(The editor apologizes for the late appearance of this article about the April 20 Wake Forest Town Board meeting. She was preparing for a medical procedure and missed most of the meeting on Channel 10.)
What might have been an ordinary meeting of the Wake Forest Town Board on April 20, 2021 was actually filled with important news and changes.
*Beginning July 1 of this year the commissioners and mayor will hold their work session on the first Tuesday of the month with a starting time of 6 p.m. The Wake Forest Planning Board will hold public hearings and meet on the second Tuesday of the month with the meeting beginning at 6 p.m. The commissioners and mayor will hold their business meeting on the third Tuesday of the month beginning at 6 p.m.
*The town is anticipating a check for $13.3 million from the American Recovery Act in the near future. Asked how the town will spend the money, Lisa A. Hayes, the strategic performance manager, said, “The Town of Wake Forest appreciates this one time opportunity and will be very deliberate in using the funds as per federal guidelines.
“As of now, there are some guidelines in place but we have been instructed by the LGC (Local Government Commission) to hold off on spending or earmarking any funds until we receive further guidance from them.
“Our initial thought is to use the funds to focus on restoration and one time needs that were deferred due to the pandemic:
- Infrastructure Improvements
- Broadband Initiatives (fiber extension)
- Economic Development Initiatives
- Replacement of Equipment Deferred Due to the Pandemic’s impact
- Other Uses as Determined by Federal Guidelines
“Once we receive further guidance from the LGC, we will make more specific recommendations for our Board of Commissioners to approve.”
*Chief Finance Officer Aileen Staples reminded the town board of a presentation about rates that happened last December and showed a Power Point about the possible increases in the current Wake Forest Power rates in September. Although Commissioner Bridget Wall-Lennon asked that she tell the town residents the commissioners are concerned, empathic and sympathetic, there was no discussion and no decision.
Staples said the town had an “extensive cost of service study and a rate study in 2016” with some rate adjustments in September of that year. The town wants to review its rate structure and cost of service every three to five years, which was completed late last year.
The consultants said the town should have 100 days of cash in hand in order to deal with disasters like hurricanes, but the town only has about 92 days.
Mayor Vivian Jones summed up the problem. “The commercial has been paying more than the base cost while residential has been paying less.” The base cost is the town’s cost of providing power – power itself, the costs of Wake Forest Power plus administration and billing costs.
Staples said the town has about 7,500 customers – commercial and residential – and the largest section, 6,807, is residential, although more commercial customers are coming to Wake Forest. (A large part of the town is served by Wake Electric because that was in its service area before large subdivisions like Heritage and Tryon were even imagined, and a smaller part is served by Duke Power.)
Staples showed a slide showing a possible rate increase for residential from the current $15.95 to $25. The estimated total monthly bill for 900 kilowatts would go from $118.76 to $124.05 or an increase of $5.28.
She is recommending or suggesting the new rate structure be included in the 2021-2022 budget but implementing the increase would not take place until September.
The meeting began with 11 proclamations – Did you know that May 1 will be “Global Love Day in Wake Forest?” – some of which were read by Jones and commissioners and the others will be read at the appropriate ceremony such as May 6, which is “National Day of Prayer.”
The commissioners approved all of the planning items, which included:
— a text amendment to the comprehensive transportation plan,
— the quasi-judicial case for the 12 Forest on Franklin Townhomes on the east side of Franklin Street across from Franklin Academy on a steep slope going down to a stream.
— two quasi-judicial hearings about the apartment buildings, Hawthorne at Traditions on Gilcrest Farm Road, a master subdivision plan and a major site master plan,
— a legislative hearing for the planned unit development Grove 98 on the N.C. 98 Bypass and Ligon Mill Road to add 25.47 acres to the original 77.09 acres,
— and two quasi-judicial hearings for Grove 98, a major master subdivision plan and a major site master plan.
They also considered and approved an extension of the conditional district approval for the property owned by Sarah Bridges and Donna Pace on Wake Union Church Road near Jenkins Road. This property, if approved for tax credits, would get $666,000 from Wake County for developer Halcom Companies to build 62 apartments for seniors. This was reported in the April 21 issue.
The town board accepted a grant of $10,000 from the North Carolina Forest Service to help protect town ash trees from the ash tree borer.
They also approved the sale and issuance of $1.29 million of general obligation street and sidewalk bonds and $4.92 million of general obligation public improvement bonds, thereby exhausting the bonds approved by a 2014 referendum.
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2 Responses
Were there any requests for zoning changes or UDO changes during public comment?
A woman used the public comment section of the town board meeting to complain about high embankments next to sidewalks but since I could not see the picture she had — technical difficulties — I never understood her point. Later someone noted that the picture was not even taken in Wake Forest.