Duplin Journal Staff

WALLACE — After being rescheduled due to Tropical Storm Debby, the Wallace Town Council held its regular monthly meeting on Thursday night, Aug. 15, which required a public hearing on a rezoning request to also be rescheduled until the Sept. 12 meeting.

“This is really just an administrative switch-up because we didn’t have our meeting on Aug. 8 so we have to re-advertise the rezoning,” explained Planning Director Rod Fritz. The request from Two Farms, Inc. is to rezone the 6.08 acres that remains on their property from RA-20 to HB-Highway Business in order to build a Royal Farms gas station on the site.

The parcel is at the corner of Highway 11 and 41 (Southerland Street) in the Tin City area of town, and formerly housed the Tin City Express gas station. “They only rezoned about half of their property,” Fritz said. “Behind it, adjacent to Plantation Acres, they’re now asking to rezone that parcel to HB. It’s probably going to be under construction sometime in the near future.”

At one point, Fritz explained, apartments were proposed for the site, but they ended up going across the street.

“That community got together and didn’t want that there,” Fritz said. “I’ve been in contact with a couple of people from that community, trying to work through a buffer scenario so that we don’t have a contested rezoning.”

The rezoning will allow Two Farms, Inc. to “maximize their future development,” Fritz said.

The council voted unanimously to reschedule the public hearing for after 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12.

The town council also learned at the August meeting that the state has awarded an additional $50,000 for the repairs of Boney Mill, bringing the total for the project to $406,350. Town Manager Rob Taylor said the extra funds will be used to get the flooring done in the old grist mill.

“The foundations are complete, the steel structure has been reestablished and reinforced, and the pilings have been wrapped and filled with concrete,” Fritz said. “The roof rafters are complete. The roof has been put on. I think they have to come back yet and impregnate the beams with some kind of silly putty that’s going to preserve the beams.”

Next up, the floor should be finished. “We have to be able to walk in it,” Fritz said. “We don’t have to open it up to the public, though.”

The council unanimously approved a budget amendment to increase the construction project and set aside the grant proceeds.

The town is also applying to have Boney Mill added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In other business at the Aug. 15 meeting, the council:

• Approved a resolution and memorandum of understanding, which allow the town to move forward with a strategic planning process in concert with Samantha Darlington from the NC Department of Commerce’s Rural Planning division.
• Awarded a contract to Barnhill Contracting Company for $4,547,794 to realign a portion of the roadway by the Wallace-Pender Airport to allow for runway expansion. The contract will be fully reimbursable by the Department of Transportation, Town Manager Rob Taylor said.
• Awarded a contract to Fred Smith Company for $3,783,150 to rehabilitate the existing runway at the airport and add new lights. The project requires a 10% match from the town, and Taylor said the town is using funds from the state to cover the match.
• Approved a budget amendment to purchase a used vehicle for town employees and sell an unneeded 4×4 vehicle.
• Approved a capital project ordinance for a $115,000 StRAP (Streamflow Rehabilitation Assistance Program) grant to improve water flow at Nicholson Creek.
• Approved a resolution to accept a loan from the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for construction of the Maple Creek force main project, which the town has titled the 830 Project. The loan is for $1,884,218, and will go with the existing $800,000 grant, Taylor said.

Also at the Aug. 15 meeting, Councilwoman Tasha Herring thanked town employees for helping with Tropical Storm Debby.

“Usually, the streets downtown start flooding faster than anything,” she said. “When I looked downtown, the water was flowing. It was moving so it didn’t flood.”

Mayor Jason Wells echoed those sentiments. “During the storm, we had a lot of folks put in some extra hours,” he said. “The key is getting the water out. … [It] did not flood at all, which says a lot for the amount of rain we got.”

He added that the town should continue seeking funds to help clean out creeks and ditches. “That’s something that we need to continue to work on, even though the storm has passed,” the mayor said.

ROSE HILL — Now that the new Rose Hill Fire Department is operational, town officials are beginning to discuss what should be done with the old fire department, which sits next to the Town Hall.

Town Administrator Angela Smith brought up the item as part of new business at the town board meeting on Aug. 13. “What are the board’s wishes?” Smith asked. “I can tell you, I’ve talked to [Police] Chief [Michael] Tyndall and we’d like to maybe get the police department moved over there. We would have a lot more storage. The police department would have their own building.”

Mayor Davy Buckner said since the old lunchroom building in the Town Square was demolished to make way for the new fire department, perhaps the old fire department could be used as a venue for events and functions. However, Chief Tyndall said he wasn’t sure that would be a good idea if the police department moved in to the administrative side of the old fire station.

“I don’t think we need to be in the venue business anymore,” said Commissioner Gary Boney, who’s also the town fire chief.

Commissioner Ross Powell added that there would be issues if the old fire department became a venue. “It’s not a perfect venue for sure,” he said. “There’s no place to park.”

Boney also pointed out that when it rains, the floors of the bay can be dangerous. “There’s not a slicker floor in this town than the bay when it’s raining,” he said.

After some discussion, the board agreed that a decision doesn’t need to be made right now, and decided to table the discussion for a future meeting. “I would love to have community input,” the mayor said.

In other business, Buckner said he wanted to bring up a “pet peeve” and see if the town could put an ordinance in place to keep mowers from littering the town’s streets with cut grass.

“I’m talking as a citizen now,” he said. “Going around in the summertime, and there’s grass all in the streets. People are kicking their grass out there.”

Smith said the town does not have an ordinance addressing the matter, but said she had posted on the town’s website and Facebook page to ask citizens to be mindful of letting cut grass cover the street and roadway.

“It makes me mad as fire,” Buckner said. “The other thing is, if it’s on there and it gets a little wet, and a motorcycle comes by, he could have an accident. For safety reasons, we need to be thinking about it, if that’s something we want to pursue or whatever. Whoever does that needs to show the town and its citizens some courtesy and not do it.”

In other business at the Aug. 13 meeting, the board approved:

• A resolution to authorize the upset bid process for a parcel of land on Fourth Street, which previously held a house that the town had demolished.
• A resolution of acceptance for the drinking water state revolving fund lead service line replacement loan. The lead line replacement project is funded with $120,000. Originally, it was $200,000, but the town decided to decline the additional $80,000 zero-interest loan and handle the administration in-house.
• An amended capital project ordinance for $425,800 for a stormwater project at Walnut and Charity.
• An amendment to the town of Rose Hill personnel policy incentivize additional education or certification in one’s field.
• A travel policy for town employees.
• The implementation for the fifth year of the resurfacing program, awarding the project to Legion Asphalt, who had bid $247,588.12. Because that number is $78,000 less than what was budgeted, Smith said Public Works Director Blake Parker would get with Legion and see if two more streets could be added to the resurfacing list.
• A resolution authorizing the repair of Lift Station #1 (First Street). The amount was $7,812 plus any taxes and fees, awarded to AC Schultes.

In her report, Smith also thanked the police and fire departments, public works and other town employees for their preparation and hard work during Tropical Storm Debby. There were no major issues during the storm, thanks to the town’s preparation.