STOKESDALE town council
March 11 / MEETING HIGHLIGHTS as reported by PATTI STOKES After meeting virtually only for the last several months due to COVID-19 gathering restrictions, Stokesdale Town Council met in person March 11. Citizens were allowed to attend the meeting in Town Hall, or could watch via Zoom or the town’s YouTube channel; new audio/visual equipment, purchased with funds made available via the federal CARES Act, was used for the first time since being recently installed. Mayor John Flynt called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. with Mayor Pro Tem Thearon Hooks, council members Derek Foy, Jimmy Landreth, Jim Rigsbee, Town Clerk Alisa Houk, Deputy Clerk Priscilla Hunsucker, Finance Officer Kim Thacker present, along with about 20 citizens. Town Planner Oliver Bass and Attorney Tom Medlin
participated remotely. After adding one agenda item and replacing another, the meeting agenda was adopted. Brian Cox, sales engineer with Audio & Light based in Greensboro, was on hand to test the new sound system at Town Hall, and noted the microphones would be much more sensitive to sound than the older ones were.
Meeting minutes. Councilman Foy noted the Feb. 11, 2021 meeting minutes reflect the council voted to go into closed session but it had not voted to do so, and a correction was needed.
5 0 to rescind the above-referenced vote in the Feb. 11, 2021 meeting minutes. Councilman Rigsbee said the December 2020 and January 2021
UNSTOPPABLE
Tested for every weather extreme
7101 US 158, Stokesdale NEW SYSTEM INSTALLATION • SERVICE • REPAIR
Ask about special financing
Subject to credit approval, see store for details
6 APRIL 1 - 14, 2021
WHAT they voted on, and HOW they voted: Mayor John Flynt, Mayor Pro Tem Thearon Hooks and council members Derek Foy, Jimmy Landreth, Jim Rigsbee voted on the following issues during the March 11, 2021 council meeting…
5 0: Rescind a vote to go into closed session that was reflected in the Feb. 11 meeting minutes 5 0: Rescind the council’s vote on Feb. 11 and revert an approved rezoning back to AG, credit the petitioners for rezoning fees and apply them to the cost of the Planning Board’s site plan review 5 0: Have Gauldin Plumbing replace a toilet sensor in the park’s restrooms, at a cost of $459 3 2: Appoint (Hooks, Flynt opposed) Randy Braswell to the Planning Board
2 3: Revise (Foy and Flynt in favor) the policy on adding an agenda item during a meeting to read that no vote would be taken on the item unless the issue is “time-sensitive” 3 2: Revise (Rigsbee and Flynt opposed) the above policy to read “there will be no vote taken on this agenda item” (deleting “unless the item is time-sensitive”) 5 0: Request the town attorney draft a letter to county commissioners saying Stokesdale wants to be part of the conversation about any annexation in close proximity to the town limits before commissioners vote on it meeting minutes had still not been submitted for council approval, and asked when they would be completed. “I’m working on them,” Town Clerk Alisa Houk responded. “I can’t give you a definite date … It’s been a very busy couple of weeks. I hope to have them done by April. “I think it’s important that they are done by April,” Foy said.
ADMINISTRATIVE
Houk said 607 water customers were billed in February and 268,310 gallons of water were used from Jan. 20 to Feb. 11. Estimates are being obtained for the cost of switching out about 107 manual meters located along the most dangerous roadside stops with newer electronic ones so the meter reader doesn’t have to get out of the car to read them. The town’s water operator, Gary
The Northwest Observer • Totally local since 1996
Matchunis, submitted weekly/monthly results from bacteria testing and none was detected in the water lines. Also, the nineyear asbestos testing results were negative. Boone Meadows has just been approved by the state to start construction and North Ridge will soon begin Phase 5. Houk and Mayor Flynt attended a fact-finding Zoom meeting in February with Hazen & Sawyer and Courtney Driver, director of Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County Utilities, in which they discussed the town’s future water needs as it continues to grow. The SunTrust account has been closed and moved to Fidelity Bank. The town received nine bids for routine landscaping and lawn maintenance of town property. The Hazard Mitigation Plan for Guilford County is being updated for the
...continued on p. 8
