Town chooses yet another site for stadium
Donated land at Community Park replaces Legion Field

"The third time's the charm" is a saying that two efforts to achieve a goal may have failed but perhaps the third try will be successful.

That appears to be what's happening with the Town of Smithfield's quest to identify a suitable site for a stadium to lure the Wilson Tobs collegiate-level summertime baseball franchise to relocate here.

Tuesday evening the Smithfield Town Council shifted its attention from the old Legion Field site off North Bright Leaf Boulevard to acreage being donated to the town adjoining Community Park behind Smithfield-Selma High School.

Following a closed session at the end of a budget session last Thursday night, the council ordered staff to evaluate the pros and cons of the Legion site compared to 58 mostly wooded acreage the Lampe family agreed to give the town to win approval two years ago of a proposed residential subdivision off Buffalo Road abutting the Bradford Park neighborhood.

But before the staff could present its findings at Tuesday's council session, the commander of American Legion Post 132 – Ernie Allsbrook – said the post has decided to withdraw its offer to lease its field to the town. Instead, the Legion wants to continue its contract with a year-round adult Hispanic soccer program. "There's no place for them to go," he said, noting that more than 500 spectators had attended one of the group's soccer matches this past weekend.

Interim Town Manager Kim Pickett followed his announcement with a report that town staff, including Parks & Recreation Director Gary Johnson, had determined that the 58 undeveloped acres beside Community Park would be better suited for the new baseball stadium.

"We can make this more of an athletic hub," with new soccer fields and a cross-country course in addition to the baseball stadium, said Ms. Pickett.

The bottom line is the projected cost of developing the two site options. To build out the Legion Field property with all the desired amenities would add $2,546,985 to a $6-million cap ordered by the council, Ms. Pickett said, while the Community Park site could be finished at a cost of $989,300 beyond the $6-million limit.

In approving the latest proposal, council members made it clear that the anticipated cost overrun be covered by fund-raising efforts rather than the town's taxpayers. Expressing concerns about the project's cost versus other priorities facing the town, Councilor Travis Scott voted against the new plan. So did Doris Wallace.
(Details about the project's expected cost in the editor's column below.)

VIEW the staff's analysis of stadium-site choices presented Tuesday>

One of the factors making the Legion Field option much more costly was a million-dollar proposal to acquire that property by "condemnation/eminent domain" from the Johnston Community College Foundation, which took title to the 7.8 acres there in 2007 and leased it back to the Legion post for 99 years. Council members reacted negatively to that idea Tuesday.

The third site option for a Smithfield stadium under consideration earlier was a portion of Community Park beside Buffalo Road across from Smithfield Middle School. The town employed a contractor to prepare a plan for that site but the council nixed that location at its meeting on April 7 and returned to negotiations with the Legion post for use of its field. That had been the town's first choice last summer.

The town's agreement with the Tobs calls for the stadium to be ready for play next spring in the Coastal Plain League, a summertime program for college players sanctioned by the NCAA. The Tobs are being forced to relocate after the City of Wilson terminated a long-time lease of an old stadium. As a result, the Tobs are not competing in this year's Coastal Plain season.
 

Deputy Police Chief ending 30 years here

James F. Grady, who is retiring May 1 after 30 years with the Smithfield Police Department, was honored with a proclamation read by Mayor Andy Moore at Tuesday's Town Council meeting that credits him with "securing thousands of dollars" in Governor's Highway Safety Program grants, establishing the town's first Bike Patrol Unit, and "expanding community policing efforts and strengthening relationships between officers and residents" while serving in "multiple leadership roles" in the department, rising from sergeant to deputy police chief.

Police Chief Pete Hedrick asked the council for a restructuring of the department's command staff in the wake of Mr. Grady's retirement by establishing two captain positions to oversee the Patrol Division and the Special Operations Division and eliminating the deputy chief position to produce annual savings of $3,053. The council approved his request.

$70,218 cleaning contract awarded to Raleigh firm

As part of its Consent Agenda, the council approved a one-year janitorial contract with Janitize America of Raleigh for $70,218 to clean four facilities: Town Hall, the Operations Center, Public Works, and the Police Department. Five other firms submitted bids, including a low bid of $56,278 from Barnes Cleaning Company which has held the contract the past four years. Public Works Director Lawrence Davis recommended going with the second lowest bidder because "certain requirements" in the current contract with Barnes "were not consistently met."

Appointments to Appearance and Recreation bodies

The council appointed Barbara J. Meyer, Kelsey D. Stevens, and Boo Carver to the Appearance Commission (one vacancy remains) and Michaelina Mezzina to the Recreation Advisory Committee (two vacancies remain).

Street resurfacing project resuming after interruption

Interim Manager Pickett reported to the council that street resurfacing was scheduled to resume this week after a month-long interruption because of mechanical issues. Only two streets were repaved in mid-March. Portions of 18 streets are scheduled for resurfacing over the next 10 weeks.
 

Interim Town Manger Kim Pickett gave the Smithfield Town Council a peek at key elements of the coming fiscal year's town budget during a work session last Thursday evening. She sees no increases in water and sewer rates "at this time" yet an increase in electric rates is likely this summer.

It's too early in the budget process to forecast a change in the town's property-tax rate in the second year of real-estate revaluation, so it wasn't brought up last week. The fiscal 2026-27 budget must be adopted by the council before July 1.

Ms. Pickett expects a 4.5% increase in wholesale electric rates the town pays ElectriCities. As a result, "there will be a rate change" for Smithfield customers, she said. (Last year the council absorbed a rate hike by ElectriCities and kept its residential electric rates unchanged.)

Regarding water and sewer, Ms. Pickett said the County of Johnston has informed the town of its intention to increase rates it charges the town for sewage transmission and treatment as was done this past year when the council agreed to absorb most of the county's 10% hike and raised residential customers' monthly charges by 3.5%.

Ms. Pickett said the county this spring is again looking at a 10% increase in transmission charges and a 9% increase in treatment charges, effective in September. The town will decide how to respond based on a consultant's rate study, expected shortly, she noted.

The interim manager recommended the council consider charging real-estate developers fees for electric service brought to new subdivisions as the town charges for water and sewer extensions. "Write it up!" exclaimed Councilor Steve Rabil. Councilor Travis Scott noted that the Town of Selma recently made that move.

Ms. Pickett also pointed out that the town is absorbing about $200,000 in fees charged for credit-card and debit-card utility payments made at Town Hall. Among options for putting a stop to that are payments by kiosk outside the building, the council was told. (The county addressed the issue by adding bank fees to credit-card payments made in person at the Courthouse. Both the town and the county have been adding those fees to utility and tax bills paid online.)

At the outset of her budget presentation last week, Ms. Pickett said the finance staff is looking at merit pay raises "up to 2%" for town employees during the year ahead. The town has a new finance director, Tracy Stubblefield, who assisted Ms. Pickett during last Thursday's budget session.

The council will resume its budget work at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Town Hall.
 

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Manager Rick Hester told Johnston's County Commissioners Monday evening that the county is making arrangements to lease the former home of Tucker Furniture at Market and Fifth streets in Downtown Smithfield for renovation as office space.

He said it's likely several offices presently housed in the Land Use Center next to the Public Library will be moved – including much of the Public Utilities department and Technology Services. The Customer Service Center for utilities will likely remain as is, he noted.

The former furniture store "is a big space" with 17,903 square feet, Mr. Hester said. It can be rented for four years at an annual rate of $12 per square foot (which works out to $214,836 per year). Renovation costs could run as much as $100,000, he said. Exact terms of the lease will be presented to commissioners later.

The manager said the extra office space is needed now because "we don't know when we'll have a General Government building on the new campus" being planned for acreage across from the new Public Safety Center on US 70 Business East.

County to proceed with plans for second water plant

Commissioners authorized the Public Utilities Department to move ahead with a staff recommendation to select a contractor to design a proposed water-treatment plant in the Lower Neuse River basin near Princeton that would provide a second source of water for the Johnston's fast-growing suburban residential communities.

Including an intake on the river at Richardson's Bridge and a transmission line to the proposed plant location at an abandoned quarry near Princeton, the entire project is estimated to cost more than $600 million and could raise customers' water bills as much as 5 to 9.5%, commissioners were told earlier this month.

"This is a necessary step," said Commissioner Bill Stovall, who urged staff to seek federal and state grants "to help us mitigate the cost" to the county's water customers.

The county presently operates a water plant on the Neuse at Wilson's Mills and has contracts to purchase additional water from the Town of Smithfield, the City of Raleigh, and other providers in the region.
 

Budget requests from Veterans Court, Triangle Conservancy

Commissioners heard two requests for funding in the upcoming county budget for fiscal 2026-27. Decisions on both will be made later this spring.

Johnston's Veterans Treatment Court – a branch of the state's judicial system that helps military veterans cope with substance abuse and mental-health disorders – is asking for up to $150,000 to support its operations in light of recent tightening of federal and state grant assistance.

Zane Campbell – who directs the program in Johnston, Harnett, and Lee counties – said 140 veterans have successfully "graduated" from its rehabilitation regimen since 2013, and only 12 of those individuals have been repeat offenders. He said he's asking each of the three counties to put up $150,000 to help cover expenses.

District Court Judge Frank Wood, who presides over sessions of the special court, spoke in support of the request along with District Attorney Jason Waller.

Triangle Land Conservancy is seeking $1.6 million in the year ahead to continue its preservation of farmland and wilderness areas in Johnston County.

Leigh Ann Hammerbacher, director of land protection and stewardship in the eastern Triangle region, told commissioners 6,750 acres in Johnston County have been protected since the organization's establishment 43 years ago. She said TLC is currently working on a number of other preservation projects here, including several large tracts in the Lower Neuse region where TLC has been especially active.

The county has contributed $1,895,000 to TLC over the past two budget years.

Public Information Office gets state first-place awards

PIO Director Adam Carroll announced that his staff has received four first-place award from the N.C. City & County Communicators "Excellence in Communications" competition. Johnston was competing among the state's largest counties, he noted.

The winning entries:
• Videography: “Protecting Family Farms Through Farmland Preservation.”
• Single Post (Social Media): “A 9-Year-Old’s Call Saves a Life.”
• Special Programming: “Relief for Western NC: Hurricane Helene Recovery.”
• Public Service Announcement (Video):
"How One 9-Year-Old Saved Her Dad: A 911 Story."
Those videos and others are archived on the county's YouTube channel>

Besides Mr. Carroll, other members of the county's PIO staff are Ben Armstrong, Scott Bolejack, and Abigail Gallegos.
 

No measurable rainfall seen here since April 5

The last rainfall measured by Cornell Cox at his Backyard Weather Station in South Smithfied came April 5 when his gauge registered 0.46 inches. With only a week left in April, we're bound to fall well short of the month's normal rainfall of 3.69 inches.

Johnston County as most of North Carolina is currently in "severe drought" according to the U.S. Drought Monitor produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other agencies.

Actually, the County of Johnston already has in place a mandatory year-round conservation policy, which includes these limitations on irrigation and pool filling:

The Town of Smithfield has replaced the fencing where the Buffalo Creek Greenway skirts the banks of the Neuse River below the 100 block of North Front Street with sturdier materials, including the neat wooden fence shown above and the black chain-link fence shown below that extends beneath the Market Street Bridge.
(The bicycle in the photo above is "Orange Julius," the editor's reliable conveyance.)

 

 WHAT'S COMING UP 

Cooper Greer performs at this Friday's River Jam concert
Country Music singer and songwriter Cooper Greer will be the featured performer at this month's River Jam concert at the Neuse River Amphitheater below South Front Street. The music starts at 7 p.m. Admission is free of charge. Smithfield Parks & Recreation hosts these monthly performances.

Smithfield's annual Litter Sweep at parks this Saturday
Volunteers of all ages are welcome to help clean up areas around the town's parks starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Gathering points are Community Park off M. Durwood Stephenson Parkway, Bob Wallace Kiddie Park at 209 South Second Street, and the Sarah Yard Community Center at 909 East Lee Street.

Tuscarora mural dedication Downtown at 11 Saturday 
A dedication ceremony for the recently completed mural honoring the Tuscarora people is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday. Attached to the wall of the former Medlin Printing Company building on South Third Street beside the Courthouse extension, the mural was produced by Greensboro artist Brian Lewis (who also painted the mural on the wall of Downtown's Ava Gardner Museum). Saturday's ceremony will include speeches, stories, and songs by Tuscarora descendants in both English and Tuscarora languages.

"Miss Jabberwock" Scholarship Pageant this Sunday
The Johnson County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. – a national sisterhood focused on uplifting African-American women – will present the pageant at 4 p.m. Sunday at Smithfield-Selma High School. Admission is free of charge; donations will be accepted to support scholarships for local students. The pageant was last held here in 2021.
 

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 DEATHS AND FUNERALS 
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Who's going to pay for the new baseball stadium?

Let's review previously announced funding commitments for the stadium to be built by the Town of Smithfield for the Wilson Tobs baseball franchise scheduled to begin play here a year from now:

• $2,000,000 from a new Economic Development Fund in the town's annual budget.
• $2,000,000 commitment from the County of Johnston.
• $584,187 from hotel-tax revenues collected for the Town of Smithfield.
• $500,000  grant from the Johnston County Tourism Authority.
• $365,789 set aside from the sale of Bingham Park for the SECU Hospice House. 
• $300,000 from "park in lieu" funds paid to the town by subdivision developers.
• $250,000 from the town's General Fund capital budget.

Approved by the Town Council last November, those numbers produce a total just under a "guaranteed maximum price" of $6 million set forth in the town's contract with Muter Construction of Zebulon to build the stadium.

Yet the latest estimate to complete the stadium at the site chosen by the Town Council this week adds $989,300 to that $6-million cap. (More than half of that additional expenditure is for new access drives to the site from Buffalo Road and existing parking lots at the SRAC and SSS High School.)

Who's going to foot the bill for the extras?

Suggestions from the council and staff include special legislative grants from the state and donations from local benefactors.

But what about other upcoming projects to be financed by the town – renovation of the former Howell Theatre building as a performing arts center, for one; a soccer park at a town-owned site off NC 210 in West Smithfield, for another. Will they be competing with the stadium for contributions beyond the town's General Fund?

We expect to get answers during upcoming budget sessions of the council.
 

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