Here's
a one-question quiz:
Which of these factors is
most likely to put the
brakes on Johnston
County's exploding
residential development:
(a) clogged roads; (b)
overcrowded schools; or
(c) insufficient
sewage-treatment capacity.
Based on a lengthy
discussion at Monday
morning's session of the
County Commissioners, the
answer is (c) – a
potential cap on
development if the
county's sewage-treatment
capabilities don't keep up
with Johnston's growth.
Currently, the county is
wrestling with where to
allocate its dwindling
sewer capacities among new
commercial and industrial
customers as well as four
towns that depend on the
county for wastewater
treatment: Smithfield,
Selma, Pine Level, and
Four Oaks.
An attempt to sort out
that issue in more detail
and come up with some
answers is scheduled for
the commissioners' next
meeting on Monday evening,
August 15.
Here's how things now
stand: The county has a
permit from the state to
discharge as much as
9.5-million gallons per
day (GPD) of wastewater
from its aging treatment
plant on the Neuse River
below Smithfield. That
allowance will rise to
11.5-million GPD once a
new treatment plant under
construction near the
county's landfill west of
town is brought online two
years from now.
Currently, the county is
treating an average of
6.7-million GPD at its
60-year-old plant
(originally built by the
Town of Smithfield). But
recent approval of
residential subdivisions
by the county and the four
towns that depend on that
plant, plus numerous
commercial and industrial
projects, is pushing
potential demand close to
that 9.5-million GPD
limit.
Commissioner Dickie
Braswell said during
Monday's discussion he
fears Johnston's current
rate of growth will use up
all of the 11.5-million
GPD capacity to be
available when the new
treatment plant in 2024.
He mentioned the 2,005-lot
subdivision recently
approved by the Town of
Smithfield as an example
of residential developers'
rising interest in
Johnston County.
Commissioner Fred Smith
brought up another concern
when he asked how many
development projects have
been approved by the
county for sewer
allocations in years past
but still not built. He
said the county has failed
to enforce a rule that
such projects lose their
sewage permits if they
aren't begun within two
years of approval. "We
ought to have
crystal-clear rules," said
Mr. Smith.
An answer to his question
about so-called "paper
flow" projects is one of
the key pieces of
information to be gathered
and presented at the
August 15 meeting.
Another issue gumming up
the works are new
sewage-allocation
agreements the county is
seeking with the four
towns it directly serves.
Utilities Director Chandra
Farmer told commissioners
Monday she and her staff
have been working on that
for more than two years
without resolution.
Among the points of
contention holding up
those agreements, she
said, are a request that
the towns "buy capacity up
front" for their
anticipated future needs
and a recommendation that
the towns institute
"system development fees"
to help cover the cost of
sewage-treatment
expansions.
Chairman Butch Lawter said
he expects "a long
discussion" when the
county board reconvenes on
August 15.
Construction is well
under way on the
county's new
sewage-treatment plant
near the landfill off NC
210 west of Smithfield.
One of the reasons for
this site is its
elevation high above the
Neuse River that flooded
the current treatment
plant after Hurricane
Matthew came through in
2016.
Once
again, county's
property-tax collections
close to 100%
The
County of Johnston has
collected 99.88% of the
past year's property taxes
assessed on homeowners,
landowners, and businesses
– $156,882,573.80
collected from a total
assessment of more than
$157 million. That's one
of the highest collection
rates in North Carolina –
consistently just under
100% over the past six
years. The annual report
to the County
Commissioners from Tax
Administrator Jocelyn
Andrews shows the yearly
assessment on real and
personal property has
grown 10.29% from $142.4
million just two years
ago, with increases of
more than $8.5 million
from 2020 to 2021 and $6.1
million this past year.
Commissioners
make appointments to
several boards
The
commissioners approved
several appointments
Monday, including two by
paper ballots where more
than one person applied
for a single position:
• Alcoholic
Beverage Control Board
– Former County
Commissioner Jeff Carver
elected as a new member.
• Hospital
Authority Board of
Commissioners –
Brad Oakes renominated to
a second term, subject to
approval by the Hospital
Authority, which oversees
operations of UNC Health's
hospitals in Smithfield
and Clayton.
• Industrial
Facilities Pollution
Control Financing
Authority –
Burrell Brock and J. Chad
McLamb reappointed without
opposition.
• Johnston County
Board of Adjustments
– Craig Jones and Flint
Benson reappointed without
opposition.
• Public Library
Board of Trustees
– Gary R. Underwood newly
appointed.
Highlights
of Monday's board
sessions by Clerk Paula
Woodard are posted on
the county's website
along with highlights
from all meetings held
during the past year>
There's
good reason
you continue to see
this sign in many
yards
around Smithfield.
Call
Pernell.com
and you'll
find out why.
Town
annexes large
residential tract near
Amazon
Developers
of 97 acres across US 70
Business from the Amazon
distribution center
nearing completion in West
Smithfield sought the
"voluntary annexation" for
Floyd Landing, a
subdivision yet to be
built. Plans previously
approved by the town call
for 89 single-family
houses, 220 townhouses,
and 360 apartments – a
total of 669 units. With
annexation, the town will
provide police and fire
protection as well as
trash and yard-waste
pickup but electricity
will come from Duke
Energy, which has provided
power to West Smithfield
long before the area was
annexed to town in 1994.
No one opposed the Floyd
Landing annexation during
Tuesday evening's public
hearing before the Town
Council, which voted
without dissent to approve
the request.
Town
asked to annex property
across from the airport
Blue
Line Aviation is
requesting satellite
annexation of 14.43 acres
across Swift Creek Road
from Johnston Regional
Airport. The council
approved moving forward
with the request, which
will require a public
hearing at a later date
before the annexation can
take effect. On a related
matter, Blue Line asked
for postponement till
October of a hearing on
its request for
conditional rezoning of
the site to allow a mix of
dormitories, classrooms,
hotel, and "flex
industrial/office" spaces
apparently related to its
pilot-training center at
the airport. (Satellite
annexation involves
property that's not
contiguous to the town's
existing corporate
limits.)
Council
raises fines for parking
and fire-alarm
violations
A
package of revised fines
requested by the Police
and Fire departments and
approved by the council
includes an increase from
$10 to $25 for most
parking violations, with
an additional $50 to be
charged if fines aren't
paid within 48 hours. The
fine for unauthorized
parking in a handicapped
zone was raised from $50
to $75 while the fine for
parking in a fire lane or
in front of a fire hydrant
went from $25 to $50.
Added to the schedule are
new fines for repeated
false-alarms, ranging from
$150 for a fourth incident
within a year to $250 per
incident for six or more.
New fees were also
established for fire
inspections and
hazardous-material
permits.
Appointments
made to Appearance and
Planning boards
The
council appointed Lana
(Michelle) Choe to the
town's Appearance
Commission and Wiley
Narron and Bryan Stanley
as in-town members of the
Smithfield Planning Board.
All three appointees will
be serving their first
terms.
Council
approves purchase of new
trash truck for $227,987
The
2023 International truck
will come from low-bidder
Carolina Environmental
Systems of Kernersville.
Since the cost exceeds
what the town budgeted for
the purchase, $10,987 will
be covered by a portion of
the town's allocation of
federal funds from the
American Rescue Plan Act.
Council
OKs permits for two
special events later
this month
The
first – scheduled for
Saturday, August 20 – is a
"Community & Youth
Back 2 School Explosion"
hosted by Purpose &
Power Apostolic Ministries
from 10 till 3 at
Smith-Collins Park. The
second – on Saturday,
August 27 – is an "End of
Summer Bash" hosted by
Bulldog Harley-Davidson
from 10 till 4 at 1043
Outlet Center Drive. Both
events include the use of
amplified sound. The
Outlet Center event
includes a live band,
vendors, food trucks, and
a beer truck.
Marlon
Lee to coach N.C. girls in
all-star game
The
following story with
photo is from the Office
of Sports Information at
Raleigh's Saint
Augustine's University:
Saint
Augustine's University
alumnus Marlon Lee has a
long string of
accomplishments as a
high-school basketball
coach. He
can add another honor to the
list.
Lee
has been selected to lead
North Carolina's top senior
girls in the 2023 Carolinas
Basketball Classic. The
event pits the top senior
boys and girls from North
Carolina against their peers
from South Carolina.
The
head-coaching selection is
the latest highlight for
Lee, who is in his 17th year
as Head Varsity Girls
Basketball Coach at Clayton
High School. The Lady Comets
have fared very well during
his tenure, winning one
sectional title, four
regular-season conference
crowns, and two conference
tournament championships. His
Clayton teams have won 273
games and reached the state
playoffs 13 times.
This
latest accolade ranks right
up there with being selected
Assistant Coach for the N.C.
East-West Girls All-Star
Game in 2015.
"It
is truly an honor to be
named Head Girls' Coach in
the 2023 N.C./S.C. All-Star
Game," said Lee, a four-time
Coach of the Year winner. "I
get to represent this great
hoop state of N.C. along
with the top
student-athletes of N.C.
Also, I get to represent my
family, Johnston County
Public Schools (Clayton High
School), and my hometown of
Smithfield, N.C."
The
honors have been rolling in
for Lee this summer. In May,
he was sworn in for his
third term on the Smithfield
Town Council. Then
in June the 1996-97 SAU
men's basketball team,
including Lee, was selected
to be inducted into the
University's Athletic Hall
of Fame. Lee was a key
member on that squad, which
captured the school's first
CIAA Men's Title.
"Most
importantly, I am able to
still be an ambassador for
my alma mater, Saint
Augustine's University,
where I am a 1999 graduate,
1997 CIAA Champion, 45
Under 45 honoree (second
class), and soon to be Hall
of Famer," Lee said. "I want
to carry on the coaching
legacy of the late Coach
Norvell Lee."
EDITOR'S NOTE: Norvell
Lee was Marlon Lee's
"distant cousin," he told
the Sun.
LAND
FOR SALE
IN WEST SMITHFIELD
2.4-acre
vacant lot at 1558 W.
Market Street, US 70
Business. Mostly level
with 323-foot road
frontage. Less than 3
miles from Johnston
Regional Airport, about
5 miles from I-95: $525,000
(MLS#2447472)
SUSAN
LASSITER, Broker
• FONVILLE
MORISEY
REALTY • 919-669-9235
Johnston's
jobless rate rose to 3.7%
in June
The
number of Johnstonians
employed declined from
103,241 in May to 102,838
in June while the number
filing for unemployment
benefits rose from 3,495
to 3,928, according to the
latest report from the
N.C. Department of
Commerce. That raised the
county's jobless rate from
3.3% in May to 3.7% in
June (the statewide rate
was 4.1%). Johnston's
unemployment rate in June
2021 was 4.8%.
VIEW
the state's June report
covering all of North
Carolina's counties>
A
surprising amount of
rain fell here during
July
Seems
like it hardly ever rains
in Smithfield anymore as
we radar watchers see
storm after storm
bypassing us to the north
and to the south. Yet
Cornell Cox reports we got
7.59 inches at his
Backyard Weather Station
in South Smithfield this
past month after just 1.01
inches was recorded here
the entire month of June.
That brings the year's
total to 24.16 inches,
which is below average for
our region. Of course, the
numbers could jump from
now through summer's end,
especially if a hurricane
or tropical depression
comes our way.
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Friday's
Movie in the Park:
"Beauty and the Beast"
The finale of this
summer's Movie in the
Park series hosted by
Smithfield's Parks and
Recreation Department
features the Disney
classic "Beauty and the
Beast." The show begins
at sundown (around 8:30
p.m.) at Community Park
off Durwood Stephenson
Parkway. Chic-fil-A will
sell chicken sandwiches
yet folks may bring
their own picnic items.
There's no charge for
admission.
School
board's monthly meeting
scheduled Tuesday
The
Johnston County Board of
Education's regular
monthly meeting begins
with a closed session at 4
p.m. next Tuesday followed
by the open business
session at approximately 5
p.m. at the school
system's headquarters on
US 70 Business east of
Smithfield. VIEW the
agenda once it's posted
on the schools'
website>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
RAY TEDDER,
91 – died July 31
FREDERICK
LeROY BARTHOLOMEW JR.,
84 – died July 30
GEORGE
THOMAS (TOMMY) WHITLEY
SR. – died May 20
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
When
rivers and roads back
up, we've got a mess
A
crash last Saturday
morning on southbound I-95
at the Neuse River bridge
– involving five
automobiles and a
tractor-trailer truck –
produced a traffic backup
that spilled onto the
streets of Smithfield.
Fortunately there were no
fatalities and injuries
were minor.
I had occasion to run an
errand or two Saturday
morning that took me into
the overflow from I-95
onto Bright Leaf
Boulevard, Brogden Road,
and several side streets
as folks tried to navigate
around the mess.
Reminded me of how the
Neuse River flooding from
Hurricane Matthew backed
up water onto streets
where such an occurrence
had been unthinkable.
In both cases – a
backed-up road, a
backed-up river – I
couldn't help but wonder
how much of that is
man-made rather than
strictly "acts of God."
Undoubtedly those wrecks
on the Interstate are
mostly caused by careless
and reckless driving. The
flooding? You could argue
that's the result of
natural cycles yet we keep
getting report after
report about extreme
changes in Earth's weather
patterns most scientists
attribute to global
warming.
We need to slow down, take
a deep breath, and start
looking ahead, for a
change.
Smithfield's
biggest
birdhouse
Got
this shot leaving Town
Hall Tuesday evening
following the monthly
council meeting:
The blackbirds (are they
starlings?) obviously feel
very much at home atop the
communications tower
behind the fire station.
Is this place "properly
zoned" for this much
residential density?
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