With some exceptions, Tuesday evening’s town board meeting on Feb. 20, 2024, was remarkable because it was impossible to hear what many people were saying.
We could hear Mayor Vivian Jones before and after she went around the dais to read the commendation for retiring Wake Forest Police Lieutenant Cindy Johnson Perry, who is retiring after 30 years with the town police force. Jones had to ask: Johnson Perry was the first woman hired in the department — which would also make her the first Black woman hired.
During those 30 years she filled all or almost all the positions in the department and kept getting promoted at regular intervals. When the mayor returned to her seat, she said, “We’re losing another good one,” and added that the town cannot persuade the 25- and 30-year veterans in the department to stay with the town instead of retiring.
During the public comment section of the agenda, two people who live in the Mill Village came to complain about the loud chimes from the bell tower at Glen Royal Baptist Church. Karla Pace said the chimes are “disturbing and unnecessarily loud.” She has a petition signed by 39 Mill Village residents and, with Gerritt Raterink, is asking the town to enforce its noise ordinance. Raterink said the chimes last from 9 a.m. to noon. He said he or the group has sent messages to the church, then wrote a letter and when there was no response met with the pastor. No church staff lives near the church and most members also live away. “Please support our request for peace and quiet in our homes,” Raterink said.
“I am dismayed at the lack of concern regarding protection of water resources by the town planning staff and previous boards of commissioners,” Janice Davis said after referring to her credentials, which include serving as a water district commissioner and chair, helping to merge two water districts and having an effect on water legislation at the state level.
Davis asked why the town has not adopted R-80W and R-40W zoning codes as other towns have done. After talking about what those zoning codes mean, she said outlined the disastrous result if a developer with a good lawyer wants to build in the Wake Forest Reservoir watershed area.
She ended with pleas: “Conservation districts might be suitable naming for preservation of forests, open spaces, and water resources. Please consider ways to prevent the above scenario and also consider prevention of pitfalls such as eventual legal dissolution of PUDs and the situation at the Falls Lake Watershed area at the former Wake Forest Golf Club.
“In 2024, the town is spending a large amount of time and money on new community plans and a new UDO. The town planners and commissioners will be remiss if water resources are not suitably protected from developers. This year, as you develop new codification into community plans and the UDO, please adopt suitable watershed resource management protections.”
Margaret Watkins spoke about Mayor Vivian Jones, saying the town needs to pay for a full-time mayor, which Jones is, and asked how she could live on such a small amount. (The mayor is currently paid $10,500.)
The mayor and commissioners whizzed through a very short and noncontroversial agenda, which included an annexation of three acres and approval of the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) update. Commissioner Faith Cross had comments on both but could not be heard.
When it was time for the commissioners to say what they had been doing, Commissioner Keith Shackleford asked Town Manager Kip Padgett about the plan to possibly adjust the salaries paid to the mayor and commissioners.
Padgett replied that staff would get direction from the board to gather pay information from nearby and matching towns. The board would then decide whether there should be adjustments. The current salaries are $10,500 for the office of mayor and $8,400 for the office of commissioner.
(The editor reached out to the town manager, the mayor and commissioners to fill her in on what was said, and those who responded are quoted in the article.)
2 Responses
At the moment, the Town of Wake Forest Mayor is a part-time position per the town’s charter. I agree it should be a full time position with a larger salary. The time commitment required now compared to prior requires much more time and paying a better salary might encourage other qualified candidates to run for the office.
Brian, I recall the time that candidate for mayor Bill Randall had called me to ask about some website development and the mayorship as a whole. He inquired about how much it paid. I told him it was around $9500. His eyes lit up and said, “A month?!” I chuckled a bit and said, “No Bill, that’s annually…”
I think it was at that moment he decided he didn’t want to be the mayor anymore.
I agree with you that it should be a fulltime position.