Not everyone knows it, but the Wake Forest Fourth of July Committee, which plans and produces the stadium and fireworks show, the children’s parade and the activities in the park after the parade, has been a totally volunteer entity since it began in 1973.
The funds for each year’s events have come from the past year’s gate receipts and a small donation from the town, which was $5,000 last year and for several years past. The committee has, in recent years, begun soliciting sponsorships and donations from local businesses and individuals as costs have risen.
Tuesday night Fourth Committee Chairman Rob Mitchell asked the town board to change that arrangement and continue the 43-year tradition but under town auspices. After outlining the event’s history, Mitchell said the group wants to continue the tradition. “We would like to do that with the support of the town.”
He asked that they receive the grant of $5,000 this year and additional funding to cover the cost of police protection and then enter talks with the town about making the committee a volunteer town advisory board that would “plan, fund raise and run the events.”
Mitchell made his requests during the public hearing about this year’s budget and no action was taken. Commissioner Greg Harrington, who has been Uncle Sam for the events and is a committee member, said there is no time to do anything this year because the budget process ends June 30 just before the Fourth.
Tuesday night’s business meeting for the commissioners and mayor was brisk because it was sandwiched between sessions of a closed meeting to review applications for the town manager’s position.
Mayor Vivian Jones asked the five commissioners to keep their usual end of meetings remarks short because they had to return to the closed meeting, and only Commissioner Zachary Donahue urged people to attend the Arbor Day celebration at E. Carroll Joyner Park Saturday and Commissioner Anne Reeve announced the annual Wake Forest Fire Department’s Fish Fry would be on Friday, April 17, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Station #1 on Elm Avenue. Plates will be $8 each.
The board went through the agenda quickly with only a few comments. Harrington, as he has done the three years a waiver has been requested to allow a beer garden with beer sales during Meet in the Street, said, “I just don’t believe it’s the responsibility of the town to waive an ordinance in order to serve beer in the street” and voted no. The town has an ordinance forbidding the consumption of alcoholic beverages on town streets. Corey Hutcherson, the director of membership services for the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce, thanked the commissioners for closing the downtown streets for the arts and crafts spring festival on Saturday, May 2, and for the waiver.
Donahue wanted to revisit the idea of requiring the Reynolds Mill subdivision developers to build an extension of Ligon Mill Road from its phase three to the N.C. 98 bypass, the Dr. Calvin Jones Highway. He said the additional current and future development in the area – Sam’s Club was an example – will bring more traffic to the area and the Ligon Mill extension would “greatly ease the congestion.”
Jones pointed out that the condition from 2005 to build two lanes of the four-lane road to the bypass was to provide a second access/exit for the subdivision. Since then Ligon Mill has been extended to Caveness Farm Avenue, giving access to Capital Boulevard, and the developers would rather build Ligon Mill from that intersection along the west side of the subdivision. The old condition would require them to build from the northern edge of the subdivision to the bypass, leaving a gap south to Caveness Farm Road.
“It makes sense to do it this way,” with the road connecting to Capital, Jones said. Donahue voted against the motion to approve the master plan.
All items on the agenda were approved.
