Abby Cavenaugh

WALLACE — A public hearing on a rezoning request for a Royal Farms gas station in Wallace has been postponed for the second time. The hearing was supposed to be held at the Wallace Town Council’s Sept. 12 meeting, but was rescheduled at the request of Royal Farms’ parent company, Two Farms, Inc. 

The request is to rezone the 6.08 acres that remain on Two Farms’ property at the corner of Highways 11 and 41 in the Tin City area from RA-20 to HB-Highway Business. The rezoning would allow the gas station to be able to expand into what is now a field that sits between the former Tin City Express gas station and residential neighborhood Plantation Acres. 

The hearing was originally planned for the council’s August meeting, but was rescheduled then due to Tropical Storm Debby. This time, Two Farms asked for more time, Town Manager Rob Taylor said. 

The council voted unanimously to reschedule the public hearing for the next town council meeting, Oct. 10, after 6 p.m. The meeting will be moved to the Wallace Woman’s Club in order to better accommodate the public.  

Prior to the meeting Thursday night, council members participated in a brief groundbreaking ceremony for the Maple Creek sewer extension project, which Taylor refers to as the 830 Project. “We’re connecting the back side of River Landing, going out to Highway 11 and then to the wastewater treatment plant,” Taylor explained. “It will take a lot of pressure off our sewer system.” 

The project has been in the works for eight years, he added, and will take about 300 days to complete. Work started last week and workers have already laid a lot of pipe, Taylor said. 

At last month’s meeting, the council accepted a loan from the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in the amount of $1,884,318. 

In other business at the Sept. 12 meeting: 

• The council voted to schedule a public hearing at the Oct. 10 meeting for a rezoning request from Wilmer Cruz of Maple Street. Cruz’s property is currently zoned Highway Business and he wishes to rezone a portion of his property to R-6 so that he can increase the size of his home, Planning Director Rod Fritz said. 
• The council also adopted a resolution authorizing Town Clerk Jackie Nicholson to investigate the sufficiency of a petition for annexation. The petition is from Avery-Davis Investments, LLC of Knightdale to close in the south side of their property that is in Pender County along US Highway 117 to their existing 150-acre annexed property. 
• Public Services Director Brent Dean gave an update on various public services projects, including the 830 Project. He said he will do a presentation on the town’s dyke project at the South Carolina Environmental Conference in March 2025. Mayor Jason Wells also told Dean about a sinkhole that has opened on East Boney Street. 
• Taylor reported that Former Finance Director Joseph Trollinger had submitted his resignation, so there were no tax reports or financial reports. Taylor did say that the town is experiencing about 3.8% growth so far over the past fiscal year. 
• During his report to the council, Taylor stated that plans for a new public safety center were entering the final stages, and he should have an update on that project at the next meeting. 

The next Wallace Town Council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, at the Wallace Woman’s Club. 

ROSE HILL — The Rose Hill Board of Commissioners held its first meeting since the resignation of former Commissioner Gary Boney on Tuesday, Sept. 10. The acceptance of Boney’s resignation was approved by an unanimous vote as part of the consent agenda. 

However, later in the meeting, Commissioner Ross Powell brought up the subject of the vacancy left by Boney’s resignation. 

Town Attorney Kenn Thompson stated that the board can appoint an individual to serve out Boney’s term, which expires in November 2025. 

“If they would like to run for that position,” he added, “they can file like anybody else.” 

Thompson said the commissioners can come to a consensus on who they’d like to appoint to fill the vacancy. “Formally, you just have to … do a motion, get a second, and approve the person,” Thompson said. 

Since Town Administrator Angela Smith was on vacation at the time of the meeting, the commissioners said they would wait for her return to name any candidates for the appointment. 

The item will be added to the October meeting agenda. 

The board also accepted a funding offer from the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA & CS) of Soil and Water Conservation in the form of a Streamflow Assistance Program (StRAP) grant. 

The $18,000 grant will allow for a storm drain to fix the area by Elm Street and Charity Road. Public Works Director Blake Parker explained that the project is to put in a catch basin. “What the contractor will do, there’s three pipes coming in,” he explained. “That great big hole to the right-hand side that you see as you’re going toward Charity, that area will be filled in. There’ll be 40 foot of pipe extended out to Dogwood. It won’t be a lateral filling on the whole ditch, but at least that hole there will be safer.” 

The offer was accepted unanimously. 

In other business at the Sept. 10 meeting, the board: 

• Approved a resolution awarding property at 204 Fifth St. to Kevin Hernandez, after an upset bid process brought in no other bids. Hernandez purchased the property for $10,000. 
• Approved an agreement for professional administrative engineering services with Stroud Engineering. Most of the work will be done in-house, but Stroud will be used on an as-needed basis. 
• Got an update on a project to repair drainage on Walnut Street. Parker said that the project, funded by a Golden LEAF grant, may start sometime in October. 
• Heard an update on new three-way and four-way stops being installed throughout the town. Feedback has been both positive and negative, but the majority understood why the stops were needed, Town Administrator Angela Smith reported. 
• Learned about a sinkhole due to a sewer cave-in on East Main Street between Bay and Elm that was repaired by an outside contractor. Because the sinkhole was 9 feet in depth, the town had to have a contractor do the repairs, since the town can go no deeper than 4 feet, Smith reported. The asphalt will have to be replaced, and will be done by Legion Asphalt as part of the paving project. 
• Heard an update on the new fire department from Commissioner Billy Wilson, who reported that the department is in its new building and operating well. An open house will be planned sometime in the near future. 

BEULAVILLE — The Beulaville Board of Commissioners voted unanimously at its Sept. 9 meeting to approve a resolution to apply for a Community Development Block Grant for infrastructure. If approved, the grant, from the NC Department of Environmental Quality, will fund a sewer rehabilitation project in the southern part of town. 

“The proposed project would rehabilitate old sewer lines and aging lift stations to make them more efficient and reduce inflow and infiltration,” explained Josh Outlaw with The Adams Company. “The purpose of the CDBG-I grant program is to improve the quality of life for low to moderate income people, and to provide a safe and clean environment and clean drinking water.” 

The town of Beulaville is proposing to rehabilitate one lift station and rehabilitate approximately 5,200 linear feet of sewer piping, 28 manholes and 88 service laterals, Outlaw said. The proposed project area includes Mercer Court Apartments Lane, South Jackson Street, West Robertson Street, East and West Chasten Street, East and West Brinson Street, East and West Parker Street, Lanier Street, Cottle Street, Evans Street, Suggs Street and Turner Road in South Beulaville. No residents in the area should be displaced by the project, if approved, Outlaw said. 

A public hearing was held on the CDBG-I grant application, but no comments from the public were received. 

After the hearing, the board voted unanimously to approve the resolution to move forward with the application for the CDBG-I funding. The deadline for applications is Sept. 30. 

Outlaw also spoke during a separate public hearing to receive input on a proposed CDBG-Neighborhood Revitalization project that would be funded by the NC Department of Commerce with funds received from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

This grant would focus on housing, but can also include infrastructure related to housing such as utility services, streets, floodplain improvements, sidewalks or pedestrian ways, and public facilities such as shelters and community and recreation centers. 

All CDBG projects must benefit low to moderate income residents. 

“Any homes included in the project must be owner-occupied by low to moderate income people,” Outlaw said, adding that he has received a list of possible candidates from town staff. A second public hearing will be held at the October meeting to narrow down the applications. 

In other business at the September meeting of the town board, Police Chief Karl Mobley gave an update on recent traffic incidents near Beulaville Elementary School. “There were several concerns about school traffic in the mornings and afternoons, road rage incidents, things of that nature,” Mobley said. “We put out guidelines to try to get ahead of it, let families read and go over it. This morning, I was [at the school], and sat, along with one of the other officers, and everything was going smoothly. We might have had to make a couple of stops to address some issues, but we’re going to continue to be obviously in the area to make some stops, address some safety issues.” 

Also at the Sept. 9 meeting: 

• Interim Town Manager Lori Williams reported that the wastewater treatment plant had processed an average of 254,000 gallons per day in the previous month. 
• Mayor Hutch Jones gave an update on a property on Deer Run Lane, which several residents voiced concerns over at last month’s meeting. The property is in violation of a town ordinance, and Jones said utilities had been disconnected until a camper on the lot is removed. 
• The board unanimously approved a budget amendment to budget insurance money received for damage to the town’s Durango, at $3,011.50. 
• The board rescheduled a special meeting/budget workshop for Sept. 30 at 5:30 p.m. 
• Williams also updated the board on several upcoming events, including bulk trash pickup on Sept. 30. Residents should call Town Hall at 910-298-4647 to have bulk items picked up on that day.