County
budget adopted with 2-cent
tax cut
and 17.5% more for
public-school operations
Johnston's
County Commissioners
approved last-minute changes
in the county manager's
proposed budget by unanimous
vote without any further
discussion at their regular
third-Monday meeting.
County
Manager Rick Hester (in
screenshot from Monday's
meeting) had
recommended an increase in
funding for Johnston County
Public Schools from $88.5
million this year to $93.3
million in fiscal 2024-25,
which begins July 1.
Following behind-the-scenes
negotiations with school
leaders, the County
Commissioners settled on an
appropriation of $104
million – an increase of
17.5%.
At the same
time, commissioners approved
$3.5 million for capital
improvements – a cut from
this year's $6 million and
far short of the schools'
request for $28.8 million.
But that's not the final
tally. Later during Monday's
session, commissioners
committed up to $11.3
million beyond the newly
adopted budget for a
24-classroom addition at
Cleveland High School. Mr.
Hester said his staff will
"bring back a recommendation
to the commissioners on how
to actually fund it – if we
borrow money or come back
with another plan."
Wasting no time
to move forward with the
Cleveland project,
Johnston's Board of
Education on Tuesday
approved construction
contracts (details in
story below).
In addition to
that, Chairman Butch Lawter
said the board will revisit
Neuse Charter School's
request for $8 million to
help pay for a second
classroom building once
staff has completed due
diligence on legal steps the
county must take to
authorize the grant under
enabling legislation adopted
this past year by the N.C.
General Assembly. That
appropriation is not
included in the budget
adopted Monday.
Meanwhile, Mr.
Hester’s recommendations for
county contributions to
Johnston Community College
were left at $6,912,290 for
current expense and $1.2
million for capital outlay –
same as the current year’s
amounts.
The two-cent cut
in the county's property-tax
rate follows a four-cent cut
last year and reduces the
rate to 67 cents per $100
valuation for bills going
out this summer.
The new budget
sets a countywide fire-tax
rate at 14 cents under a
plan that consolidates the
26 rural districts outside
Johnston's towns into a
single district effective
July 1. This past year the
rates for all the districts
except Claytex surrounding
Clayton were less than the
new 14-cent countywide rate.
The fire district around
Smithfield had a 12-cent
rate.
For county
employees, the new budget
provides for a 3%
across-the-board pay hike
July 1 and a possible
performance-based increase
up to 2% in October. The
budget resolution sets new
salaries for certain
administrative and elected
officers:
• County Manager
Rick Hester – $275,000.
• County
Attorney Jennifer Slusser –
$225,000.
• Sheriff Steve
Bizzell – $190,000.
• Tax
Administrator Jocelyn
Andrews – $150,000.
• Register of
Deeds Craig Olive –
$132,000.
• Clerk to the
Board Dana Cuddington –
$90,000.
Appropriations
added by the board to
the new budget
The
commissioners' resolution
adopting the 2024-25 budget
increased several
appropriations beyond the
county manager's
recommendations:
• JCATS QuickRide got
$275,000 added to continue
its on-call transit service
in the Smirthfield-Selma
area. (Mr. Hester previously
said he had inadvertently
overlooked that request when
he prepared his proposed
budget.)
• Harbor
Inc., the
domestic-violence program,
got $225,000 added to Mr.
Hester’s recommended
$100,000 to equal
a $325,000 contribution
made this past year.
• Smithfield Rescue
Mission got
$24,000, which wasn’t
included in the manager’s
proposal. Last year the
agency got $45,000.
• Clayton Civitan
Club got
$75,000 added to Mr.
Hester’s recommended $75,000
for a total of $150,000 the
club had requested to
help pay for new lighting at
five fields used for
competition in several youth
sports.
• Moccasin Creek
Drainage District
got $250,000 to match a
grant for another
stream-clearance project.
• N.C. Forest
Service got a
$9,788 addition to the
county’s share of its
Johnston County budget. As a
result, the local operation
will receive $173,392
from the county and $260,999
from the state in the year
ahead.
Other “Special
Appropriations” to programs
outside of County Government
include:
• Triangle Land
Conservancy –
$500,000, down from $715,000
budgeted this year.
• Johnston Health
Foundation –
$100,000, same as the
current appropriation for
Project Access, a program
extending health care to
uninsured Johnstonians.
• My Kid’s Club
– $100,000, same as the
current year’s contribution.
• Partnership for
Children –
$50,000, same as this year.
The agency had requested
$100,000.
• Johnston County
Arts Council –
$19,000, an increase from
$15,000 this year.
Representatives from a
citizens’ lobby called Down
Home N.C. appeared before
commissioners during all
three budget sessions held
since the first of June to
request employment of an
“energy manager” who could
seek grants from the federal
Inflation Reduction Act to
help low-income households
pay their utility bills.
Their request wasn’t
included in the new
year’s budget.
School
board lists projects for
proposed bond issue
Replacing
oldest part of South
Smithfield Elementary
included
During a special
session Tuesday, Johnston’s
Board of Education adopted a
resolution listing
construction and renovation
projects to be funded with
the proposed $120-million
school-bond issue going
before voters in November.
The list includes classroom
additions at three schools,
major renovations at half a
dozen, replacement of HVAC
and fire-alarm systems at a
number schools, and other
improvements.
The focus is on elementary
schools. South Smithfield is
one, where an original wing
built in 1956 would be
demolished and replaced with
new construction.
Here’s the complete list in
the order presented in the
board’s resolution:
• Renovate
Corinth Holders Elementary
School; construct a
classroom addition.
• Construct a
classroom addition to
Thanksgiving Elementary
School.
• Renovate
Wilson’s Mills Elementary
School; construct a
classroom addition.
• Renovate
McGee's Crossroads
Elementary School.
• Renovate South
Smithfield Elementary;
demolish and reconstruct the
primary wing.
• Renovate Four
Oaks and Cleveland
elementary schools; replace
HVAC systems.
• Replace six
obsolete fire-alarm systems
at Cooper Academy, Wilson’s
Mills Elementary, Pine Level
Elementary, East Clayton
Elementary, West Clayton
Elementary, and Polenta
Elementary.
• Construct a
press box for the baseball
and softball fields at North
Johnston High; resurface the
track and tennis courts.
• Renovate and
construct a metal roof
overbuild on East Clayton
Elementary School.
• Provide HVAC
improvements to various
schools by upgrading
automated control systems
and/or replacing chillers
containing obsolete R-22
Freon.
Construction contracts awarded for Cleveland
High addition
The
Board of Education
approved contracts with
three construction
companies for a
24-classroom addition to
Cleveland High School,
which opened at its
present site on Polenta
Road in 2010. The goal
is completion in time
for the 2025-26 school
year.
Construction contractors
and their approved bids
are:
• Wimco Corporation
(General Construction):
$6,714,757.
• Baker Mechanical, Inc.
(HVAC & Plumbing):
$2,342,089.
• Coastline Electrical
Construction, Inc.
(Electrical): $799,450.
Additional contracts for the addition’s
design, furniture and
fixtures, and technology
bring total estimated
cost of the project to
$11,599,131
– $350,000 of that
already appropriated by
the county, source of the rest
of the funding yet to be
determined.
SMITHFIELD-SELMA
HIGH SCHOOL
releases Principal's
List and Honor Roll
for the
fourth nine weeks of the
2023-24 academic
year>
Town
Council rejects "Buffalo
Ridge" subdivision
After
two and a half hours of
negotiation with
developers about specifics
of their proposal, the
Smithfield Town Council
voted 4-3 Tuesday night to
deny conditional rezoning
of 140 acres of mostly
cleared farmland on the
west side of Buffalo Road
for a 210-lot residential
subdivision labeled as
"Buffalo Ridge."
The council's reservations
about the project ranged
from smaller lot sizes to
architectural standards
for the envisioned
single-family dwellings.
During a public hearing
prior to the council's
discussion, residents from
nearby Bradford Park
voiced alarms about
roadway traffic and
storm-water flooding.
Voting against approval of
the plan: Travis Scott,
who several times voiced
opposition to proposed lot
sizes as small as 6,000
feet, along with Marlon
Lee, Steve Rabil, and
Roger Wood. Voting in
favor: David Barbour, John
Dunn, Sloan Stevens.
During the public hearing,
Rick Buckner of Bradford
Park's Cobblestone Court
objected to the proposal's
housing "density," noting
that "the market is being
groomed by investors and
developers" who want to
build subdivisions with
lots smaller than the
minimum 8,000 square feet
normally allowed under the
town's zoning rules. "What
is the maximum amount of
houses, the maximum amount
of population that
Smithfield can support?"
Mr. Buckner asked.
The relatively new
Conditional Zoning
classification in play at
Tuesday's meeting has
opened the door for
negotiations leading to
smaller lot sizes as a
trade-off for exceeding
minimum town standards for
amenities like sidewalks
and street design,
recreation facilities and
open spaces.
That's the procedure that
has delayed the council's
approval of another large
subdivision proposed for
wooded acreage across
Buffalo Road from the
project rejected Tuesday.
First brought before the
council in January, that
plan asks for 222
single-family lots on a
portion of 139 acres
adjacent to Bradford Park
and Smithfield Community
Park. Postponed several
times since then, it's now
scheduled for
reconsideration by the
Town Council in July.
Meanwhile, the council
last month approved a
mixed-use plan that
includes 209 single-family
houses on lots as small as
4,200 square feet. That
decision also came after
lengthy give-and-take
between council members
and developers. That plan
has commercial and
industrial components
along with apartments and
covers 164 acres on both
sides of Durwood
Stephenson Parkway east of
Booker Dairy Road.
Council
adopts rule requiring
paved driveways
From
now on, new residential
driveways within both the
town's limits and
Smithfield's ETJ
(Extra-Territorial
Jurisdiction) must be
paved with either concrete
or asphalt or some other
comparable solid surface.
Planning Director Stephen
Wensman presented the new
rule in response to an
uptick in "infill"
construction of new houses
on lots in the older
sections of town.
He said the town's
Planning Board had
requested an exemption
from the rule for
properties within the ETJ
areas, but Town Attorney
Bob Spence advised against
such "splitting" of the
town's zoning regulations.
In response, the council
amended the new rule to
make it clear that
commercial, industrial,
and agricultural
operations are not covered
by the regulation. As a
result, new driveways up
to 50 feet in length must
be paved from now on, and
those driveways may not
take up more than 50% of a
dwelling's front yard.
Councilman Scott cast the
only vote against the new
rule.
Meeting
with Downtown Development
board canceled
The Town Council
had scheduled a special
session Monday evening with
directors of the Downtown
Smithfield Development
Corporation, but it was
canceled Monday morning.
"The meeting was intended to
be a verbal exercise to
improve communication and
expectations of each board,”
explained Town Manager Mike
Scott in an e-mail message
to the Weekly Sun.
"The expectations of a
social district, downtown
murals, downtown
maintenance, event planning,
and the use of program funds
budgeted by Council were all
items that were planned to
be discussed."
WHAT'S COMING
UP
Summer astronomically arrives at 4:51
this afternoon
Obviously,
meteorological summer
(June, July, and August)
has already descended upon
us with several 90-degree
days already. But the
Summer Solstice, when the
Sun reaches its farthest
latitude north of the
Equator, is calculated to
take place at 4:51 p.m.
today. That also produces
the year's longest days:
14 hours, 36 minutes
between sunrise every day
this week, according to the Old
Farmer's Almanac>
Friday's River Jam Concert: Beach's
Chairmen of the Board
Billed
as a "legendary" Beach and
Rhythm & Blues band,
Chairmen of the Board will
crank up for an evening
performance at 6:30 p.m.
Friday at the Neuse River
Amphitheater. Hosted by
the Smithfield Parks &
Recreation Department,
these "River Jam" concerts
are free of admission
charge.
Heat prompts cancellation of
Saturday's Farmers
Market
Here's
the announcement posted on
Facebook Wednesday
evening:
Due to this weekend’s scorching hot temperatures and the concern of our vendor’s safety, this Saturday’s Farmers Market will be cancelled. Join us in September for more Farmers Markets.
High-temperature forecasts for this Saturday in Smithfield:
95 by weather.com, 96 with a "real feel" of 103 by accuweather.com.
Saturday's Juneteenth Celebration at
Smith-Collins still on
Despite
the heated forecast,
Saturday's Juneteenth
Celebration was still
being advertised this
morning (Thursday). It
begins with a parade at
10:30 starting at the
Alumni Center on Massey
Street and proceeding to
Smith-Collins Park where
the celebration continues
at 3 p.m. with a cookout
and musical entertainment.
County Commissioners to "incentivize"
Novo Nordisk?
Johnston's
Board of County
Commissioners will conduct
a public hearing at 11
a.m. Monday at the
Courthouse on a
pre-arranged incentive
grant to an unnamed
company that proposes "to expand existing
manufacturing/production
facilities in the
Johnston County Research
and Training Zone in the
Clayton area," according
to the county's official
notice of the special
meeting. Local media
have reported that it's
another expansion of the
Novo Nordisk
pharmaceutical complex
east of Clayton.
"Trusted
by families since
1977"
840
S. Bright Leaf Blvd.
• 919-934-7164
• www.carrollpharmacy.com
PILL
PACKAGING • FREE LOCAL
DELIVERY • CONVENIENT
DRIVE-THRU
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
Houses are shown under construction last fall
in the East River
subdivision on the north
side of Smithfield.
Buyers wasted no time
claiming their piece of
the action.
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Smithfield's
growth long overdue, yet
troublesome
The
Smithfield Town Council
finds itself between the
proverbial "rock and a
hard place" as it attempts
to "manage" the new
residential development
engulfing our community
along with the rest of
Johnston County.
On the one hand, this new
growth is being welcomed
with open arms after
several decades of
stagnation when it comes
to new housing
construction here.
On the other hand, the
surge in new development
has folks worried about
increased traffic
congestion and the literal
uprooting of our physical
environment.
Those mixed feelings rose
to the surface with this
week's 4-3 vote by the
Smithfield Town Council to
reject a developer's plan
for a large subdivision
off Buffalo Road south of
Smithfield Middle School.
What was remarkable about
that was the council's
approval one month ago of
a similar development off
Booker Dairy Road. The
favorable vote on that one
was 5-1 (with one council
member absent).
Apparently driving that
change in sentiment is
what has already taken
place here. Council
members have several times
recently pointed to the
built-out East River
subdivision farther out
Buffalo Road as an example
of what they don't want
Smithfield to become: a
bunch of single-family
houses crammed onto
relatively tiny lots along
narrow streets often
restricted by parked
vehicles.
What's taking place here
is a market-driven charge
by developers to make new
housing more affordable
for buyers, and more
profitable for investors.
The more houses you can
fit onto a large piece of
property, the more
attractive becomes the
price for consumers and
the profit margin for
developers.
In the case of East River,
that scenario has turned
out to be a resounding
success as those new
houses have been gobbled
up by buyers as fast as
they've been built.
And so, more of that is
bound to come our way.
The question now before
Smithfield's elected
leaders is when do you say
yes and when do you say no
and remain fair to those
that ask while protecting
the well-being of
Smithfield's existing
residents. Stay tuned.
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