“typically miss their target.”
STOKESDALE town council
March 10 / MEETING HIGHLIGHTS as reported by PATTI STOKES Mayor Mike Crawford called the monthly meeting to order and Pastor Randy Winn of Stokesdale Christian Church offered an opening prayer. Councilman Tim Jones motioned that he and Mayor Crawford abstain from voting on whether to approve June 10, 2021, meeting minutes since they didn’t serve on the council then. “Two years from now, if three new guys are voted in and have the same philosophy, we’ll never get minutes approved,” Councilman Derek Foy responded. The council then voted against allowing Jones and Crawford to abstain.
5 0 to approve the June 10,
2021 minutes (Jones and Crawford abstained, but their votes counted as being in favor of the motion).
5 0 to approve minutes from the Feb. 24, 2022 special call meeting.
PUBLIC SAFETY Stokesdale Fire Department. Chief Todd Gauldin reported the department responded to 72 calls in February; 34 were fire-related and 38 were medical-related and “other.”
partially finished organizing the files in Town Hall on a recent workday. Following up on a previous discussion about the town hosting a document shredding event, Martin said Shamrock Shredding, which handles most of the shredding events in the area, is booked one year out.
FINANCE
Finance Officer Kim Thacker presented the monthly financial activity in the general fund and water enterprise accounts.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Oak Ridge Town Councilman George McClellan introduced himself as a Republican candidate for Guilford County commissioner, District 3. McClellan said he would work to lower taxes; he would support reasonable budgetary requests for education, “but money must follow the child;” and he does not favor mask mandates for businesses because they
Avery Crump, Guilford County’s district attorney since being elected in 2018, said she is seeking reelection. “I think I’ve done a great job,” Crump said. “We’ve had the only administration to deal with the pandemic and court closures, and the only one to deal with three floodings in the High Point courthouse. My team rose above that. We are tough on violent crime; I do believe in second chances for non-violent offenders. I’m good at my job, I love my job and I’m asking for your support.” Crump said she is a Democrat, but represents everyone. Phil Byrd, a Republican candidate for Guilford County sheriff, said he retired from the sheriff’s department in 2014 after 30 years, and worked under three county sheriffs. Some of his career was spent in northwest Guilford County, and Byrd said he is “very familiar with the townships.” “I know what the (sheriff’s) job entails,” he noted. McClellan, Crump and Byrd will be among the candidates on the May 17 primary ballot. Early voting starts April 28. Stokesdale resident Bobbi Dalton said she recently received a notification from
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As a safety tip, Gauldin suggested citizens buy a weather radio to stay on top of severe weather conditions and receive emergency notifications. Gauldin also urged citizens to plan ahead where they will go if their house is damaged by severe weather. The fire department will have its annual drive-through BBQ on Saturday, March 26, beginning 11 a.m. until it is sold out (see ad on p. 3 for details).
ADMINISTRATIVE
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Town Clerk Dale Martin reported three water meters were installed in February and 59 meters were put on hold; 670 water customers were billed. Martin and the two deputy clerks
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MARCH 17 - 30, 2022
The Northwest Observer • Totally local since 1996
Guilford County’s tax department that her property had been revalued. “It was (valued at) $75,200 a year ago; this year it has gone up to $122,900,” Dalton said. “I believe we should do something about this. If we have to form a caravan of people and go to a county commissioners’ meeting and tell them, ‘this is not right…’” Councilman Jim Rigsbee asked Dalton if she was aware of what procedures to follow to contest the revaluation, and she said yes. Eileen Thiery said she used to work in a tax assessor’s office. “It wasn’t you that was singled out,” Thiery said to Dalton. “Research would have been done before the revaluations. They (county tax department) decided the real estate market has gone up 20%. The best way to handle that (disagreeing with the revaluation) is call the assessment department. You have to have some comparable houses to yours that sold,” she said. “Storming the assessment department is not going to help – the worst thing to do is call up and yell at them.” Thiery then requested the town council make the meeting room in Town Hall more accessible to nonprofits, and asked for financial assistance in freshening up the planting area at the base of the town clock in front of the fire department.
PUBLIC HEARING Rezoning, AG to Conditional UseLight Industrial. Town Planner Oliver Bass presented a request from property owners Maria Damian and Omar Cruz to rezone 10.05 acres at 9264 U.S. 158. The applicants placed conditions on the light industrial rezoning that the property will only be used for a general contractor’s business and storage of equipment for a contractor’s business. Bass said staff recommended denying the rezoning, based on the town’s land use plan. The Planning Board voted 3-2 to recommend approval based on limited impact the proposed conditions would have on surrounding property. No one spoke in opposition to the rezoning request. During discussion, council members confirmed with the applicants that the equipment stored on the property would be “typical equipment used in a general
