Teachey board approves annexation

TEACHEY — The town of Teachey voted to annex a parcel of land along Log Cabin Road at Monday night’s monthly meeting following a public hearing that saw no discussion.

The 11.64-acre annexation will bring eight new state-built homes to the town. James Parker, director of public works, advised of changes to the planned annexation that would result in larger than anticipated lot sizes, with each lot being approximately 12,000 square feet. However, he assured the board that the lots will still retain their residential zoning designation of R-10.

“Instead of having 11 lots, they’re taking three. So they’re putting four homes on each side, and a driveway down the middle,” Parker explained. “Later on, they’re going to do three more like that.”

Commissioner Wanda Henderson brought a motion to move forward with the annexation, which was approved unanimously by the board.

“The town is growing – how about that?” commented Teachey Mayor Robert “Bobby” Jones.

Though the town presently uses just half of its 100,000-gallon sewer capacity a day, Parker indicated that public works is in the process of seeking sewer and water permits to increase that capacity by 75,000 gallons a day to cover the town’s expansion.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is advising the town to install a 12-inch sewer line and another lift station, according to Parker, though the public works director expressed reluctance as an existing line is in place.

“I told them that the town does not want another lift station to keep up,” stated Parker, adding that he’d written a letter informing DEQ of the existing line in hopes the department would allow its use in lieu of a new lift station. “Unfortunately, last week we had to replace a pump on lift station number three. And that was over $20,000.”

The board also approved the town’s participation, and specifically Town Clerk Morgan Jacobs, in the North Carolina League of Municipalities’ Accounting Instruction & Mentorship (AIM) Program. Stemming from the League’s Municipal Account Services Program, AIM endeavors to improve the financial health of towns by providing resources, guidance, and instruction to keep finance departments on track and up-to-date on bookkeeping and auditing services. The town’s recommendation for the program by Ann White, a municipal operations consultant with NCLM, follows a meeting Jacobs attended in Greenville last week.

“The more knowledge we can have in that area, I think the more financially responsible we can be, and we can be better stewards of the money that’s presented through our town, right? And that’s great,” expressed Jones.

The elusive Easter Bunny may make an appearance at the Teachey Park Easter Egg Hunt hosted by the town on April 5. The egg hunt will be the first event the town has held for Easter since the 2020 pandemic, according to Commissioner Ronnie Page, and will feature a bouncy house, bubble station, cotton candy machine, giveaways and more. “This one should be a pretty good one — it’s five years in the making,” Jones commented.

In other business, the town is still waiting for an update on a budget audit performed in September 2024. Joseph Ezzell, the attorney for the town of Teachey, advised reaching out for an update before the April meeting, as the audit is required for budget approval in June. “We kind of need that done,” added Ezzel.