Farmers
market permitted through
mid-October
The
Smithfield Town Council
Tuesday evening gave the
market's operators
permission to continue
their venture every other
Saturday through
mid-October along the 100
block of Downtown's South
Third Street.
John Bilott, one of the
organizers, said plans are
to start charging vendors
a fee of $25 for each
booth space on the street,
but there will be no
charge for the market's
resumption this Saturday.
He said organizers are
expecting 42-48 vendors to
participate this weekend.
Councilman David Barbour
asked the group to provide
a financial report once
the market closes for the
season next fall. "That's
to protect you," he told
the operators, who nodded
in agreement. The town,
meanwhile, will not be
charging the organizers
for setting up the market
on a public street.
Maureen McGuinness, CEO of
the Triangle East Chamber
of Commerce who resides in
Smithfield, arose to speak
in favor of the market's
continuation, citing " a
tremendous increase in
foot traffic" Downtown
during test events held
April 27 and May 11. (A
market scheduled for May
25 was rained out).
The council had approved
the initial three dates
for the event but wanted
to evaluate its success
before allowing it to
continue at the same
location through the
summer. "The first one was
good; the second one was
better," Councilman
Barbour said Tuesday. "I
think we'll see more
farmers participate" going
forward, he added.
Town
of Smithfield's 2023-24
budget adopted
The
Town Council approved the
final version without a
dissenting vote Tuesday
evening following a public
hearing that produced no
comments. That's not
surprising since the
budget for fiscal 2023-24
that begins July 1 leaves
the town's property-tax
rate unchanged at 57 cents
per $100 valuation and
raises utility rates by
modest amounts – for the
average household: 2% for
electricity, 4% for water,
and $1 per month for
garbage and trash
collection. Monthly fees
for sewer service will be
adjusted slightly once the
County of Johnston sets
its rates for the year
ahead.
Other highlights in the
spending plan put together
by staff and tweaked by
the council during half a
dozen budget sessions held
over the past couple of
months:
• 2% salary
adjustment for
town employees July 1 plus
merit-pay increases up to
2% January 1. Also,
longevity pay for
employees with at least
five years of continuous
service with the town.
Employees' medical
benefits are unchanged,
and no new positions are
budgeted.
• Major capital
expenditures
include $110,500 to
replace two police cars,
$300,000 as the first of
three set-asides for a new
fire engine not likely to
be delivered till three
years from now, $105,000
for firefighters' "turnout
gear," $300,000 to replace
a garbage truck, $75,000
for repairs to the old
Legion Hut on Front
Street, $75,900 for pool
and splash-pad resurfacing
at the Recreation &
Aquatics Center, a total
of $1,125,000 for various
water and sewer system
upgrades and repairs, and
$400,000 to continue the
town's voltage-conversion
project.
• For street
surfacing with
state Powell Bill funding:
$289,593, with the
possibility of an
additional 20% pending
budget approval by the
N.C. General Assembly,
Town Manager Mike Scott
told the council on
Tuesday.
• No additional
debt is
incurred in the new year's
budget.
• General Fund
expenditures of
$16,984,858 amount to an
increase of $1,107,823, or
9.56%, above the current
year's $15,877,035.
Property-tax revenues are
expected to increase by
8.35% in the year ahead
while Fund Balance
Appropriated is budgeted
at 380,265 – up from the
current year's $39,875.
Even so, Town Manager
Scott said Fund Balance
will remain well above the
town's goal of 25% of
total General Fund
expenditures, which
include these major
components: 45% for Public
Safety (police and fire
departments), 22% for
Public Works (sanitation,
streets and drainage,
buildings and grounds,
cemeteries,
beautification, fleet
maintenance), 15% for
Parks and Recreation. Just
3% of General Fund
expenditures cover debt
service.
Town Manager Scott
reported to the council
that last-minute changes
to the budget previously
agreed upon were the
addition of $46,380 to
cover half the cost of
emergency repairs to the
SRAC's humidity-control
system (an expense shared
with Johnston County
Public Schools) and
identical amounts of
$17,680 added to the
Electric Fund and the
Water and Sewer Fund to
cover previously
unanticipated hikes in
workers compensation
insurance.
Contract
awarded for inventory of
copper and lead in pipes
To
comply with federal EPA
mandates, the council
approved a contract with
WithersRavenel, an
engineering firm based in
Cary, to undertake a
town-wide inventory of
lead and copper water
pipes. The cost is
$52,500.
Public Utilities Director
Ted Credle said the
contractor would "take a
deep dive" into public
records and property deeds
with "a large focus on
residential areas" to
identify potential
problems with corrosion
and contamination. "They
will be knocking on doors
at times," he told the
council.
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's Lead
and Copper Rule was
created in 1991 under the
federal Safe Drinking
Water Act in an effort to
reduce the amount of lead
and copper that dissolves
into water from plumbing
materials. Mr. Credle said
a deadline is looming in
2024 for operators of
water systems like
Smithfield's to take
inventory of potential
local hazards.
Town
to join discussions
about a countywide
utility authority
The
council adopted, with
reservations, a resolution
accepting an invitation to
join a discussion among
representatives of
Johnston's local
governments about forming
a single Water and Sewer
Authority to produce and
deliver drinking water and
treat sewage throughout
the county.
A meeting of mayors and
county commissioners on
April 19 led to the
resolution of
participation being
circulated among
Johnston's towns. The
resolution says the
Triangle J Council of
Governments would "take
the lead in facilitating"
discussions and
establishing a steering
committee made up of local
officials.
Councilmen David Barbour
and Travis Scott voiced
concerns about the Town of
Smithfield giving up its
authority over water
service, citing loss of
control resulting from a
decision years ago to turn
over sewage treatment to
the County of Johnston.
But in the end Councilman
Barbour made the motion,
which was approved without
dissent, to participate in
the discussions "with the
understanding that we're
not committing to anything
beyond that." (Mayor Andy
Moore, who attended the
April 19 meeting, and
Councilman Roger Wood were
absent Tuesday.)
Annual
pest-control contract
awarded to low-bidder
Clegg's
The
council approved a
two-year contract with
Clegg's Pest Control, the
lowest of four bidders, at
a yearly cost of $4,752.
The contract covers 11
faciliites: Town Hall,
Operations Center, water
plant, Public Works
Garage, police station,
two fire stations,
Hastings House, Legion
Hut, Girl Scout Hut, and
the Sarah Yard Community
Center.
Special
events: End of School
Celebration Saturday and
more
The
council approved permits
for several upcoming
public events:
• End of School
Celebration
this Saturday from noon
till 4 p.m. at
Smith-Collins Park, hosted
by LifeSpring Church and
the Smithfield Police
Department.
• Piano Festival
on Friday, June 23 from 7
to 9 p.m. at the Neuse
River Amphitheater on
Front Street, hosted by
the town's Parks &
Recreation Department.
• Red, White
& Brews Food Truck
Rodeo on
Sunday, July 2 from 1 to 6
p.m. along the 100 block
of South Third Street,
hosted by the Downtown
Smithfield Development
Corporation.
• It's Bigger
Than Me - Mitchico's
Voice on
Sunday, October 8 from
noon till 4 p.m. at
Smith-Colliins Park,
hosted by Michico Duff as
a fentanyl awareness
event.
Buffalo
Creek Greenway is open
all the way once again
Here's
a view of the re-routed
trail around a second
reservoir (behind the
fence on the left)
constructed as part of the
recent expansion of the
Smithfield Water
Filtration Plant. Repaving
of the trail's new section
was delayed by wet weather
this past month. It was
opened to pedestrians and
cyclists last weekend. The
reconnected trail extends
almost three miles from
the town's Kiddie Park off
South Second Street to the
town's Community Park
beside Smithfield-Selma
High School.
FOR
SALE:
overlooking
Wilson's Pond
in S. Smithfield
Brick-veneer
home at 313 West Wilson
Street: 4,612 sq.ft., 5
bedrooms, 5 full baths,
2-car garage, on 0.64-acre
landscaped lot. $760,000 (MLS#
2509894)
Land
for sale in West
Smithfield
2.4-acre
vacant lot at 1558 W.
Market Street (US 70
Business). Mostly level
ground with 323-foot road
frontage.
$498,000
(MLS#2447472)
SUSAN
LASSITER, Broker
Fonville Morisey Realty
919-669-9235
Fire
departments ask county
to put up $4.5 million
Speaking
for Johnston's fire
departments, Chief Chris
Ellington of the Cleveland
department asked the
County Commissioners
Monday to appropriate $4.2
million in the coming
year's budget for the next
step in a "funding matrix"
designed to guarantee a
minimum level of support
for Johnston's 23
departments.
The appropriation would
enable all the departments
to provide equal levels of
service and "prop up"
recruitment and retention
efforts to offset recent
declines in numbers of
volunteer firefighters,
Chief Ellington said.
Without the additional
county support requested,
property-tax rates in a
number of rural fire
districts would have to go
up substantially to reach
those goals, he noted.
Instead, the departments
want a single countywide
tax levy on all real
estate outside the
municipalities, the chief
said. Currently each rural
district has its own tax
rate set each year by the
commissioners, ranging
from 6 to 12 cents per
$100 valuation.
Chief Ellington said a
one-rate countywide tax
"equals the playing field
for some of our
departments who are not as
well funded as the
others." He did not
suggest what that rate
would be.
Other
requests for new funding
heard Monday
The
$4.2-million request for
fire services was one of
several commissioners
received at Monday's
public hearing on the
county's 2023-24 budget
that are not included in
County Manager Rick
Hester's proposed spending
plan as things now stand.
Here are the others:
• $50,000 for the Veterans
Service Office to provide
more out-of-county
transportation to VA
hospitals through J-CATS.
• $200,000 for My Kid's
Club, which offers
after-school and summer
programs to disadvantaged
youth in Selma and
Smithfield.
• $165,000 for Recovery
Alive, which provides a
home in Smithfield for
women recovering from
substance abuse with plans
for second facility to
serve men.
• $10,000 for Preservation
Johnston County Inc., a
new non-profit that will
seek grants and loans to
save historic structures
threatened by development.
$100,000 for Project
Access, a local effort
already under way to
extend health care to
persons who lack medical
insurance yet do not
qualify for Medicaid.
• $14,500 in monthly aid
for JoCo Angels, working
cooperatively with
Recovery Alive, to save
and protect young people
from drug overdoses that
often prove fatal.
Two other organizations
asked for county
assistance without
specifying amounts:
• REACH, a "mentoring
ministry" that serves
Johnston County youth in
foster care.
• Regional Transportation
Alliance, a Raleigh-based
"business voice" asking
for Johnston County's
participation in a
campaign for FAST, short
for Freeway And
Street-based Transit.
Mr. Hester's proposed
budget leaves unanswered
the major sticking point
toward adoption of a final
spending plan: how much to
allocate for Johnston
County Public Schools. The
Board of Education is
requesting just under
$98.5 million for
operations and capital
projects. The county
manager's proposal sets
aside $83 million.
The difference was not
brought up during Monday's
hearing but is likely to
be the main topic for
discussion at a budget
session scheduled for 6
p.m. Monday at the
Courthouse. Commissioners
intend to adopt the budget
at their May 19 meeting.
Incentives
OK'd for Clayton
"biosciences park"
Following
a public hearing that drew
no negative comments, the
County Commissioners
approved cash incentives
landing a speculative
project that envisions
three buildings in a
"biosciences park" at the
intersection of Ranch and
Little Creech Church roads
in Clayton.
In return for an
investment of at least $27
million by the end of
2033, the county will
return 50% of property
taxes to be paid initially
by the developer,
California-based BioRealty
Inc., over five-year
periods as each of the
buildings is finished. In
addition, the county will
make monthly rental
payments of $3 per square
foot up to two years if a
building is not leased or
purchased by an occupying
industry during that time.
Under that agreement, the
county's maximum lease
liability could be
$600,000, based on three
buildings of 100,000
square feet each, but
could be nothing if the
buildings are quickly
filled as they are
finished.
The county's agreement is
not based on any specific
employment numbers but
"high-wage jobs" are
anticipated with whatever
"life science" businesses
are recruited to fill the
structures.
The Town of Clayton also
agreed to provide cash
incentives to BioRealty
for the project, which the
Johnston County Economic
Development Office labeled
"Project Life Dust" during
the secretive recruiting
process.
READ the
county's official
announcement with more
details about the
project>
Here's a sample of the
type of building
envisioned for
BioRealty's Clayton
project:
Appointments
to Airport Authority and
other governing boards
The
County Commissioners
filled several positions
Monday, including a
contested seat on the
Johnston County Airport
Authority that went to E.
Dale Parker following a
vote by written ballot
(Elena Marie Dodson was
the other applicant).
Uncontested appointments
included the following:
• Child Fatality
Prevention Team – Karen
Mills and Mary Heilig
newly appointed; Kristi
Nelson reappointed.
• Johnston Community
College Board of Trustees
– Hank Daniels
reappointed.
• Jury Commission – Thomas
L. Turnage reappointed.
• Juvenile Crime
Prevention Council –
Stacey Motley newly
appointed; James L.
Spencer Jr., Jackie H.
Lee, Tony Nazal, Douglas
Sorrell, Lama A. Sinno,
and Nakunda Everett
reappointed.
• Public Library Board of
Trustees – Kathryn Nicolai
newly appointed.
• Voluntary Agricultural
District Advisory Board –
Kesha Exenma newly
appointed.
Two
county department
supervisors got
statewide awards
Two county
employees were honored
during Monday morning's
session for winning top
awards from state
associations:
Jimmie
Turbeville,
Support Services
Manager with 9-1-1
Communications,
received the
"Information
Technologist of the
Year" award from the
N.C. Association of
Public Safety
Communications
Officials.
Cathy Futch,
Collections Manager
with the county's Tax
Office, received the
2023 "Employee of the
Year" award from the
N.C. Tax Collectors
Association.
Contracts for Water & Sewer
upgrades, Inspections
software
The
commissioners awarded
three contracts at
Monday's morning session –
two for water and sewer
infrastructure upgrades in
the central part of
Johnston and one for new
software in the county's
Inspections Department.
A contract for $1,118,811
was awarded to Locke-Lane
Construction, Inc. of
Stony Point to upgrade the
county water system's
Smithfield North Booster
Pump Station in the
vicinity of 3139 Buffalo
Road. The expense will be
covered primarily by
county-issued revenue
bonds.
A contract for $825,906
was awarded to Ralph Hodge
Construction Company of
Wilson to upgrade the
county's Holt Lake Force
Main and Wastewater Pump
Station on South Bright
Leaf Boulevard, with
revenue bonds to cover
that expense as well.
A contract with Clariti
Cloud, Inc. to replace
land-management software
in the Inspections
Department comes with a
one-time cost of $623,459
plus subscription and
licensing fees of
$176,998. The expense is
covered by appropriations
in the current year's
county budget, noted
Director of Inspections
Shane Hudson.
VIEW the
county board clerk's
summary of Monday
morning's meeting>
VIEW the
county board clerk's
summary of Monday
evening's meeting>
Smithfield Manor Nursing and Rehab honors
retirees
The
company was previously
unable to celebrate this
milestone for six of its
long-time employees due to
restrictions on group
gatherings during the
COVID pandemic. The
employees recognized
represent 205 years of
service. Smithfield Manor
owner Carol Arnn noted
that the longevity
represented by each of
these employees bucks a
prevalent trend in today's
health-care workforce.
Pictured are four of the
six: (left to right)
Annie Eason, CNA, 29
years; Wanda Pearce,
Environmental Services
Supervisor, 24 years;
Vivian McDougle, Director
of Medical Supply, 40
years; and Sharon Dickens,
LPN, 45 years. Two
others honored were Linda
Joyner, CNA, 40 years and
Willie Gaines, CNA, 27
years.
Rainfall in May totaled 2.89 inches;
19.38 year to date
That's
the report from Cornell
Cox's Backyard Weather
Station in South
Smithfield, and a full
inch of the total fell
during the May's final
weekend. Although the past
month's total was below
our average of 4.23
inches, the total year to
date is slightly above our
five-month average of
18.78 inches, according to
U.S. Climate
Data.
SHERRON ROOFING AND SHEETMETAL
Call
TOM SHERRON
to learn
how
his crew can help
you!
919-631-2695 (cell)
919-934-1160
(office)
WHAT'S
COMING UP?
Smithfield-Selma
High School to graduate
320 this Friday
We
ather
permitting, the ceremony
will be conducted at
Charles Tucker Stadium
starting at 6 p.m. No
tickets are required
unless the event is moved
indoors. In that case,
each senior will receive
five tickets. Principal
David Allen expects 320
graduates to receive
diplomas Friday – the
largest number in recent
years.
Friday's ceremony will be live-streamed>
County
Commissioners' budget
session Monday evening
The
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners will likely
hear from officials of
Johnston's public schools
during a special budget
session scheduled for 6
p.m. Monday at the
Courthouse live-streamed
on the county's YouTube
channel>
School
board's monthly meeting
comes up next Tuesday
The
Johnston County Board of
Education convenes at 4
p.m. Tuesday in the
Evander S. Simpson
Building on US 70 Business
east of Smithfield.
Usually, the board holds a
closed session at the
outset followed by the
open business session
around 5 p.m. The board's
meetings are live-streamed
(and archived for viewing
later) on the Johnston
County Public Schools YouTube
channel>
VIEW the
agenda for Tuesday's
meeting once it's posted
online>
A
PUBLIC SERVICE
ANNOUNCEMENT
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Click
on the name to read an
obituary, usually posted
by the funeral home
JOYCE MARIE
STARLING NORRIS, 82
– died June 6
DONNA
DANIELLE LANDIS, 19
– died June 5
JAMES (JD)
DEBRO BASS, 74 –
died June 4
JANICE
NORRIS HONEYCUTT, 86
– died June 4
RUTH BRYANT
WELLONS WOODLEY, 83
– died June 3
CHARLES
(CHARLIE) BRYANT GARNER
JR., 67 – died June
2
FAYE ROWE
PATTERSON, 84 – died
May 31
OCTAVIA
DENISE BRYANT LEONCE, 40
– died May 27
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Will
town's modest pay raises
prove to be enough?
The
Town of Smithfield's
budget for fiscal 2023-24
seems reasonable within
the confines of tight
economic times for many
households and businesses.
It keeps the property-tax
rate unchanged along with
modest increases in
utility rates that likely
won't be noticed by most
residents.
Modesty is also the
watchword for employee pay
raises. The town is
restoring longevity pay
for workers employed at
least five years – that's
a good thing for
retention. In addition,
pay raises for all town
employees are set at 2%
July 1 followed by merit
raises up to 2% in
January.
The question is: Will that
be enough to attract and
retain police officers,
firefighters, sanitation
workers, and others
necessary to maintain
excellent levels of
service presently enjoyed
by Smithfield's citizens?
The dual challenges of
inflation and competition
from surrounding local
governments, especially
those in Raleigh and
neighboring Wake County,
will continue to test the
Town of Smithfield's
marketability as a
preferred place to work.
It's the same situation
confronting the County of
Johnston and the county's
public schools as their
budgets are crafted in the
days just ahead.
Subscribers
to this edition: 1,437
MISS
A PREVIOUS EDITION?
Rewind
through the Weekly Sun's
archives
the SMITHFIELD
WEEKLY SUN
|
