during a public hearing at the Dec. 16 City Council meeting. The only anticipated expense attached to this project is about $365 to replace a street sign. This would be paid by applicant Kristen Adair, one of Bell’s daughters.

The council’s general business agenda also includes a request to spend more than $7,000 to add Spanish translation of deliverables to a study exploring how to mitigate damage done to communities by the construction of the Durham Freeway.

When it was built in the 1970s, the freeway tore through well-established African-American neighborhoods, including the Hayti community.

The consent agenda includes:

• Appointing Junior A. Samiento and Oraly Spatz to the Mayor’s Hispanic/Latino Committee with terms to expire on Oct. 1, 2026.
• Appointing Marlena Byrne to the Durham Planning Commission with a term to expire on June 30, 2025.
• Amending the master services agreement with Paymentus Corporation for electronic bill payment services.
• Adopting a resolution certifying and declaring results of the special bond referendum for parks and sidewalks during the Nov. 5 general election.
• Authorizing a contract with Clinton Automotive LLC dba Deacon Jones Ford of Clinton, N.C., for the purchase of 77 hybrid police patrol cars worth more than $3.6 million, and a separate contract for $1.2 million with Dana Safety Supply Inc. of Greensboro to upfit those new patrol cars with police lighting, wiring, and sirens.
• Authorizing a contract with Model 1 Commercial Vehicles Inc. of Indiana for buying four shuttle buses worth $665,980.
• Authorizing a $263,750 design contract with W&S of North Carolina, PC, for the Merrick-Moore Park amenity upgrades project.
• Authorizing an increase in the elevator maintenance and repair services contract with Oracle Elevator Holdco.
• Approving $100,000 for the Durham Symphony Orchestra’s 2024/2025 season.
• Amending the interlocal agreement with Durham County governing development of the Durham Cultural Roadmap.
• Approving a $1.75-million contract with Hayti Promise Community Development Corporation and Rebuilding Together of the Triangle for repairs and services of properties along the Fayetteville Street corridor.
• Approving a $229,500 contract with Pen-Link Ltd. for a subscription to the Tangles software-as-a-service open-source intelligence system.
• Amending the scope of services between Duke University and the city by $1.35 million.
• Approving updates for Federal Transit Administration compliance related to GoDurham.
• Adopting an ordinance amending the Transit Capital Improvement Project Ordinance for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. This adds $3.3 million in funding for construction of a new ACCESS Maintenance Facility, reflecting a change in project ownership from GoTriangle to the city government. It also adds $200,000 for a new Small Starts Grant project to assess the viability of a Bus Rapid Transit Corridor.

The only ceremonial item on the agenda is a commemoration of Sam Cooke’s song “A Change is Gonna Come," which was released on Dec. 22, 1964.

The Council meets at 7 p.m. in the first floor Council Chambers at 101 City Hall Plaza.