Community
service from first batch
of Amazon employees
A
posting on the Smithfield
Parks & Recreation
Facebook page
earlier this week
included photographs
thanking volunteers from
Amazon who spent a day
cleaning up the grounds and
walking trail at East
Smithfield's Smith-Collins
Park. No word yet on how
many workers have been hired
at Amazon's distribution
center in West Smithfield so
far. Chris Johnston, the
county director of economic
development, confirmed that
Amazon has been working with
the Capital Area Workforce
Board with "various hiring
events" over the past few
weekends.
County
options site for "a
government complex"
One
of the goals addressed at
the Johnston County
Commissioners' planning
retreat a year ago and
again last week is the
need for more office space
for County Government's
administrative functions.
Toward that end,
commissioners at their
third-Monday meeting this
week approved an option to
purchase 86.22 acres on
both sides of US 70
Business east of
Smithfield just beyond the
county's new Detention
Center and Public Safety
centers. The negotiated
purchase price is
$4,267,890, which is
$49,500 per acre.
As stated in the option
agreement, the site is
being acquired "for a
government complex."
Commissioner Ted Godwin
cast the only vote against
the agreement, explaining
that he favored a price no
higher than $49,000 per
acre during the board's
discussion of the matter
in recent closed sessions.
Even so, he said he
favored buying that
particular parcel for the
stated purpose.
Commissioners have been
talking for some time
about the urgency of
providing expanded
quarters for the county's
Department of Social
Services especially. They
also had a study done this
past year on options for
expanding and
consolidating other county
administrative offices
presently housed in the
Courthouse and nearby
buildings in Downtown
Smithfield.
That study presented two
options: (1) renovation of
the three Social Services
buildings between Hancock
and North streets that
will be vacated once new
quarters are built; or (2)
constructing a completely
new complex on a new site.
With this week's action,
it's apparent the second
option has emerged as the
board's choice.
The next step, once the
86.22 acres have been
secured, would be
development of a site plan
along with cost estimates
and a financing plan for
whatever buildings are to
be constructed. Meanwhile,
renovation of spaces
within the Courthouse
recently vacated by moving
most of the jail, the
Sheriff's Department, and
Emergency Management to
new quarters is expected
to begin soon to provide
more room for Johnston's
judicial system.
Purchase
of the 86.22 acres (gold
tracts outlined in red)
will bring the county's
holdings in the vicinity
to 165.83 acres. In
addition to the site of
the new Detention and
Public Safety centers
purchased several years
ago, the county last year
bought 50 acres of
undeveloped land
straddling Yelverton Grove
Road south of 70 Business.
(County
GIS map)
County
to spend $10.9 million
on older sewage plant
here
Even
though a new treatment
plant is under
construction near the
county's landfill off NC
210 west of Smithfield,
the County Commissioners
this week approved
spending $10,995,000 to
upgrade the existing plant
on the Neuse River below
Smithfield.
Included in that cost is a
$9,741,092 construction
contract with Dellinger,
Inc. of Monroe. Technical
services and contingencies
make up the rest of the
total cost.
Funding for the project is
coming from a direct state
appropriation of
$7,495,000 coupled with
$3.5 million of federal
ARPA money allotted the
county by the American
Rescue Plan Act adopted by
Congress in response to
the COVID-19 pandemic.
The county is upgrading
the sewage plant built in
the 1960s by the Town of
Smithfield as part of
long-range planning to
accommodate Johnston's
rapid residential
development. Plans are
already in the works for
expanding the new plant
off NC 210 even before
it's finished and placed
in service.
County
buys another tract for
Cleveland Township park
Commissioners
approved buying another 10
acres beside McLemore Road
to be added to previously
purchased property for
what's to be developed as
Johnston County's first
"regional park." The
purchase price is
$330,000. The 10-acre
tract adjoins 81 acres
acquired by the county
several years ago.
REGISTER OF DEEDS SALUTED FOR "THANK
A VET" PROJECT
Craig
Olive (front and center),
Johnston County's Register
of Deeds, got a public
thank-you at Monday's County
Commissioners meeting for
his "Thank A Vet" initiative
that issues ID cards
qualifying military veterans
for discounts at more than a
hundred local businesses.
Standing with Mr. Olive are
Johnston County Veterans
Council President Larry
Pittman (left) and
Director of Veterans
Services Robert Boyette.
Behind them are
Commissioners April
Stephens, Tony Braswell,
Butch Lawter, Ted Godwin,
and Dickie Braswell (Patrick
Harris and Fred Smith were
not present). (Photo
from County of Johnston
Facebook page)
Countywide
fire-tax plan moves toward
July 1 start
The
fourth in a series of
public informational
meetings about the
county's plan to
consolidate its 26 rural
fire districts into a
single district for
property taxation drew
just a handful of citizens
to Smithfield-Selma High
School last Saturday
morning.
Perhaps
that's because of what
won't be changed when the
new plan takes effect. The
names of Johnston's fire
departments and their
territories won't be
altered. Neither will
boundaries of existing
districts for insurance
purposes.
What will likely change
are the property-tax rates
levied in those 26
districts. The current
rates range from 6 to 13
cents per $100 valuation
(12 cents in the district
surrounding Smithfield).
Next fiscal year, which
starts July 1, the rate
will be the same for all
property owners who reside
outside of Johnston's
municipalities.
The countywide fire-tax
rate will be determined
this spring by the County
Commissioners when they
adopt the county's budget
for fiscal 2024-25.
The purpose of moving to a
single-district plan for
rural fire taxation is "to
provide the most equitable
level of service"
throughout Johnston,
states the county in its
prepared presentation to
citizens attending the
informational sessions.
The plan provides funding
to ensure that at least
one firefighter is on duty
Monday through Friday at
all departments starting
July 1.
Starting January 1, 2025
all departments will have
at last one first
responder "qualified at
the EMS level," states the
county's plan.
Before the single-district
proposal can be adopted,
the County Commissioners
will conduct a public
hearing on the plan at its
evening meeting on Monday,
April 1.
County
bond issue drew
unprecedented 19 bidders
The
County Commissioners got
that news at last week's
Strategic Planning Retreat
that was live-streamed
Thursday and Friday on the
county's YouTube
site>
"We think this is an
all-time record," reported
Kyle Laux of Davenport
& Company, the
county's financial
advisors for more than two
decades.
A large part of the reason
for that is the county's
upgraded bond rating,
which this past year rose
to the highest level
awarded by the nation's
two leading bond-rating
agencies: Moody's and
S&P (Standard &
Poor's).
As a result, $30 million
worth of bonds authorized
in 2022 by the county's
voters for school
construction sold recently
for a net interest rate of
3.68%, which is less than
the 5% anticipated in the
county's long-term
borrowing plan.
Mr. Laux told
commissioners his firm
estimates the county has
saved $31 million in
interest expense over the
past 20 years because of a
steady upgrading of its
bond ratings during that
time.
The 2022 bond referendum
authorized $177 million
for construction of new
facilities for Johnston
County Public Schools and
Johnston Community
College. The county will
issue additional bonds
beyond the initial $30
million later this year.
Projects to be financed
include the new Wilson's
Mills High School and a
new elementary school on
Cleveland Road that will
bear the name of Swift
Creek.
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FLU, COVID, RSV SHOTS AVAILABLE
WITHOUT
APPOINTMENT
Town
earmarks state grant for
costly police project
The
Smithfield Town Council
took action on just two
items at Tuesday's newly
established second monthly
meeting. One was
designating a $450,000
"public safety" grant from
the 2023 N.C. General
Assembly to help cover
cost overruns for the
recently expanded
headquarters of the Police
Department.
When
the council learned in
December 2022 that the cost
of the 3,500-square-foot
expansion of Smithfield's
police headquarters on South
Fifth Street had risen from
a earlier estimate of
$784,572 to a revised amount
above $1.8 million, the
council agreed to dip
into the town's share of
federal ARPA funding
approved by Congress under
the American Rescue Plan
Act.
The $450,000 state grant, in
effect, frees up some of
that ARPA money for other
projects that may be
identified in the council's
upcoming budget sessions.
The
other item addressed
Tuesday was to set the
starting time for the
second monthly meeting on
the third Tuesday at 7
p.m. rather than this
week's 6:30 start. The
council's regularly
scheduled meeting on the
first Tuesday also starts
at 7 p.m.
Council members and staff
also agreed to begin
scheduling public hearings
on rezoning cases and
other ordinance changes
during the third-Tuesday
sessions so decisions on
those cases could be put
off till the first-Tuesday
session. That would allow
time for follow-up
deliberations before final
decisions are made.
Council members also
agreed to allow slots for
"Citizens Comments" during
both monthly meetings.
Meet the Ava Gardner Museum's new
manager
Story
& photo from
Johnston County
Visitors Bureau
The
Ava Gardner
Museum board of
directors has hired
Angelica Henry as the new
museum manager. Long-time
Executive Director Lynell
Seabold has retired to
Edenton; however, she will
remain working with the
museum part-time as
bookkeeper and grant
administrator.
Angelica
Henry is a Florida native
with a passion for
preserving memories. She
holds a bachelor's degree
in Art History and Arts
Administration from the
University of North
Carolina at Greensboro and
pursued a Masters in
Library Science with a
concentration in Archives
and Special Collections
from her alma mater.
Weekly, Angelica
volunteers as a docent at
the North Carolina Museum
of Art. Besides her love
for the museum realm,
Angelica is an avid
reader, writer, and
house-plant hobbyist. She
attributes her love for
Golden Age Hollywood to
her mother, Claudia, who
raised her on Lucille Ball
and Desi Arnaz.
"I
know fans of Ava to be
tried and true," she said.
"I cannot wait to meet
everyone, and to hear the
many stories and personal
connections to this
luminary of a woman. I’ve
got big shoes to fill
following Lynell’s seven
years of leadership, and I
am humbly up for the
challenge."
FOR SALE: house & lots
overlooking South
Smithfield
pond
313
W. Wilson St.
Traditional
brick residence with 5
bedrooms & 5 baths
(2 primary suites),
with 3
lots totaling
more than an acre (one
lot is vacant): PRESENTLY UNDER CONTRACT!
(MLS# 2509894).
SUSAN LASSITER, Broker, Fonville Morisey
Realty
919-669-9235
WHAT'S COMING UP
County will alter chemistry of
Johnston West water
March 1
Beginning March 1 and continuing
till mid-April, the
Johnston County Water
Treatment Plant
will temporarily
stop feeding ammonia
with chlorine for
disinfection and start
feeding chlorine only
for customers on the
Johnston West system.
"State and federal
regulations require that
all public water systems
feed chlorine only for
at least three weeks
each year to insure that
no bacteria are present
which may have adapted
to the ammonia in the
water," states the
county's announcement.
"The county will also
conduct flushing of the
Johnston West
water-distribution
system during this
period to speed the
removal of chloramines
from the system. The
flushing process may
result in some minor and
temporary discoloration
of water that does not
affect water quality. If
any related issues
cannot be cleared by
flushing the lines
inside your home, please
call Public Utilities at
919-989-5075." (Town
of Smithfield water
customers should see
no effects from the
county's procedures.)
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Which
is better for county:
20-year or 30-year
bonds?
County
Commissioner Fred Smith
raised the question during
last week's Strategic
Planning Retreat,
contending that a longer
period for repaying debt
on new schools and other
structures would ensure
that users of those
facilities well into the
future will help pay for
what's being built to last
a lifetime and beyond.
As things now stand, most
public financing through
bond issues are limited to
20 years or less, in large
measure to keep a lid on
interest costs.
Mr. Smith went on to point
out that spreading out the
financing over 30 years
would free up county
capital funding quicker
for other needs that are
sure to confront the
county's principal
governing board.
But Kyle Laux of Davenport
& Company, the
county's long-time
financial advisors, noted
that the N.C. Local
Government Commission
frowns on
general-obligation bonds
for things like new
schools going beyond 20
years, especially for a
county like Johnston which
this past year achieved a
AAA bond rating. The
20-year ceiling on such
financing is considered "a
best practice," he
advised.
Hearing that, Commissioner
Smith backed away from his
suggestion. "Kyle, you
earned your fee today," he
told Mr. Laux. "Now I
understand."
Meanwhile, the County of
Johnston has an option
many local governments
lack these days: cash on
hand to pay for some of
its capital needs without
borrowing money, thanks to
a General Fund Balance
that has grown far beyond
the county's goal of
reserving an amount that's
20% of annual
expenditures. It was noted
at last week's retreat
that the county's current
fund balance has reached
73% because of
"conservative budgeting"
coupled with Johnston's
fast-growing property-tax
base.
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