1,000
additional jobs coming
to sprawling Clayton
campus
Corporate
Vice President Neils
Nielsen (right)
announced specifics of the
project following Monday
morning's approval by
Johnston's County
Commissioners of tax
rebates tied to the
company's new investment
and hiring goals.
Mr. Nielsen said the
Denmark-based company
plans to spend $4.1
billion on a
1.4-million-square-foot
manufacturing facility
that will add 1,000 jobs
to the 1,000 or so already
employed at its sprawling
Clayton campus on Powhatan
Road.
Chris Johnson, the
county's economic
development director, told
commissioners the newly
announced project is "the
single largest
life-science manufacturing
investment in the state of
North Carolina, and quite
possibly the largest
investment in the U.S. by
our friends at Novo
Nordisk."
The board then authorized
a revised agreement with
Novo Nordisk based on the
county's standard
procedure for industrial
recruitment incentives.
Primarily, that's a rebate
of a percentage of county
property taxes assessed
over 12 years provided the
company meets
capital-investment goals
and adds at least 500
employees at an average
wage no less than $69,065.
The tax rebates start at
90% for five years on "net
new taxable value of
improvements," then
decline gradually to 50%.
Rebates on "business
property" (mostly
equipment) remain at 50%
for the entire 12 years.
After that, Novo Nordisk
is responsible for paying
all property taxes in full
without annual rebates.
Monday's agreement revises
a contract for incentive
grants approved in 2022
for a previously announced
expansion project. Novo
Nordisk has been in
operation at its Clayton
location since the
mid-1990s. Its initial
focus was production of
insulin.
According to local media
reports, including a
story posted by WRAL
News, the company's
massive expansion at
Clayton is being spurred
by surging demand for
Ozempic and Wegovy,
diabetes and weight-loss
drugs produced by Novo
Nordisk.
The new production
facilities, already under
construction, will cover
space as large as 25
football fields (170
acres), with 2,000 or so
contractors expected to be
employed during the peak
of construction, the
company noted. Completion
is anticipated in phases
between 2027 and 2029.
Here's the architect's
rendering of the cluster
of new facilities being
built:
(Photos from from
Johnston County Office
of Economic Development)
U.S. reports Johnston's weekly wage
up to $1,054
The
U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics has released a
report showing the average
weekly wage among
Johnstonians reached
$1,054 at the end of 2023
– an increase of 5.7%
since the end of 2022.
Based on that report, the
average Johnston County
annual wage adds up to
$54,808.
For all of North Carolina,
the average weekly wage at
the end of last year was
$1,280 – $66,560 for 52
weeks.
The federal report is
based on data provided by
"covered" employers. For
Johnston County, that
includes 5,112
establishments with 60,369
employees. (The most
recent labor report from
the N.C. Department of
Commerce showed 108,761
Johnstonians at work under
the state's
unemployment-insurance
program.)
Among neighboring
counties, Wake had the
highest weekly wage at
$1,473 among 51,752
establishments employing
653,642. The only other
nearby county with a
weekly wage above
Johnston's is Wilson at
$1,069. The lowest rate
among our neighbors was
Harnett County's $894.
VIEW the
report's
county-by-county North
Carolina map with
statistics>
Retail sales up 10.9% in year's first
quarterly report
Retail
sales in Johnston County
showed a healthy gain of
10.9% during January,
February, and March of
this year when compared to
sales during the same
quarter a year earlier.
According to the latest
report from the N.C.
Department of Revenue,
2024 first-quarter sales
in Johnston totaled
$805,162,604 – up $79.1
million from the previous
year's quarterly total of
$726,014,693.
HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME
Despite
last weekend's "heat wave"
when official high
temperatures reached 95, a
couple of outdoor events
in Smithfield took place
as planned....
The
Chairmen of the Board
performed with help from
the audience at Friday's
River Jam concert at the
Neuse River Amphitheater.
The series of free
performances, hosted by
the town's Parks &
Recreation Department,
wraps up with a
performance by Spare
Change, a "fun time party
band," at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 13.
Last Saturday, a
celebration of Juneteenth
hosted by several
organizations began with a
morning parade from the
Johnston Central Alumni
Center to Smith-Collins
Park where an afternoon
cookout followed.
Apparently, those who took
part in both events were
able to "beat the heat."
IT'S HOT – AND IT'S DRY: an unpleasant
convergence
Wednesday's
official high temperature
here – measured at
Johnston Regional Airport
– climbed to 96.8 degrees
at 2:10 p.m. and reached 98.6
at 4:50 where it
stayed for an hour. Heat
index was recorded as high
as 103 at one point and
remained at 102 for much
of the afternoon.
Meanwhile, it hasn't
rained in South Smithfield
since June 10, when
Cornell Cox recorded
one-tenth of an inch at
his backyard weather
station. He reports a
total of just 0.45 inches
since the first of June.
As a result, the County of
Johnston earlier this week
began urging its water
customers to cut back on
irrigation that's putting
a strain on its treatment
plant on the Neuse River
at Wilson's Mills. The
county's suggestion for
alternate watering days:
• Odd-numbered addresses:
Tuesday, Thursday,
Saturday.
• Even-numbered addresses:
Wednesday, Friday, Sunday.
• No watering on Monday.
The Town of Smithfield has
its own water plant on the
Neuse and so far hasn't
put out an advisory about
conservation.
There's a chance of
thundershowers in the
region over the weekend.
We're keeping our fingers
crossed some relief from
the heat and drought will
reach us soon.
WHAT'S COMING
UP
Smithfield's Fourth of July
celebration this
Sunday
The
evening's activities begin
at noon with a "Red White
& Brews" event along the
100 block of Downtown's
South Third Street featuring
food trucks, local vendors,
and craft breweries until 6
p.m. After that, the town's
Independence Celebration
moves to the Neuse River
Amphitheater on Front Street
for live music, food trucks,
games and activities, and a
fireworks show at
approximately 9:15 p.m.
These events are free of
admission charge,
compliments of the Downtown
Smithfield Development
Corporation.
Governing board meetings scheduled
through mid-July
Since
the next edition of the
Weekly Sun won't arrive
till July 18 – three weeks
from today – here's the
schedule of local
government meetings
between now and then:
Smithfield Town
Council will
meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday,
July 9 at Town Hall rather
than July 2 because of the
Fourth of July holiday. As
a result, the council's
second monthly meeting
will be delayed till
Tuesday, July 23.
VIEW agendas
once they're posted by
the end of the week
prior to the
meetings>
Johnston County
Commissioners
will meet at 10 a.m. and 6
p.m. Monday, July 15 at
the Courthouse. The
regular first-Monday
sessions won't be held on
July 2 in deference to the
Fourth of July holiday.
VIEW agendas
once they're posted by
the end of the week
prior to the
meetings>
Johnston County
Board of Education normally
skips its
second-Tuesday-of-the-month
meeting in July.
Posters spotlight upcoming summertime
activities:
DEATHS
& FUNERALS
A
WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Weekly Sun to be a Monthly
Sun in July
& August
This
is the second summer I'm
going to take some time
off to have more free time
to spend with family and
friends, and also to
rethink the future
direction of this
publication. Perhaps
things will be different.
Perhaps not.
The July edition is
scheduled to go out on
Thursday the 18th, the
August edition on Thursday
the 15th. The weekly
schedule resumes after
Labor Day.
In the meantime, I'm
always "open for business"
when it comes to your
ideas and suggestions
about where the
Smithfield Weekly Sun
ought to be headed.
...so
anyone can dump just
about anything at no
charge
The
County Commissioners had
considered attaching an
annual fee to property-tax
bills to help pay for the
county's
garbage-collection service
at rural "convenience
centers." That would have
replaced the expiring $100
annual fee for vehicle
decals permitting dumping
of household garbage and
trash (there has been no
charge for disposal of
recyclable items).
But budget season came and
went without anything more
said about that proposal,
which means the cost of
the program is being
absorbed as part of the
county's General Fund
operating budget – even
after a two-cent cut in
the tax rate!
Will this open-to-all free
admission to the county's
trash-collection stations
put an end, at last, to
illegal roadside dumping?
A
WORD FROM A READER
Disappointment
with county response on
energy grants
By
DEBORAH HOOKER,
co-leader
N.C. Central &
Cape Fear Region
Chapter, Citizens
Climate Lobby
I just
wanted to clarify a
detail in your report
on the County
Commissioners' June 17
meeting (in last
week's edition): "Representations
from a citizens'
lobby called Down
Home N.C.
appeared... to
request employment
of an 'energy
manager' who could
seek grants... to
help low-income
households pay their
utility bills. Their
request wasn't
included in the new
year's budget."
The
representatives were
from two groups:
Down Home N.C.
and the N.C. Central
& Cape Fear Region
Chapter of Citizens’
Climate Lobby.
The
request was for the
county to apply for any
and all Inflation
Reduction Act monies
that could be used to
fund the position of a
Sustainability
Director/Energy
Navigator. (Greenville
has just done this.)
The purpose of that hire
is not merely to help
households pay their
utility bills. It is to
provide the county with
an individual who could
examine and determine
which funds from the
Inflation Reduction Act
or the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Act could
be applied for to be
used:
• To educate our
citizens and businesses
about the tax incentives
and rebates for
electrification and
energy efficiency
upgrades available to
individual homeowners
and businesses.
• To consider
applications for grants
that could help pay for
electrifying both
commercial and municipal
buildings, for building
an EV infrastructure
(which would be a
revenue boon for those
small communities near
I-95), for including
heretofore excluded
communities in
conversations about how
to make our county more
resilient in the face of
climate change; for
weatherization projects
for low-income
residents, and more.
The fact is, such a
position could save the
county money.
Johnston
County has many census
tracts that have been
identified as being
"under-served," which
would also make us
incredibly competitive
for these funds.
It is a
disappointment that the
county shows no interest
in examining or applying
for these funds. One
would hope that the
early heat wave we’re
experiencing would
create a sense of
urgency where the
climate crisis is
concerned, especially
when federal funds are
available that could
make us, and certainly
those who are most
vulnerable, more
resilient in the face of
that crisis.
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