Summerfi eld Town Council meeting

Jan. 12 / MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

as reported by CHRIS BURRITT

Mayor BJ Barnes called the monthly meeting to order, with Mayor Pro Tem Tim Sessoms and council members John O’Day, Lynne Williams DeVaney, Teresa Pegram and Reece Walker present.

The council limited attendance to the meeting in Summerfield Community Center due to public gathering restrictions related to COVID-19. The deliberations were livestreamed on the town’s Facebook page, where a recording is available for viewing.

ANNOUNCEMENTS Limited Town Hall access. Town Manager Scott Whitaker urged residents to conduct business with town staff by email and phone to reduce contact during the coronavirus outbreak. Staff placed a box at the front door of Town Hall for people to drop off and pick up documents. Board of Adjustment volunteers. The Board of Adjustment is seeking volunteers to serve as members, Whitaker said. Urban archery season. Deer hunting on private land inside of town limits runs Jan. 9 through Feb. 14 under the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s urban archery season, Pegram said. Hunters aren’t allowed on town property and they must follow all state regulations, including obtaining a license and getting permission from landowners to hunt on their property.

PUBLIC SAFETY, COMMITTEE REPORTS Summerfield Fire District. The Fire District reported it responded to 103 calls in December, including 53 EMS-related calls and 24 related to fires. Firefighters installed 23 child safety seats while the district provided fire prevention and public education to 70 adults and 100 children. Sheriff’s Office. First Lt. Jeremy Fuller reported the sheriff’s District 1 office handled 94 calls in Summerfield in December. Deputies responded to 24 burglar alarms, two larcenies, one burglary of a business and one burglary of a residence.

PUBLIC COMMENTS  Don Wendelken, administrator of the Summerfield Scoop Facebook page, asked whether the estimated $3.5 million cost for the new town hall will be the actual cost.

Whitaker said expenses for technology and furnishings for the building may push costs higher. Such costs may materialize as the design and construction determine functional details of the project, he said.

“I’m not going to sit here and promise you that every part of this building, this project will be done within a $3.5 million budget, even though that’s our projected budget,” Whitaker said.

Pegram joined Wendelken in asserting that coronavirus-related restrictions on public gatherings have reduced transparency by town staff in planning for the new town hall. They voiced the same criticism during the council’s meeting in December.

“We’re doing way too much business that is not essential,” said Pegram, urging the council to delay construction of the new town hall until the virus has passed. “To me, we’re not being transparent enough.”

Barnes disagreed, telling Pegram the end of the outbreak is uncertain.

WHAT they voted on, and HOW they voted:

Mayor Pro Tem Tim Sessoms and council members John O’Day, Lynne Williams DeVaney, Teresa Pegram and Reece Walker voted on the following items during the Jan. 12 town council meeting. Mayor BJ Barnes was present, but in Summerfield the mayor votes only to break a tie.  5  0: Appoint former mayor Mark Brown to the Historical Committee while naming former committee member Sam Schlosser as an ex-officio member  4  1: Participate (Pegram opposed) in the Piedmont Discovery mobile app that provides local information about parks, trails and recreational areas  5  0: Instruct Town Manager Scott Whitaker to get additional estimates for replacing the roof on Summerfield Community Center  5  0: Resume discussions about the possible creation of the Summerfield Tomorrow Committee during the council’s Feb. 9 meeting  4  1: Instruct (Pegram opposed) town staff to contact Guilford County officials about Summerfield’s interest in creating an extraterritorial jurisdiction on its border with the county  5  0: Recommend 10 legislative goals for the North Carolina League of Municipalities

“We have town business that needs to be conducted,” he said. “The public that I’ve been talking to expects us to do our job. Why not continue to do the town’s business?”

Whitaker and Barnes reiterated that town leaders have informed the public about planning for the new town hall. The council discussed and then appropriated $500,000 for architectural and construction services in the fiscal year that started July 1. It then sought applicants and hired an architect and construction manager for the building.

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“We’ve been very transparent about this whole project,” Whitaker said. U.S. 220 tunnel art

Art students at Northwest and Northern Guilford high schools plan to paint murals inside the 117-foot-long pedestrian tunnel underneath U.S. 220, according to Paul Lambrecht and Bill King of the town’s Trails and Open Space Committee.

Students from the two schools prefer to work together on the murals instead of working separately, Lambrecht said. They plan to paint one side of the tunnel this spring and the other side in the spring of 2022, he said.

“It will be awesome for the kids to get involved and make something positive happen in a world where not much positive is happening right now,” Sessoms said.

The cost for paint, brushes, rollers and other supplies is projected at $3,500. Barnes said donations may help cover the costs, which aren’t earmarked in the current budget.

MANAGER’S REPORT Historical Committee appointments  5  0 to appoint former mayor Mark Brown to the Historical Committee while naming former committee member Sam Schlosser as an ex-officio member. Schlosser recently moved to Greensboro, requiring him to give up his membership on the committee. He wants to remain active in an ex-officio capacity, Whitaker said.

Brown’s term runs through July 2022, while Schlosser will serve until July 2023. Piedmont Discovery mobile app  4  1 (Pegram opposed) to participate in the Piedmont Discovery mobile app that provides information and links about parks, trails and recreational areas in Guilford County. Whitaker recommended that Summerfield take part in the program, which is free to the town.

DeVaney said the app will be especially useful to families moving to Summerfield. Participating may help the town when it applies for grants, Barnes said. Pegram didn’t explain her nay vote. Summerfield Community Center roof  5  0 to instruct Whitaker to get additional estimates for replacing the roof of the Summerfield Community Center now that the town has taken ownership of the building and the surrounding 16.8 acres that contains the core of the town’s park, lake and parking lots.

Three estimates for replacing the roof and soffits, installing gutters and other repairs totaled $13,889, approximately $19,000 and $25,245, according to Whitaker. The council had authorized the manager to spend roughly $9,000 for roof repairs, prompting him to seek instructions on how to proceed.

The motion removed the spending restriction on Whitaker and authorized him to contract for the roof repairs. Summerfield Tomorrow Committee  5  0 to resume discussions about the possible creation of the Summerfield Tomorrow Committee during the council’s Feb. 9 meeting.

DeVaney and Barnes said they support the creation of a committee of residents that, according to DeVaney, would help town leaders decide “what we want our town to look like tomorrow – in five years, in 10 years, in 25 years, in 50 years.” (See related article on p. 34.)

Pegram, Sessoms, O’Day and Walker expressed reservations, questioning whether the committee would have a specific mission to dictate its responsibilities and whether it would require funding by the town. How committee members would be selected is also unresolved. Zero attendance for town hall rezoning

Whitaker said an open house Monday, Jan. 11, to discuss the town’s request to rezone 13.4 acres on U.S. 220 for the new town hall drew no attendance from citizens. The town is seeking to rezone the tract from residential (RS-30) to ...continued on p. 34

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