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The Bladenboro Town Council met on the colder than normal Monday evening, March 12, 2018 to discuss many items on the agenda. The meeting ended well after 9 p.m.
Items on the agenda included personnel items, community economic development planning, a grant proposal, Watree Park lighting, concession stand operations, and the Elm Street project. After the consent items were approved, the town council moved on to the items listed on the agenda.
Mark Zeigler, Community Economic Development Planner and Project Manager helping with the five-year Economic Development Strategic Plan, gave an update to the Bladenboro Town Board of Commissioners. He explained to the board the next steps of the plan process. Zeigler asked the Town Council to review the entire document he presented. He also suggested the board schedule a work shop with the Project Committee to refine and and edit the implementation plan with the NC Department of Commerce staff facilitating the work shop. The Project Committee members are: Sarah Benson, Rufus Duckworth, Pete Freeman, Claudette Guy, Jon Hasbrouck, Charles Peterson, Greg Sykes, Rona West, and Don White.
Zeigler also recommended the town’s Planning Board review the plan and the Town Council hold a public meeting to adopt the plan. If approved, the Town would implement the plan with help from the town staff, Project Committee, other partners, and stakeholders. The Town Administrator would conduct an annual review of implementation progress with the NC Department of Commerce staff.
The Town Administrator John O’ Daniel listed a few small changes he made to the PARTF Grant Proposal as requested by Jennifer Beattie, a representative with PARTF. O’Daniel did explain to the Board the grant representative also suggested the Board committing the Town to spend $300,000 in the park renovations to be approved for an increased amount of $250,000 of grant funding.
“I think we need to do whatever we need to do to get the funding,” Town Commissioner Gene Norton said.
The Board also discussed positions of the ball fields. The Board passed the motion to change the request for fifty-fifty funding to the increase of spending $300,000 to receive grant funding for $250,000 for improvements for the Town’s park.
Town and Country Garden Club member Pat Hasbrouck appeared before the commissioners to ask for permission to clean up the landscaping in front of the Bladen County Library branch located in Bladenboro. Town Commissioner Sarah Benson said she felt the town should lend the club any tools, equipment or man power they may need to help with the landscaping project. The Board approved the motion of the landscaping volunteer work.
The Board also approved the Emergency Response Plan and to improve lighting at Wateree Park. O’Daniel did state the cost of improving the lighting at Wateree Park will be expensive to the Town at a cost of $600 a year.
“Get what it takes to light it up,” Commissioner Benson said. “We need to do it, especially for the small children,” Benson continued.
The motion passed with two Town Commissioners, Jeff Atkinson and Rodney Hester, voting against spending money on improving the lighting at the local park.
Joseph Russ with the Bladenboro Dixie Youth league requested $200 from the Town of Bladenboro to pay for the safe storage of some new equipment the league has purchased. Russ explained one of the biggest items needing storage was a new riding lawnmower.
Right after Russ made the request Commissioner Benson spoke up and said she would donate $100 of her discretionary funds and the other $100 out of her pocket to pay for the storage. According to Mayor Duckworth, all that was left for the board to vote on was to allow the storage unit to be placed on Town property. The Board voted to allow the unit to be stored on Town property.
Two items on the agenda were amended to allow the Town Administrator to request more bids. Those items were the Concession Stand Operations bids and Bids for Utility work for the Elm Street Project.
O’Daniel reported the Town received enough bids for the tree removal services needed for the Elm Street Project, but there were not enough bids for the Utility work needed for the project. He suggested the Council hold off on accepting the tree removal bid until enough bids for the utility services needed are submitted. The Council agreed to follow O’Daniel’s guidance.
The Powell Bill funding for the Elm Street Project does need to be spent on a different road project because the funding will disappear at the beginning of the next fiscal year, according to O’Daniel. Mayor Duckworth said he would vote for the funding to go to improvements to Edwards Avenue because he receives several phone calls per day.
Mayor Duckworth announced a few new hires after the Council came out of closed session. William Scott and Jeff Grainger were approved as Police Officers, according to Duckworth, and Sherry Lanier was hired for the position of Water Lineman I.
O’Daniel gave his report. He updated the Board stating a grant for generators was approved and he helped set a date to continue the meeting for economic development planning. O’Daniel also said there is a new police vehicle at the dealership ready for delivery. He said the vehicle will hopefully be on the road next week.
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