Big plans, big money

Town Manager Kip Padgett and his staff have released the 2019-2024 updated Capital Improvements Program. You can find it at https://www.wakeforestnc.gov/capital-improvement-plan.aspx.

It is a thick book, rather daunting, with a possible price tag of $379 million for construction and operating costs over the five years. As Padgett points out, many projects will be paid through grants, bond referendums, installment purchase agreements and general fund revenues which are our property taxes.

For the next fiscal year, the requests total $22.6 million. The town usually spends $3 million each year. It is up to the commissioners, mayor and the manager to work out what pot gets what amount next year and every year, using a rating matrix.

The top projects are the 1) Downtown Streetscape Improvements at $3,830,200; 2) the second ladder truck at $1.2 million with construction of Station #6 pushed off to future years but counted in the totals above; 3) ADA improvements to comply with federal law at $25,000; 4) replacement and maintenance of carpeting, lighting and other equipment at town hall at $100,000; and 5) required mitigation steps at the North White Street landfill at $125,000 this year, $625,000 each of the two succeeding years.

Those total $5,280,200, but there is funding to offset the streetscape costs from installment purchases and developer fees and the town’s Fire Protection Facility Fee paid by every residential and commercial new building will cover the cost of the new truck.

Bet you didn’t know the town had a landfill. It had the landfill after it had a dump, and both were on – and still are – North White Street, except now covered. Since 2001 the Wake Forest Police Department has operated a firing range for officers on the site, which is just north of Flaherty Park.

The dump was just that back in the 1950s, and people did go there to shoot at rats and pick over the trash for treasures. It may have been started after the town began backyard garbage pickup, three men and a truck. I worked at The Wake Weekly from 1974 to 1985 and I remember the state began requiring the town to switch to a landfill with trenches which seemed to fill up quickly. The landfill was closed sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s, and since 1995 the town has contracted with a company to monitor the groundwater and assist with compliance with state regulations.

Since July of 2017 the town has been under a notice of violation from the state Department of Environmental Quality and was required to prepare a plan to correct the problem of leaking contaminants. The town now needs to remove the trees from the northern part of the landfill, remove exposed trash, continue monitoring, remove some of the waste, and provide a cover system to fully close the old landfill.

Just as fire station #6 will be needed and is included with its cost of $3.7 million, so the new police station at $23 million is needed but pushed out to future years. At least the fire station has a funding source with the fire protection fee. Meanwhile, the metal roof at the current police station on South Taylor Street is leaking badly and probably will be replaced at a cost of $50,000. Officers are running out of room to store evidence so an addition to the building for evidence storage is possible at $15,200.

Some of the projects are currently included in the list for a possible $40.5 million bond referendum this year or next. Those include the Wake Forest Reservoir improvements with a new boat ramp, dock, bridge, and other amenities at $4 million; the extension of Harris Road (the northside loop) at $6.5 million; improvements to Durham Road, $10 million; restrooms in parks at $1.5 million; a community center south of NC 98 at $6.5 million; improvements at Ailey Young Park at $4 million; and roads and greenway extensions at $8 million.

Expect that the fiber infrastructure project connecting all town sites — $2.2 million for construction – will be built with $110,000 from the general fund and the rest an installment purchase agreement.

Also expect to see the Ailey Young House rehabilitation continue next year with a badly needed new roof and other renovations at a cost of $134,000 from the general fund. Work this current year — $169,500 – was covered by $2,300 from the general fund, $24,600 from the Wake Forest Historic Preservation Commission, two grants totaling $196,600, and donations of $23,000.

There are relatively small items that would improve Wake Forest. Think of three-sided bus shelters with benches, solar lighting and trash receptacles. Three a year could be built at $15,000 each. Think of an upgrade to the dog park at Flaherty Park with a picnic shelter, amenities and fencing to divide the park into three areas for large dogs, small dogs and all-weather dogs for $225,000. (A regular dog park visitor told the town commissioners Tuesday night the dog park needs much more than an upgrade.) Think of several additions and new sections for greenways, repairs and resurfacing for basketball and tennis courts, new sod in athletic fields. It is all there. I am personally fond of a five-unit reel mower that will make short work of mowing the Smith Creek Soccer Center but I also want to add security cameras in various locations to catch the vandals who have too often ruined the fields there.