Tuesday’s meeting of the Wake Forest Town Board was largely given over to reports from some of the town’s advisory boards. The board itself had a very short agenda with routine items before going into a closed session to discuss the “location or expansion of industries in the Wake Forest area.” No action was taken when they returned to the meeting chamber.
Five of the 13 advisory boards – the Historic Preservation Commission, Human Relations Council, Recreation Advisory Board, Technology Advisory Board and Urban Forestry Advisory Board – made oral presentations while the rest submitted written statements.
One of the newest boards is the Technology Advisory Board and it is also distinguished by having a high school senior as its chairman, Haleigh Tucker. Created at a time when the town hoped to make high speed fiber cable internet connections available throughout town, the new board is not only exploring that possibility but a number of other connectivity options.
Tucker said the board, along with some town officials, heard from Will Aycock about the state’s first community broadband city, Wilson. Aycock explained the expected cost of implementation, marketing the service to city residents, commercial services and how the city was able to leverage the service in monitoring town-owned utilities.
The TAB is also planning a technology fair for high school students and is in the process of selecting and installing digital information kiosks. Members have met with the staff at the Wireless Research Center of North Carolina and have discussed community wi-fi with CenturyLink and Time Warner Cable.
Other highlights of the report include Forestry Coordinator Jennifer Ralls explaining how one of the pecan trees in the grove at E. Carroll Joyner Park was so decrepit it had to be cut down. The trees were planted in the 1930s, she said, and “We need a replacement plan” with new trees and a fund for maintaining the trees. “We will try to perpetuate the pecan grove as long as we can.”
Along with describing the rehabilitation underway at the Ailey Young House on North White Street, Senior Planner Michelle Michael, the liaison with the Historic Preservation Commission, said they hope to be able to have the house placed on the National Register of Historic Places, which will assist in getting grants for future work. The commission is also planning to provide bronze plaques for the seven local historic landmarks.
Mayor Vivian Jones asked Michael about the house on North Main Street that burned down several months ago, and Michael said the owners are still in conversations with their insurance company. “It has not been easy.” Jones asked if it could be torn down and Michael said she would defer to the town Inspections Department.
