The residents in Moss Creek subdivision on Burlington Mills Road met with town officials Monday night at Richland Community Church and about 30 of them were at the Wake Forest Town Board’s meeting Tuesday night to again express their opposition to building a parking lot adjacent to the subdivision.
The parking lot would also be near Raleigh’s Smith Creek wastewater treatment plant and would have access from the driveway to the plant. The gates would be closed from sunset to surnrise.
Tim Evans spoke on behalf of the community, saying they have a number of concerns about safety, security, loss of three acres of woods and wise use of town assets. He said the parking lot would cost $500,000.
There was no resolution because the board does not act on requests the same night. Town Manager Mark Williams said the board will take the comments under advisement for future consideration.
The board then proceeded to a rather short meeting without controversy.
This meeting was the last for Williams, who retires on April 30. The board voted unanimously to appoint Deputy Town Manager Roe O’Donnell as interim town manager from May 1 until the new town manager reports to work.
Earlier this week, Mayor Vivian Jones said about the status of the search for a new manager, “We should be making our final selection in the next two weeks. Depending on the length of notice required for our selection [notice to his/her present position], we should have someone on the job at least by early July.”
The board agreed to consider a petition for noncontiguous annexation from Carolina Capital Ventures, which owns the 20 acres on Capital Boulevard immediately north of Shearon Farms Avenue now used as a golf driving range. The town will soon hear a request for a rezoning to use the land for a car dealership. The public hearing will probably be on the June or July agenda for the planning board.
Wake Forest Power Lineman Hugo Mier joined the mayor at the speaker’s podium as the board recognized him for his participation in the National American Public Power Association Lineman Rodeo next month in Sacramento, California. Meir has been with the town for six years, and he earned the trip west by participating in the state Lineman Rodeo and then twice in the regional rodeo. Mier also accepted two other resolutions approved by the board, one for Lineman Appreciation Day and one for National Public Works Week.
The purchase of five circuit breakers for the John B. Cole Substation on West Cedar Avenue was approved for $131,375 from Power Tech, which was not the low bidder. Purchasing Manager Randy Driver and Public Works Director Mike Barton said the Siemens circuit breakers in the low bid would not be in the best interests of the town because they were just introduced two years ago and have “no credible service experience.”
South White Street, the depot parking lot and Owen Avenue will be closed from noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 20, for a street festival sponsored by Wake Forest Downtown, End of Summer Night. The board also approved a waiver of the town’s ordinance against consumption of alcohol on public streets, with Commissioner Greg Harrington voting no.
The town is purchasing a tiny piece of a lot in Olde Mill Stream for $980 because the new alignment of the Richland Creek Greenway, made necessary by the Richland Creek stream restoration project. The greenway is open, Assistant Town Engineer Holly Miller said, although there has not been an official reopening.
The Ligon Mill Road widening project, affecting the portion from South Main Street to just past the driveway into Walmart, is largely funded through federal and state grants and is nearing the stage when actual work on the ground can begin. The town board approved a contract for $32,800 with The Nau Company of Rolesville to prepare the contract documents needed to solicit construction bids.
The town now has a comprehensive plan for the signs in its parks and along its greenways, the Tuesday night the town board approved a $45,000 contract with Kimley-Horn Engineering to oversee the production and installation of signs along the greenways and at E. Carroll Joyner Park and J.B Flaherty Park.
Another contract was approved with Stewart Engineering for $47,500 to provide a gravel pathway for the Dunn Creek Greenway that is subject to flooding – it is in the floodplain – and where standing water collects.
The board also approved conveying easements to the City of Raleigh for town land where the city is building a new sewer line along Richland Creek.
At the close of the regular meeting the board went into closed session to consult with town attorney Eric Vernon about the recent decision about standing to pursue a suit filed against the town in the Tryon subdivision rezoning and master plan approval. The full information about that was in Brief Bits in the April 15 issue of the Gazette.
