Council
directs state funds to
resurfacing of 14
blocks
It
was the same choice before
the Smithfield Town
Council last year: Either
spend all the town's
available Powell Bill
money from the state to
resurface Outlet Center
Drive or divide it up to
repave parts of a dozen or
so residential streets.
Once again the council
chose interests of the
town's residents over the
commercial thoroughfare
that serves Carolina
Premium Outlets beside
I-95. The potholes along
Outlet Center Drive have
continued to grow since
the town took over its
maintenance from the state
in 2016.
Public Works Director
Lawrence Davis told the
council at Tuesday's
monthly meeting that the
estimated cost of
repairing Outlet Center
Drive is $700,000. Town
Manager Mike Scott said
this year's allocation of
Powell Bill funds for
Smithfield plus money
carried over from previous
years would fall just
short of the required
amount.
Mayor Andy Moore
recommended spending the
money elsewhere. "I would
prefer sticking with
residential streets and
seek state funding for
Outlet Center Drive," he
said, suggesting that
"over 50% (of motorists)
who utilize that road are
not citizens of
Smithfield." The council
agreed, and authorized the
town manager to seek bids
and award a contract on
his own for resurfacing 14
blocks recommended by Mr.
Davis.
That authority was granted
so the new asphalt could
be applied before cold
weather arrives. (The
council isn't scheduled to
meet again till November
14 – a week later than
normal to avoid
conflicting with the
November 7 Municipal
Election.)
Mr. Davis told the council
he based his list of
streets to be repaved this
year on a 2017 engineering
study and his own more
recent check of
deteriorating conditions.
On that list are the 1000
block of Blount Street,
800 block of East Street,
700 block of Second
Avenue, 300 block of Holt
Street, 1300 and 1400
blocks of Vermont, 100
block of East Wilson, the
18-47 block of Bradford,
52-59 block of Brookwood
Drive, 1-65 block of
Sussex, 1-70 block of
Towbridge, 200 block of
South Roderick, 100 block
of North Street, and the
200 block of Longview.
New
police position OK'd as
relief for sworn
officers
The
Town Council approved
Chief Pete Hedrick's
request to create a new
position of Public Safety
Aide (PSA) in the Police
Department "to free up our
officers to do more police
work." Such a position was
just recently authorized
for municipalities by the
state, the chief said.
The PSA, he said, would be
authorized to investigate
minor motor-vehicle
crashes that don't involve
personal injuries, issue
parking tickets, help
collect crime-scene
evidence, and fulfill
other duties as needed.
"This takes a lot of
burden off our uniformed
personnel," Chief Hedrick
told the council.
The extra help is
especially needed just now
as the Smithfield
department is 12
police-officer positions
short of being fully
staffed.
Chief Hedrick recently got
permission from the
council to employ an
Assistant Chief of Police
who would free him up to
concentrate on officer
recruitment. Tim Short has
since been hired to fill
that spot. Like Chief
Hedrick, he retired after
serving 26 years with the
Lee County Sheriff's
Office in Florida and then
as Deputy Chief of Police
in Robersonville, N.C. He
has recently moved to
Smithfield.
CSX
culvert project's cost
doubles; state will
cover it
The
council learned that the
cost of installing larger
culverts beneath the CSX
railroad track in South
Smithfield has risen from
$950,000 to a new estimate
of $2,050,000 after
engineers found that
floodwaters flowing
through the new pipes
could inundate I-95 a few
hundred yards downstream.
The good news is that an
additional state
appropriation to cover the
higher cost of the project
is included in the new
state budget recently
adopted by the General
Assembly, Town Engineer
Bill Dreitzler told the
Town Council Tuesday
night.
Councilman John Dunn asked
how long will the
additional work delay the
project's completion. "It
could add 6-12 months,"
Mr. Dreitzler replied.
The project was initiated
two years ago in response
to persistent complaints
of flooding voiced by
business owners along US
301 South. As neither CSX
nor the Town of Smithfield
wanted to accept
responsibility for the
work, the 2021 session of
the N.C. General Assembly
came to the rescue with an
initial $950,000 grant.
Actual construction has
been awaiting completion
of engineering and
environmental assessments.
Mr. Dreitzler told the
council this week that a
72-inch culvert underneath
I-95 would have to be
installed before two
48-inch culverts could
replace a single culvert
beneath the railroad
track. The council amended
its contract with LJB Inc.
– a national firm based in
Ohio – to do the
engineering required for
the additional work.
New
rule for car sales lots
puts an end to
litigation
As
a result of negotiations
to settle litigation
involving two automobile
dealers and the town, the
council amended the town's
rule for displaying
vehicles for sale to allow
the dealers more
flexibility. The previous
rule had required dealers
to park cars for display
within separately striped
spaces. The amendment
allows them to park an
allotted number within
larger delineated boxes in
any manner the dealers
choose.
The proposed amendment
included a rule that the
boxes could occupy no more
than 40% of a paved car
lot. Council members asked
for that requirement to be
removed, and Planning
Director Stephen Wensman
consented. (The town's
Planning Board had voted
unanimously to recommend
removal of all
vehicle-display
restrictions.)
Despite the change,
Councilman Roger Wood cast
the lone vote against the
revised rule. "We need to
be business friendly," he
said.
Litigation over the
regulations involved the
local dealerships of
Deacon Jones and Perfect
Ride. Both are in the
process of upgrading their
facilities and wanted the
display restrictions
modified, Mr. Wensman
noted.
Rezoning
on 210 brings business
into compliance
The
council approved B-3
highway business zoning
for a half-acre tract
beside NC 210 just west of
Skyland Drive in West
Smithfield. The tract was
purchased by Johnson's
Tire & Auto a few
years ago for more parking
for its shop next door but
failed to get the town's
approval of its altered
site plan. The business
requested the rezoning to
be in compliance with the
town's Unified Development
Code.
Town's
permitting of events at
parks streamlined
The
council approved an
ordinance amendment to
exempt special events in
town parks from
temporary-use permits
except where there is a
street closure or the use
of amplified sound
Monday-Saturday after 9
p.m. (10 p.m. for the
Neuse River amphitheater).
Events to be held on
Sundays will continue to
require the Town Council's
approval, and the exempted
events will still need
approval from the town's
Parks & Recreation
Department.
Will
Smithfield legalize
keeping chickens in
town?
Planning
Director Wensman gave the
council a report on what
other municipalities are
doing to allow residents
to raise and maintain
chickens inside town
limits. Presently, the
Town of Smithfield
prohibits it. "I'm in
favor of a well-regulated
ordinance" to make it
legal, declared Councilman
Sloan Stevens. Referring
to residents who have
asked about changing
Smithfield's law, "I'd
like to hear more from
them," said Councilman
David Barber. Mr. Wensman
said he would continue to
gather information from
other towns – Clayton, for
one – that have recently
legalized the keeping of
chickens.
Proclamations
issued for three
observances
The
council adopted
proclamations designating
the following:
• Fire Prevention
Month
throughout October. The
resolution notes that the
theme for this year's
observance is "Prevent
Cooking Fires: Watch What
You Heat!" and states that
"cooking fires are the
leading cause of home
fires and home fire
injuries."
• Public Power
Week October
1-7 (this week). The
resolution notes that
Smithfield is one of
70-plus cities and towns
in North Carolina that
operate their own
electricity distribution
systems as "dependable
institutions that provide
excellent service."
• National Family
Literacy Day
November 1. The
resolution, from the
Daughters of the American
Revolution, states that
"as many as one in six
adults struggle with
reading and writing, and
by learning to read,
individuals can gain
self-respect and
confidence and strive
toward goals that
otherwise would not be
achievable."
Map shows the new boundaries of the seven
residency districts for
electing members of the
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners. The Town
of Smithfield remains
split into two districts
(numbers 5 and 6) by
Market Street and NC
210.
ACCESS a larger version of the map above on
the county's website>
County
redraws districts for
electing commissioners
Fred
Smith announces he
will not seek
re-election next year
The
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners gave unanimous
approval Monday to a
realignment of residency
districts that guarantee the
seven board members come
from seven different
sections of the county. They
will continue to be elected
by all the county's voters,
not just voters within each
district.
Two of the board's
members whose seats will be
up for election in 2024 have
declared their intention not
to seek re-election. Fred
Smith (right) of
Clayton made his
announcement at the end of
Monday's
evening session: "It's
time to go home," he said.
"I"m going to serve out my
term, and I will not be
filing for re-election."
Commissioner
Tony Braswell (right)
of Pine Level announced two
months ago that his current
term in office will be his
last. The two are among four
board members whose seats
are up for grabs next year.
Ted Godwin and April
Stephens are the others.
Commissioners Patrick
Harris, Butch Lawyer, and
Dickie Braswell were elected
to four-year terms last
year.
The residency districts for
electing commissioners were
put in place in the
mid-1990s and haven't been
changed since then. As a
result, the populations of
those districts have gotten
out of balance as western
Johnston County has absorbed
explosive residential
growth.
There isn't a legal
requirement for
redistricting after each
decennial U.S. Census, as
there is for electing state
legislators and members of
Congress, because Johnston
elects its commissioners
with countywide rather than
district voting. A special
act of this year's N.C.
General Assembly authorized
the county to redraw its
residency districts now.
Before the change adopted
Monday, the districts ranged
in population from just
under 15,000 to more than
44,000. The new districts
have populations between
31,250 and 39,505. The new
lines were drawn to keep all
sitting board members in
separate districts.
Only a handful of citizens
offered comments about the
new districts in both
in-person and online
opportunities to voice their
opinions, and none of them
objected to the change –
including leaders of the
Johnston County Branch of
the NAACP. Some did advocate
moving to election of
commissioners by each
district's voters in the
future.
With their decision this
week to change the lines,
commissioners met a deadline
for submitting the new
districts to the Johnston
County Board of Elections to
be in effect for next year's
filing period for candidates
that's coming up in
December.
Incentive
agreement for Amazon
extended 18 months
Without
any discussion,
commissioners approved as
part of Monday morning's
Consent Agenda a new
incentive agreement with
Amazon that extends its
goals for initial
employment at its West
Smithfield distribution
center by 18 months.
"Due to various
macroeconomic issues such
as industry-wide supply
chain challenges and
inflationary pressures,
the development of the
Facility has been
delayed," the revised
agreement states.
The original agreement to
rebate county property
taxes paid by Amazon was
"based on an assumed
launch date of Fall 2022,"
notes a memo attached to
the commissioners' agenda.
"This facility is now
tentatively set to launch
in Spring 2024... and hire
more than 500 employees as
originally agreed upon."
"Amazon has currently
invested much more than
the $100MM (million)
capital investment
required in the agreement
and is current on its tax
liabilities to Johnston
County," the memo adds.
So far, the county had
made no incentive payments
to Amazon. Under the new
agreement, the first of
those grants will be
applied to taxes the
company pays in 2025.
Those payments will
continue for seven years –
through taxes paid in
2031.
The Amazon
distribution center as
it stands today beside
US 70 Business. On the
outside the facility
appears to be finished,
with landscaping and
roadway infrastructure
in place. (Johnston
County Economic
Development photo)
Social
Services adding
personnel for Medicaid
expansion
Also
approved as part of
Monday's Consent Agenda
requiring no discussion is
the addition of 13
positions to the staff of
the Johnston County
Department of Social
Services to handle
expansion of Medicaid in
North Carolina December 1.
The department anticipates
10,300 applications, notes
a memo attached to the
board's agenda.
"Reimbursement for these
positions is set at 75%,"
and the county has
received an additional
$149,317 from the state
"to offset the local match
and any startup costs,"
the memo reports. "These
funds should cover the
county expense for the
remainder of the current
fiscal year. The state
also reports that
additional funding may be
available to offset local
costs effective December
1."
County
to buy more nitrogen
credits for sewage
treatment
As
part of the county's
effort to gain approval
for additional treatment
capacity at its new sewage
plant being built off NC
210 west of Smithfield,
commissioners approved the
purchase of 10,000 pounds
of nitrogen offset credits
from International Paper
Company at a cost of $5
million.
Utilities Director Chandra
Farmer said International
is willing to sell part of
its "estuary nitrogen
allocation" because the
company now anticipates
discharges of the chemical
into North Carolina
waterways will be less
than what was originally
permitted by the state.
The county already has an
agreement in place with
Restorations System for
nitrogen credits
sufficient for a discharge
of 13.5 MGD (million
gallons per day) of
treated sewage from its
existing plant on the
Neuse at Smithfield as
well as the new plant
nearing completion, Ms.
Farmer noted. Purchasing
the additional credits is
necessary to gain approval
from the state for a
discharge of 18.0 MGD, she
said.
The new plant will
increase the county's
overall treatment capacity
by 4.0 MGD, but the county
is already planning
additional construction to
increase that to 8.0 MGD.
Funding for buying the
nitrogen credits will come
from water and sewer
revenue bonds issued by
the county as well as
system development fees
paid by real-estate
developers and revenues
from municipalities and
other users of the
county's treatment
facilities.
Appointments
to ABC, Moccasin Creek,
Heritage boards
The
commissioners voted with
paper ballots to make
appointments to two
boards:
• Alcoholic
Beverage Control Board
– D. Lee Jackson of
Smithfield was chosen from
three applicants to serve
a three-year term.
• Moccasin Creek
Service District Board
– Pine Level Mayor Jeff
Holt and County
Commissioner Richard D.
(Dickie) Braswell were
reappointed to two-year
terms. They were two of
three applicants for the
positions.
For the Johnston
County Heritage
Commission, the
board appointed new member
James Dana Carter II of
Clayton and reappointed
Lettie Inez Best of Selma
and Ashley Webster of
Antioch Church Road – all
to two-year terms. They
were the only applicants
for the three seats.
Proclamations
draw attention to
October observances
Commissioners
approved proclamations for
the following:
• National 4-H
Week October
1-7, noting that 4-H
programs in Johnston draw
"more than 3,000 youth
participants" aided by
"more than 105
volunteers."
• Johnston County
Employee Appreciation
Week October
23-27, noting that County
Government employs "over
1,000 men and women,
working in 31 different
service departments and
agencies."
• Domestic
Violence Awareness Month
in October, noting that
Harbor of Johnston County
serves as a shelter for
"approximately 3,000
direct victims and others
annually." This year's
awareness campaign is
labeled "Every 1 Knows
Some 1."
Quarterly retail sales here show a
rare decline
For
the first time in recent
memory, quarterly retail
sales in Johnston County
showed a decrease,
according to the N.C.
Department of Revenue's
latest report – for the
second quarter of this
year. The total of
$786,841,464 during April,
May, and June 2023 fell
short of the $797,383,647
during those three months
in 2022 – a drop of 1.3%.
In contrast, quarterly
sales were showing
double-digit percentage
increases a year ago as
the nation recovered from
the coronavirus pandemic.
September's rainfall of 3.98 inches
closer to normal
Cornell
Cox's Backyard Weather
Station in South
Smithfield measured 3.98
inches of rainfall during
the month of September,
bringing our year-to-date
total to 43.49 inches,
which is moving us closer
to our annual average of
47.75 inches, according to U.S.
Climate Data.
September's total was more
normal than the 9.5 inches
recorded here in August.
Meanwhile, much of the
rest of the nation is
experiencing prolonged
drought. Go figure.
25
JCCollege enrollees get
a last-minute boost
The
Johnston Community College
Foundation awarded $12,500
to 25 students just before
the start of the 2023 Fall
semester. The newly
created JAG Scholarships
are based on financial
need (JAG = "JCC
Awards for Growth").
“We were presented with
the needs of these
students who were
attempting to sign up for
classes but did not have
the funds to complete
their enrollment, so we
found a solution right
away,” explained JCC
Foundation Executive
Director Joy Callahan.
“We
are grateful to the
Foundation for accessing
these unrestricted funds
to help these students
begin their journeys
here,” said JCC President
Vern Lindquist. "The lives
of those 25 students were
forever changed.”
The JAG Scholarship
recipients include seven
with Smithfield addresses:
Hailee Jernigan (in
JCC photo above),
Allison Dudley, Griffin
Jacob, Jacquelyn Lopez,
Jennifer De Rodriguez,
Duke Rodriguez, and
Danielle Gregg.
For more information, visit the
JCC Foundation's
website>
WHAT'S COMING UP
Ava Gardner Festival headlines this
weekend's events
It's
billed as the last event
of a year-long celebration
of Ava Gardner's
Centennial (she was born
on Christmas Eve 1922).
The entertainment begins
with a free screening of
the musical Show Boat
Friday evening at the
Neuse River Amphitheater.
Food trucks will open at
6:30 followed by the movie
at 7:30. Saturday's
highlights include book
signings at the Ava
Gardner Museum by the
daughter of actor Vincent
Price and a Hollywood film
historian, screenings of The
Bribe starring Ava
and the aforementioned Mr.
Price, and tours of Ava's
childhood domiciles in the
Brogden community and
other special places
around Smithfield. In
addition, there's an
"Oktoberfest" going on
Downtown from noon to 8
p.m. Saturday. Sunday
begins with a 10 a.m.
museum opening with more
screenings of The
Bribe and Show
Boat in the
afternoon and The
Great Sinner
starring Gregory Peck and
Ava that evening. VIEW more
festival details
including ticket
information>
SSS will stage a Homecoming parade
Friday afternoon
Durwood
Stephenson Parkway between
Buffalo Road and Kellie
Drive will be closed to
traffic from 4:30 to 5:30
Friday afternoon to clear
the way for
Smithfield-Selma High
School's Homecoming
Parade. During that time,
entry to and exit from
both the Recreation &
Aquatics Center and
Community Park will be
barred.
Kids Fishing Event at East Smithfield
pond Saturday
Youngsters
age 16 and under are
invited to go fishing free
of charge from 10 a.m.
till noon Saturday at the
Eva Ennis Community Pond
across College Road from
Johnston Community
College. Children must be
accompanied by an adult,
and fishing rods will be
available for kids who
don't have their own,
advises the Smithfield
Parks & Recreation
Department, which is
hosting the event.
Drone fly-in demonstration in West
Smithfield Saturday
The
Town of Smithfield is
hosting a drone fly-in
demonstration from 10 a.m.
till 1 p.m. Saturday at
Gertrude Johnson Park
beside US 70 Business in
West Smithfield. The event
will include flight demos,
student competition, a
racing demo, and piloting
opportunities. There's no
charge for admission.
Congressman Nickel's mobile office
here next Tuesday
Congressman
Wiley Nickel's mobile
office will be set up in
the Smithfield Town Hall's
Council Chambers from 10
a.m. till 4 p.m. next
Tuesday. Members of Mr.
Nickel's staff will be on
hand to assist
constituents with Social
Security, visas and
passports, veterans'
benefits, Medicare, grant
funding, immigration, IRS
issues, and other matters.
For more information call
984-275-6150 or visit nickel.house.gov>
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
History
needs to be seen and
touched, not just read
Two
important historical
events took place in
Johnston County last
weekend, and I was able to
be present for both.
Identifying
forgotten relics that
slavery left behind
The
first was the Heritage
Center's "Reclaiming the
Black Past" symposium on
Saturday at the
Agricultural Center west
of town – a doubly
appropriate location in
light of the event's focus
on agrarian history and
the proximity to a
neglected cemetery that
includes graves of
enslaved
African-Americans.
The symposium informed us
about the quest of
historians and
institutions to identify
specific places where
slaves lived and worked
and died. The weekend's
"Artifactual Journey" (the
event's subtitle) actually
began Friday evening at
the Boyette Slave House
near Kenly – a small
stick-and-mud structure
preserved by the family
that still owns the farm
land on which it stands.
Most likely there are
other structures still
standing around here where
slaves were housed.
Finding and documenting
those places is the main
takeaway from Saturday's
presentations by a couple
of nationally known
hunters of slavery's
relics.
Another important task is
uncovering neglected rural
cemeteries like the one in
a patch of woods on a hill
beside NC 210 above the
Agricultural Center. That
tract was part of a
1,500-acre antebellum
plantation that was sold
to a freed slave named
Adam Sanders after the
Civil War. This sacred
ground continues to be in
the hands of his
descendants, including a
Smith branch of the family
tree, who have launched an
effort to restore it as
best they can.
They gathered at the site
at the conclusion of
Saturday's symposium:
EDITOR'S NOTE: Capitol
Broadcasting (WRAL-TV)
has produced a story
about the Sanders-Smith
Cemetery. VIEW the
both the video and a
text version here>
Tobacco
Farm Life Museum to be a
state historic site
The
weekend's second
historical event was
celebration of the 40th
anniversary of the Tobacco
Farm Life Museum at
Kenly – highlighted by the
announcement that the
state will take over its
operation as an historic
site staffed and
maintained by the North
Carolina Department of
Natural and Cultural
Resources.
It's the culmination of a
dream hatched by Suzanne
Bailey, Grethel Boyette,
and others in the early
1980s to establish a place
for preserving artifacts
that tell the story of
farming around here from
the turn of the 20th
Century through the 1930s.
Supported in the beginning
by donations from major
tobacco companies, the
museum has survived all
these years as a
non-profit because of
financial gifts from local
citizens and businesses,
bolstered by volunteers to
keep things moving.
Today's museum is more
than just an
air-conditioned building
housing instructive
displays. On the grounds
outside are several
authentic, relocated
structures including a
farm house, log tobacco
barn, pack house, even a
one-room schoolhouse.
Thanks to a push from
State Representative Larry
Strickland of Pine Level
and other legislators from
Johnston and Wilson
counties, this year's
session of the General
Assembly earmarked a total
of $725,000 over the next
two years in the new state
budget to operate the
Tobacco Farm Life Museum.
"This gives longevity to
what (the museum) and its
volunteers deserve," Mr.
Strickland told the
assembly of 40th
anniversary celebrants.
Last weekend's events
truly helped put history
in its place.
Scene from Sunday's
gathering under the
pines at the Tobacco
Farm Life Museum:
Subscribers
to this edition: 1,455
MISS
A PREVIOUS EDITION?
Rewind
through the Weekly Sun's
archives
the SMITHFIELD
WEEKLY SUN
|
