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FAISON- Faison Town Hall saw a full house on Wednesday, Dec. 6, as residents poured in to bid farewell to now retired mayor Carolyn Kenyon and welcome incoming Mayor Billy Ward.
“I have had a wonderful experience here,” said Kenyon to the Duplin Journal. The long-time mayor was Faison’s first duly elected female mayor. “It was a new experience, you know, trying to learn how to do the government and everything – that is a difficult road to travel. But we survived with a good team.”
“It’s gonna be a bittersweet time for me,” said Kenyon, adding that she is looking forward to spending some time with her husband and traveling a little.
Mayor Ward shared during the meeting that for the past several months since he retired from the Department of Corrections, Kenyon was instrumental in helping him prepare for the transition from commissioner to town mayor.
In other business:
The capital project ordinance to demolish the old gym and build a courtyard was approved.
“We have been working very hard for about 7 or 8 years trying to get our old 1920s gym taken down because it’s more or less an environmental hazard,” said Kenyon about the facility, which has been closed for approximately five years. Kenyon added that they hope demolition will start in mid to late January. “Once that building is gone then we have plans to actually put a 6-foot memorial for Doctor William Thornton, who is our homegrown astronaut.”
Austin Ebanks, an audit manager with Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams in Wilmington, presented Faison’s annual budget via Zoom meeting, praising the town for doing a remarkable job.
“The total revenues and other financing sources you collected $1,065,018. The total expenditure was $1,034,064. Give your net change to a +30,954,” said Ebanks, adding that the minimum threshold for a town the size of Faison is 34% of expenditures.
“That puts your unassigned fund balance at a minimum of $351,000. However, the Town of Faison unassigned fund balance was $1,155,372,” said Ebanks. “That is actually right at 115% of the total expenditures, so you are doing a remarkable job in that area. Their tax collection rate for the past few years has been a remarkable 99.82% – that is one of the highest I’ve ever seen. Looking at the operating revenues and expenditure summary for the past four years, this is exactly what you kind of want to see as revenue is going up. However, the expenditures are kind of going up with the revenues. We believe this trend will continue.”
Ebanks explained that the town has done so well that they could operate for up to 14 months without revenue and without going bankrupt or needing any cash infusion.
“You have a lot of over assets. So, the town needs to position themselves for future purchases or future major repairs for these assets,” he added.
Commissioner Juan Carlos Quintanilla was sworn in to fill the vacant commissioner seat left by Ward.
Commissioners Kenneth David Junior, Lee Kennedy, and Christy Allen were sworn in by Mayor Ward. He concluded the swearing in ceremonies with a brief speech thanking everyone in attendance, and a special mention to the commissioners he has served with for the past 14 years and Kenyon.
“I appreciate everything they have taught me… I am very thankful for them and what they have done for me and what they meant in my life,” said Ward.
Brian Bullard, a scout master with Faison Scout Troop 48 took to the floor to thank past and present members of the board and introduce life scout Genaro Pacheco, who spoke about his Eagle Scout project.
“Genaro came here straight from his track meet. He is an outstanding athlete in North Duplin. He does very well academically and is very close to earning his Eagle, which is a significant accomplishment,” said Bullard as he turned the floor to Pacheco.
The 17-year-old scout addressed the crowd, explaining that for his Eagle Scout project he chose to lead the construction of a 10 by 8 storage building at the Faison Community Garden.
“I understand that if you approve, the Town of Faison will own the building,” said Pacheco as he requested permission to build the storage building on town property. “This storage building is needed because currently there is no shelter at the Community Garden to store tools.”
Pacheco provided photos of a similar storage building and explained that the materials would cost less than $750 which he had the funds to purchase.
The board nominated Sandy McCarthy as Mayor ProTem.
Andrew Taylor was appointed to the Library Museum committee
The board approved changing the July 3, 2024, meeting to July 10, 2024, and changing the Sept. 4, 2024, meeting to Sept. 11, 2024.
The next town hall meeting will be on Jan. 3, 2024.
