Todd
Johnson asked the
Smithfield Town Council
Tuesday evening for
$115,000 to reach a
$300,000 fund-raising goal
for the Historic
Smithfield Foundation to
make good on a down
payment to purchase the
Howell Theatre, which
closed its doors in April
after almost 90 years in
business.
The council responded with
unanimous approval of a
$150,000 appropriation
from Smithfield's share of
tourism money collected
from local hotel-occupancy
taxes.
"I think it will be huge,
huge, huge to making our
downtown more vibrant,"
exclaimed Councilman Sloan
Stevens after Mr. Johnson
announced plans to restore
the old 
movie house
to its original
configuration (as
shown in this photo from
1935), which
included one large viewing
screen in front of a
single auditorium seating
about 450 persons. He said
the restoration would
provide a
home for the Neuse Little
Theatre as well as a place
for special movie
screenings, concerts,
dance recitals, and the
like.
"That's another piece of
the puzzle that makes up a
good community... and
could expand our arts
program here," added Mayor
Andy Moore.
Speaking as a member of
the Historic Smithfield
Foundation's board of
directors (not in his role
as director of the
Johnston County Heritage
Center), Mr. Johnson said
a $100,000 challenge grant
from the Robert P. Holding
Foundation has generated
$85,000 in contributions
from individuals, thereby
producing the immediate
need for the final
$115,000 to make the down
payment.
The foundation is
scheduled to close on its
$920,000 purchase from
Grace Reformed
Presbyterian Church on
July 15. The church bought
the Howell in May to use
as a house of worship but
changed direction when the
Historic Foundation made
arrangements for it to
purchase the vacated home
of West Smithfield's
Whitley Memorial United
Methodist Church, which
has disbanded. That deal's
closing should coincide
with the foundation's
acquisition of the Howell.
Mr. Johnson told the Town
Council Tuesday that a
three-year fund-raising
campaign will seek $1.8
million to cover the
Howell's purchase price
plus renovations to
restore the movie
theatre's original layout.
The council's motion
approving the $150,000
gift stipulates that the
town shall have
representation on whatever
board is tasked with
fund-raising and planning
how the building will be
managed. It also makes the
gift contingent on the
building's use by the
Neuse Little Theatre,
which presently leases the
town-owned Legion Hut on
Front Street beside its
namesake river.
Mr. Johnson said the
Historic Foundation has
worked side-by-side with
the NLT's directors
"through the whole
process" toward the
Howell's acquisition and
will continue to do so.
Joyce Kilpatrick-Jordan of
the NLT's board said the
theatre group needs the
larger quarters for its
productions. "We're
outgrowing it," she said
of "The Hut," which seats
about 100. "We're selling
out shows" more often, she
noted.
Councilman John Dunn asked
if an ongoing financial
commitment from the town
is expected to operate the
Howell after its proposed
rejuvenation. "We hope it
will be a self-sustaining
entity," Mr. Johnson
replied.
Council
OKs $218,480 contract
for
Hastings House renovations
The
Town Council Tuesday
approved the contract with
Landford Contracting
Group, Inc. of Kinston to
carry out the federally
funded project which
includes masonry, wood
finishing and framing,
thermal and moisture
protection, window repairs
and storm windows,
electrical and exterior
improvements to the
structure that was built
in the early 1800s and is
Smithfield's oldest
building.
The town has received up
to $319,647 in federal
preservation grants for
the project and previously
paid Maurer Architecture
of Raleigh $43,647 for the
renovation plan, which has
been approved by the State
Historic Preservation
Office.
The Hastings House,
presently home of the
Downtown Smithfield
Development Corporation,
is owned by the town as
part of the historic Town
Commons along the Neuse
that was set aside for
public use when Smithfield
was incorporated in 1777.
New
tool added to town law for
noise complainants
Town Manager
Mike Scott recommended
changes to the town's
noise ordinance based on
Clayton's present law, and
the council gave its
approval without dissent.
The key addition gives
citizens more clout. It
reads:
"The complaints of two
or more persons, at
least one of whom
resides in a different
home from the other
complaining person or
persons, or the
complaint of one or more
persons when combined
with the complaint of a
duly authorized law
enforcement officer,
shall be considered
enough evidence that the
sound is loud and
annoying, disturbing,
unnecessary, and
unreasonably loud."
Violators may be fined
$50.
Among numerous exemptions
from the rules are
authorized construction
operations between 7 a.m.
and 9 p.m., lawn mowers
used between 7 a.m. and 9
p.m., various warning
devices, church bells, and
"lawful fireworks and
noisemakers on holidays
and at religious
ceremonies."
The complete
ordinance is posted on
pages 62-65 of Tuesday's
council agenda>
Upstream
portion of Spring
Branch is
getting a "trash trap"
Neuse River
Keeper Samantha Krop asked
the council for permission
to install a "trash trap"
in Spring Branch below
South Sixth Street to keep
litter from washing
downstream into the Neuse
River floodplain.
Her organization, Sound
Rivers, would provide the
device and collect its
trash periodically for two
years at no cost to the
town, she explained.
The Winston Foundation has
given South Rivers a grant
for two such traps in
Johnston County, the first
one recently installed at
Clayton, Ms. Krop said.
She assured the council
that the devices, made of
galvanized steel, are
tethered so they rise and
fall with changing water
levels yet are anchored so
they can't be washed away
by flash flooding.
The town can decide after
two years if it wants to
continue the service at
taxpayers' expense, she
said.
Police
Department to buy four
more used vehicles
The
council approved Police
Chief Pete Hedrick's
recommendation to purchase
four used vehicles for
less money than $138,000
budgeted for two new ones.
The chief said buying two
Chevrolet Tahoe SUVs and
two Ford F-150 pickups for
$108,000 would free up
three vehicles presently
used for administrative
purposes to be put into
front-line service as
patrol vehicles (a fourth
would be kept as a
backup).
The used vehicles, with
relatively low mileage,
will be bought from Asia
Motors Inc., an Illinois
dealer that buys and sells
used law-enforcement
vehicles. The town has
recently purchased other
used vehicles for the
Police Department. Chief
Hedrick said he is "very
happy" with the
transactions involving
Asia Motors.
Police
report alarming uptick in
vehicle break-ins
In
his wrap-up report to the
Town Council Tuesday, Town
Manager Scott noted
"several vehicle
burglaries about town
recently, all of which
occurred by breaking into
unlocked vehicles." His
advice is the obvious:
Don't leave your car
unlocked!
Town's
first assistant manager
grew up in Brogden
Kimberly
(Kim) Pickett, the Town of
Benson's manager since
October 2022, began work
Tuesday as Smithfield's
first assistant town
manager.
The new position is a
result of Smithfield's
recent growth spurt
coupled with Town Manager
Mike Scott's request for a
succession plan as he
nears retirement (he's
shown with his new
assistant at Tuesday's
council session.)
Ms. Pickett, who grew up
in the rural Brogden
community east of
Smithfield, has been
working in local
government for 15 years,
first with the Town of
Selma as customer service
supervisor, and for the
past 11 years with the
Town of Benson as finance
director, assistant town
manager, and more recently
as town manager. Before
her government service,
she worked three years
with First Citizens Bank
as a teller supervisor.
Ms. Pickett earned a
bachelor of science degree
in communication from East
Carolina University in
2009 and a master's degree
in public administration
from UNC Pembroke in 2020.
Presently she serves on
the board of the Johnston
County Tourism Authority
and as vice president of
Princeton Elementary
School PTA, which she
served as president the
past three years. Ms.
Pickett resides on Crocker
Road east of Smithfield.
Another
new car wash here: what's
going on?
For
many years Smithfield had
just one full-service car
wash: the Magic Tunnel,
which opened more than 40
years ago on South Bright
Leaf Boulevard and is
still in business today.
Now we have four, the
newest of which just
opened on East Market
Street in the midst of the
I-95 Exit 95 hospitality
cluster. SudStop
(pictured above)
is the second North
Carolina location for a
company based in Winter
Garden, Florida that plans
to open 33 car washes over
the next two years (the
other N.C. location is at
Kernersville off I-40
between Greensboro and
Winston-Salem).
Two other such car washes
have opened here in
recent years, both on
North Bright Leaf
Boulevard: Sun Auto Wash,
a local business, and
American Pride Car Wash,
one of five of its "Xpress
Tunnel" operations now
open in the Raleigh area.
What's behind Smithfield
"car wash boom"? According
to a report that aired on
National Public Radio
(NPR) last year, "there
are now twice as many of
these businesses as all
the Starbucks and
McDonald's in the country
combined, and they're a
darling of private equity
firms." Those 60,000 or so
car washes may double in
number by the year 2030,
says the NPR report.
"Back in 1996, about half
of car washes people did
in their own driveways or
on the street," the report
noted. "Now it's about
80%" at commercial car
washes."
The newer car washes here
are a combination of
full-service, mostly
automated operations like
the original Magic Tunnel
and self-service slots
available anytime, day or
night. The new SudStop on
East Market offers a bonus
to passing motorists: a
nighttime light show as
its front illumination
moves from blue to red to
green....
Plentiful
rainfall had June
"bustin' out all over"
According to U.S.
Climate Data,
normal June rainfall for
Smithfield is 4.46
inches. This year June
brought us 7.79 inches,
pushing the year-to-date
total to 24.53, which is
more than an inch above
our average rainfall of
23.24 for the first six
months of the calendar
year.
WHAT'S COMING UP
Candidates
for town offices start
filing Monday
The
filing period for
candidates seeking seats
on the Smithfield Town
Council in November's
municipal election opens
at noon Monday (July 7)
and closes at noon Friday,
July 18. On the ballot
this year are the mayor's
seat now held by Andy
Moore and four district
council seats, one of
which was vacated by the
recent death of East
Smithfield's
representative Marlon Lee,
the others presently held
by David Barbour from West
Smithfield, Travis Scott
from North Smithfield, and
Sloan Stevens from South
Smithfield. Not up for
election this year are
at-large council members
John Dunn, Steve Rabil,
and Roger Wood.
VISIT the
Johnston County Board of
Elections website to
learn more>
County
Commissioners will take a
holiday Monday
The
Johnston County Board of
Commissioners will forego
its regular first-Monday
morning and evening sessions
next week as is customary
around the Fourth of July.
Even so, Monday the 7th is
not a holiday for local
government here.
Board
of Education's monthly
meeting next Tuesday
Johnston's
school board will convene
Tuesday afternoon in the
school system's
headquarters on US 70
Business east of
Smithfield. The meeting
normally begins with a
closed session at 4 p.m.
followed by the open
business session around 5
o'clock. Expected to be on
the agenda are proposed
policy revisions removing
all references to sexual
orientation and gender
identity from the school
board's rules on
discrimination. The monthly
meetings are
live-streamed on
YouTube>
VIEW the
agenda for next
Tuesday's meeting once
it's posted>
BENITA LEVERNE
HINES GRIFFIS, 66
– died June 28
DENNY DAVID
BRASWELL, 75 – died
June 27
LINDA LEE, 76
– died June 27
ALFRED (AL)
AVERY AYCOCK JR., 53 –
died June 26
JOHNNY LEROY
WATSON, 73 – died June
26
A WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE
EDITOR
Here
are some folks I'd like
for you to thank...
I'm
talking about the
half-dozen faithful
sponsors of the
Smithfield Weekly Sun.
This is an inexpensive
financial endeavor of
mine, but I do have bills
to pay to keep the
information coming in and
each week's edition going
out. My sponsors are
keeping me afloat. If you
like what you're getting
from this local news desk,
tell these folks you're
thankful for their
support:
SUSAN LASSITER
FONVILLE
MORISEY REALTY
Subscribers
to this edition: 1,614
MISS
A PREVIOUS EDITION?
You'll find it
in the Weekly Sun
archives>
the SMITHFIELD
WEEKLY SUN
|
