SUMMERFIELD town council
Feb. 9 / 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. Sessoms offered the invocation, which was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The council limited inperson attendance to the meeting in Summerfield Community Center due to public gathering restrictions related to the COVID-19 outbreak. The meeting was livestreamed on the town’s Facebook page.
VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION
The council presented a plaque of appreciation to Jennie Taylor for serving on the town’s Trails and Open Space Committee since March 2018; most recently, Taylor has served as chair of the committee.
PUBLIC SAFETY, COMMITTEE REPORTS Summerfield Fire District. The fire district reported it responded to
111 calls in January, including 62 EMSrelated calls and 23 fire-related calls. Firefighters installed eight child safety seats.
Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s District 1 office reported it responded to 106 calls in Summerfield last month; of those, 25 related to activated burglar alarms, one was a residential burglary and another was robbery of a person. Historical Committee. Town Manager Scott Whitaker reported on some of the committee’s recent activities, which have included historical research and documenting and exploring possible uses of the historic Gordon Hardware building and the Martin House at Summerfield Road and N.C. 150.
AUDIT REPORT
Summerfield’s cash reserves topped $7 million in the fiscal year that ended last June 30, according to the town’s financial audit. Cash totaled $7.01 million last fiscal year, compared to $6.94 million a year earlier. The audit by accountant Wade
PLANTS SEEDS BULBS POTS
3 2: Withdraw (Pegram and O’Day opposed) the town’s request to rezone 13.4 acres at 7818 Summerfield Road for a new town hall
5 0: Drop consideration of creating the Tomorrow Committee 5 0: Authorize Town Manager Scott Whitaker to appoint as many as nine members to the new Land Use Plan Committee
5 0: Reappoint Dick Feulner and Trudy Whitacre to the Zoning Board for three-year terms 5 0: Proceed with construction of a “Welcome to Summerfield” sign on U.S. 220 at Strawberry Road
4 1: Enter (DeVaney opposed) into a legal agreement with Revolution Academy to allow a limited number of students and staff to begin using the charter school’s new building on N.C. 150 Greene of Whiteville, North Carolina, showed available funds of $6.87 million, enough money to cover almost five years of operating expenses; Greene noted available funds were up slightly from $6.84 million the previous fiscal year. “Your audit is clean; you’re in great shape,” Greene said. He added that the town’s financial record keeping was “perfect,” drawing applause from council members for Dee Hall, the town’s finance officer. Representing architectural firm Creech & Associates, Michael Supino and Natalie Stenger presented first renderings for Summerfield’s new town hall. The proposed design for the estimated $3.5 million project shows a single-level building made of stone, timber and glass on 13.4 acres owned by the town along U.S. 220 and N.C. 150. (See related article on front cover.)
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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 Feb. 9 council meeting. Mayor BJ Barnes was present, but in Summerfield the mayor votes only to break a tie.
TOWN HALL UPDATE
New Items
6
WHAT they voted on, and HOW they voted:
DeVaney said she’d prefer a design using bricks prevalent in historic Summerfield buildings such as the current
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Town Hall. O’Day said he likes the design using “natural elements” in the building.
PUBLIC HEARING 3 2 (Pegram and O’Day
opposed) to withdraw the town’s request to rezone 13.4 acres at 7818 Summerfield Road for a new town hall. (See related article on front cover.) During a public hearing, Chris York, the town’s planning manager, explained the request to rezone the property along U.S. 220 at N.C. 150 from two residential classifications – RS-30 and Town Core District – to General Business. No residents spoke for or against the rezoning request during the hearing. Rezoning the property for general business raised the possibility for a wide range of commercial development along U.S. 220 – from a pool hall to a convenience store with gasoline pumps to a bowling alley. A few weeks ago, the town’s Zoning Board voted 3-2 against recommending the council approve the
