Stantonsburg board debates zoning - Wayne-Wilson News Leader, Fremont, NC

16 August 2007 — A public hearing on the rezoning of a property on Stantonsburg’s Commercial Avenue went quickly and without objection – or almost did.

The board held a public hearing to receive feedback from citizens on a proposed rezoning for 306 Commercial Street. The owner, Joe Speight, requests that the property be changed from a residential to a commercial zoning.

Town Manager Gary Davis explained that, though the land used to be occupied by a mill, and later a seed cleaning business, that the property is technically a residential lot. The land was used for commercial purposes before the town instituted official zoning areas in 1984. At that time, businesses that were already in place were grandfathered in.

However, the lot eventually went vacant, and now Mr. Speight is requesting that the property be rezoned.

Commissioner Bill Edmundson asked if the board had heard any opposition from those living near the property.

Mr. Davis said the town had sent letters to all of the surrounding homeowners, and had only heard feedback from one person. Edward Fortson owns a house at 300 Broad Street, where his mother lives, and he called the town to voice his opposition to the rezoning.

“He called in and said that he was opposed to any type of rezoning around his property,” Mr. Davis said.

However, Commissioner Hubert Tyson said he had spoken with the man’s mother, Lucy Smith. He said Mrs. Smith was under the impression that the property in question was next door to her, and she was opposed to the rezoning of that property. However, since the property in question was across the railroad tracks from her house, she said she didn’t feel any particular opposition to the rezoning.

The board then closed the public hearing, and the matter will be turned over to the town planning board. If the planning board approves the change, it will then come back to the town board for a vote.

In other matters, the board approved changing the health insurance carrier for town employees after a rate increase from Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Mr. Davis said that coverage at Blue Cross Blue Shield went up 18 percent this year, resulting in an extra cost of around $1,000 a month for the town. He and Town Clerk Diane Webb researched and found another insurance carrier that would insure the employees at the same rate the town paid for Blue Cross Blue Shield last year.

The reason for the increase, Mr. Davis said, was that Blue Cross Blue Shield bases insurance rates on age brackets, and several employees aged into a higher-rate bracket this past year.

The new company, on the other hand, does not base rates on age brackets.

“That’s a good and bad thing,” he said. “They base their rates on health, not age, but right now we’re getting a lower price from them.”

He added that the town did initially have to renew with Blue Cross Blue Shield because of the timing of this month’s meeting, but if they decide to change they would be looking at a start date of October 1 with the new company.

The town moved to switch providers if the new company checks out.
Mr. Davis also sought the approval of the board in purchasing equipment to help repair electrical problems.

He said the town is focusing more on underground electrical wiring. With the wiring comes the need for fault locators, which help to pinpoint the location of problems in damaged wires so the town can dig in one spot, rather than guessing where the issue is and digging up a larger section of wire.

In the past, the town has used other towns to help out when the need arose for fault locators. However, Mr. Davis said the town needs to be self-sufficient in this area, since more and more underground primary and secondary wires are being installed in town.

“We need to put ourselves in the position of being able to do our own fault location,” he said. He added that, though sometimes the town has been able to swap labor with neighboring towns if the devices were available, it could cost the town up to $1,000 to rent equipment and labor to find wire faults.

He requested permission to purchase a primary and secondary fault locator, which total around $14,000. The money was allotted in the budget, but Mr. Davis said he didn’t want to spend that much money without board approval. The board unanimously approved.

The town also toyed with the idea of building a town website, at the suggestion of citizen Pete Weidman. Commissioner Bill Edmundson said he thought that was an excellent way to communicate with the town, and asked the board to pursue the option.

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