By Miles Layton

PLYMOUTH — When the Town Council met Monday night, well… discussion was all over the map as elected officials navigated contentious votes on electronic gaming zoning and heard emotional public comment about gun violence and praise for the Plymouth Police Department. And oh yeah, Council member Steven Brown resigned, effective immediately.

The meeting drew strong reactions from residents who alternately praised law enforcement, demanded proactive crime prevention. Another story about the food pantry lease will appear on Wednesday — I’m still working on that.

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Brown Resigns

First out of the gate —  Council member Steven Brown announced his resignation. He was elected in November.

“I’ll be announcing today, on January 12, I’ll be resigning from my position due to personal reasons,” Brown said. “I’d like to thank the council for this opportunity. I wish everyone to do well going forward.”

He didn’t specify any reasons for resigning.   

Mayor Crystal Davis thanked Brown, and the council voted unanimously to accept his resignation. Then Brown just walked out. 

Electronic gaming zoning debate

During a public hearing on the matter, Town Manager Joanne Floyd opened discussion on a proposed zoning ordinance amendment that would significantly reduce the buffer distance required between electronic gaming businesses and residential areas.

“Currently our ordinance specifies that these electronic sweepstakes or electronic gaming operations are not allowable within 1,000 feet of residential zoning districts, parks, churches, schools, libraries, things of that nature,” Floyd said. “It was presented to the planning board to reduce the residential zone footage down from 1,000 feet to 500 feet.”

Floyd explained that two electronic gaming businesses opened last year and were operating closer to residential zones than allowed under the existing ordinance.

“We currently have two businesses that have opened up that are well outside of that 1,000 feet,” she said. “To get them compliant, it was presented to the planning board to reduce it again from the 1,000 feet to 50 feet so they were within compliance of our zoning ordinance.”

Residents questioned why the town would change the ordinance rather than enforce it. William Langston Jr. asked whether the businesses provide financial benefit to the town.

“So how much money do these businesses generate for our town?” Langston asked. “Do we get tax dollars from these people or lease money or something?”

“We do,” Floyd replied.

Langston pressed further, questioning the potential impact of enforcement.

“So why would you put pressure on them and maybe the possibility of running them out of business or running them somewhere else?” he said. “We’re here about the town. We need that money.”

Floyd responded that the goal was not to close the businesses but to legalize their continued operation.

“They’re not trying to shut them down. They’re actually trying to make it where it’s legal for them to stay in operation,” Floyd said.

Floyd clarified the reasoning behind the proposed amendment.

“We’re going from a thousand to 50 feet so they will be in compliance with our ordinance,” the member said. “Right now they’re not legal per our ordinance.”

Leon Woods opposed the change, calling the existing buffer reasonable.

“I think the thousand feet is very reasonable,” Woods said. “If I was living behind them, I wouldn’t want them in my back door 50 feet.”

He argued that the town should correct its own error rather than rewrite policy.

“They should have never been there to start with,” Woods said. “There was a mistake made there. Correct that mistake, not try to change the rules to bend the rules to let something stay that’s illegal anyway.”

Woods compared electronic gaming establishments to adult entertainment uses.

“Why would you want to put an adult entertainment-type business 50 feet from somebody’s back door that may have small children?” he said. “I just disagree with it totally.”

Mayor Davis responded, saying, “We do not want to have a reputation for the Town of Plymouth that we are in the business of closing businesses. We know that businesses come here, we welcome them and they bring in tax revenue. Be mindful that this ordinance has been in place since the 90s, so we are trying to get up to date with some of these ordinances. We may not agree — I don’t gamble — but at the same token, if these businesses are ones that are already operating, who are we to close you down — fair is fair. We have not gotten any calls or reports from law enforcement — ever — from any of these establishments. They’re running; we’re going to keep them running and we’re doing this in regard to the ordinance.”

Pam McKinley asked whether council could provide revenue figures for the businesses.

“What I would respond to that with my answer would be is I would have to do an audit on not just those businesses,” Davis. “I wouldn’t just pick that one out.”

Davis said requiring individual businesses to disclose revenue would not be legal.

“We can’t do that,” Davis said. “That’s not legal to go in and tell people to give me their reports.”

Langston said residents need financial information to make informed decisions.

“How can we as residents make a decision if we don’t know if it’s beneficial?” he asked. “We just want to see numbers. Is it worth it?”

Davis said the issue before council was zoning compliance, not revenue.

“The discussion is, do we close them down or do we continue to let them remain open and we just change the ordinance so we’re not bypassing and making loopholes in the law?” the member said.

Davis added that the businesses have had no public safety issues.

“They’ve never had a complaint or a problem from law enforcement,” she said. “We’ve had zero issues.”

As the exchange grew heated, the mayor warned against disruptions and cited state law.

“Anyone who willfully interrupts, disrupts or disrespects an official meeting may be directed to leave,” the mayor said, reading from North Carolina General Statute 143-318.17. “Any person who willfully refuses to leave will be instructed and charged with a misdemeanor. So, we will have order. We will have a discussion in this public hearing and the text consideration of the text that is needed to reduce the buffer distance for electronic gaming operations.”

Floyd later said the businesses followed town procedures before opening.

“These business owners did their due diligence,” she said. “They completed a zoning application before they leased a building. Staff actually signed off on their permits to allow them in operation.”

She said the zoning error was discovered months later.

“Here we are trying to correct that matter, whether it’s to force them to shut them down or to amend the ordinance,” Floyd said.

Council member Jerry Rhodes interjected, “I heard somebody say earlier tonight that these businesses will facilitate future economic growth. Now I must be pretty stupid, because I don’t understand how that’s going to happen. Can somebody explain?”

Mayor Pro Tem Donsenia Teal answered, “These businesses are bringing in tax dollars. How much? We don’t know at this present time, but that won’t be a problem to find out. But we’re not going to penalize them for something they really did not know. I mean, nobody’s perfect, as y’all think you are. So there’s an error made. We’re trying to correct the error and move on. It will help the town and that’s what we’re about.”

Council also learned that the Planning Board voted against recommending approval — didn’t give a reason why.

“Their August 18, 2025 meeting, the planning board voted not to recommend the approval of this proposed text amendment to council,” Floyd said.

Rhodes said, “I personally don’t understand the purpose of saying. I have nothing against the gambling operations. I, like you, don’t gamble. I’m not interested in it. But at the same time, if they want to operate, that’s fine. Getting compliance with the current policy, even though they were a mistake made by the town, there’s still an opportunity for them to get in compliance with the town, rather than the town to adjust this to the purposes of these two new video poker places.”

Despite opposition, council closed the public hearing and moved forward and approved the text amendment to reduce the buffer distance for electronic gaming operations to 50 feet.

“It is,” the mayor confirmed when asked whether the motion was to approve.

Public safety concerns dominate public comment

Public comment later shifted to public safety following a recent afternoon shooting near the town’s dog park — shots heard around the region. Three people were injured in a shooting Jan. 2 on East Main Street after Plymouth police responded to reports of a disturbance involving multiple individuals and gunfire.

“I’m not coming tonight to complain,” retired Plymouth Police Chief Willie Williams said. “Myself and another individual went to the dog park and we heard several gunshots. I mean, it was like there was a war going on.”

He said he immediately recognized the danger.

“I told the gentleman that this was not good, because I could tell it wasn’t random gunshots,” he said.

He described seeing Plymouth PD Captain Kevin Phelps respond.

“I observed Captain Phelps from the Plymouth Police Department headed down Water Street towards the dog park,” the resident said. “As he was passing the dog park, gunshots were still going on.”

The speaker said he followed out of concern.

“I put my dog in the truck and I headed that way,” he said. “If he needed assistance, I was going to be there for him.”

He praised the officer’s response.

“Captain Phelps knew that he was going in a dangerous situation,” he said. “He never hesitated, not one bit.”

He urged council to recognize the officer.

“This officer needs to be commended,” he said. “I’m talking about an officer that’s laid his life on the line to go out and protect and serve our community.”

The speaker emphasized the timing.

“We’re talking about 3:30 in the afternoon on a Friday,” he said. “We’re talking about school buses full of children.”

He said the response likely prevented more serious outcomes.

“There could have been a lot more injured and even some deaths,” he said.

He also praised coordination among agencies.

“I saw Washington County Sheriff’s Office, I saw Highway Patrol. I saw SBI, everybody working together,” he said. “I’m sure that Chief Banks and Sheriff Norman will continue to work together to make this community safe.”

Another resident expressed concern about what she described as growing violence.

“I’m here as a concerned resident of Plymouth to express my deep worry about the growing safety issues in our community,” she said. “Particularly the recent shooting that appeared to be gang-related activity and violence.”

She cited earlier incidents.

“On January the 2nd, a call was made asking for someone to show up because the kids were walking down the street with guns,” she said. “Nobody came until the shooting happened.”

She also referenced a Jan. 7 incident.

“She had to call twice before somebody came,” she said.

She urged immediate action.

“I respectfully urge the town council to take immediate and visible actions to address these concerns,” she said.

Floyd asked for her contact information to investigate — the communications aspect.

“We need to find out where the mishap is,” she said. “Get a CAD report.”

Another speaker touched on gambling then moved onto saying the town needs proactive policing.

“You know, it’s already been voted on. You know, the gambling thing, I don’t think the townspeople should have to pay for any mistakes the town made. And I’m gonna move on from that, but that’s just my opinion. The town made a mistake and they ought to fix it other than us having to pay for that situation.

He continued, “I hear what was said, and I agree the officer went down and did what he needed to do, but that was reactive, and we need a lot more proactive. We need somebody here to do something about gangs. This town’s overrun with it.”


Pittman noted — “You’ve got an enormous number of gangs here, And I saw it in Winston-Salem years ago when people used to say, “Oh, we got gangs, we got gangs,” and the city said, ‘Oh, no, we don’t, we don’t, we don’t.’ Then, when the killing started, ‘Oh, we got a bad gang going.’ So we got gang problems, we got drug problems. I think we need to be a little more proactive instead of reactive. They talk about parks and things for young people to do, and I agree with that, but the thing is, when you have those parks and those things to do, you have to police those areas because that’s where lead gangs, people go and groom young people, drag them into the parks and things where there are young people. So you have to have security there.”

Langston, a retired Navy security specialist urged community involvement.

“Almost every night, 24 hours a day, I hear shooting,” he said. “I know what guns sound like.”

“It’s up to us as a community,” he said. “When you see something wrong or hear, call.”

“Don’t blame it on the police,” he added. “We gotta step up.”

Closing business and announcements

Before adjourning, council members made several announcements, including a Jan. 18 dedication ceremony for a historical marker honoring Plymouth’s first Black mayor, Virshawn Sharon Hawkins.

“It will start promptly at 3 p.m.,” Davis said. “It’s been posted on the town’s website and social media.”

Council also discussed improving agenda delivery timelines and scheduling an orientation for newly elected council members.