News in brief

Preview: June 2 Oak Ridge Town Council meeting

by CHRIS BURRITT

OAK RIDGE – Oak Ridge Town Council plans to consider approving a resolution setting fees and charges for users of the town’s new municipal water system.

If the plan is approved, residential users would pay a base charge of $21 a month and an additional $6.50 per 1,000 gallons of water, according to the rate schedule recommended by the town’s Water Advisory Board. The rates are comparable to what the Town of Stokesdale and Aqua North Carolina charge residential customers.

Homeowners in Honeycutt Reserve, a subdivision under development on Bunch Road, will be the first customers of Oak Ridge’s water system; the town plans to take ownership of the water system in development.

In other business, the council plans to consider adopting the town’s budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. It’s also going to consider approval of petitions by property owners seeking voluntary annexation into the town. Public hearings will precede the council’s discussion on the two issues.

Separately, Town Manager Bill Bruce plans to provide an update on planning for Heritage Farm Park and improvements slated for the intersection of N.C. 68 and 150.

The council will consider appointing Steve Sumner as an alternate to the Historic Preservation Commission.

want to attend/watch?

The 7 p.m. meeting at Town Hall this Thursday, June 2, is open to the public. The meeting will be livestreamed on the town’s YouTube channel. For more information, visit www.oakridgenc.com.

A return to...

Summerfi eld’s legal bills top $373,000 after latest case

by CHRIS BURRITT

SUMMERFIELD – Summerfield’s defense of lawsuits related to former councilman Todd Rotruck and separately, a suit filed by former mayor Gail Dunham, has resulted in legal bills totaling $373,117.86 for the town.

That’s the latest tally from Dee Hall, the town’s finance officer. In a recent email, she said she received last month what she believes may be the last bill from Nelson Mullins, the law firm which defended Summerfield in a recently dismissed lawsuit by former council member Teresa Perryman and Summerfield resident Danny Nelson.

The $37,830.87 bill from WinstonSalem-based Nelson Mullins brought to $261,745.90 the town’s legal expenses for suits related to Rotruck, according to Hall. In addition, the town spent $111,371.96 defending itself unsuccessfully in a suit filed by Dunham.

Dunham’s suit stemmed from a public records request she submitted in November 2019 for all town-related emails distributed between Oct. 1, 2017, and Nov. 19, 2019, roughly spanning her two-year term as mayor.

Summerfield Town Manager Scott Whitaker and Town Attorney Bob Hornik said the town was justified in charging Dunham $9,400 to cover staff and attorney review of the emails to remove confidential, non-public information, as well as IT services to sort and compile them.

Siding with Dunham, who refused to pay the town, state Superior Court Judge Lora Cubbage ruled that based upon Whitaker’s testimony, he exercised “unfettered discretion” in assessing special service fees for some public record