June 2 - 8, 2017
bringing the local news home to northwest Guilford County since 1996
www.nwobserver.com
Summerfield Square … will it ever go from beast to beauty? Residents ask what can be done about a shopping center they have long deemed an eyesore by JOE GAMM SUMMERFIELD – Road construction, orange barrels and traffic require all of drivers’ attention as they travel along U.S. 220 through Summerfield. And if they don’t actually have to look at the shopping center at the southern edge of the city, that’s just as well. But, it’s still there. For years, Summerfield Square, often referred
to as “the old Food Lion shopping center,” has been in a state of decline. As the Town of Summerfield works on updating its development standards, many residents have been asking why the once vibrant shopping center, which only has two remaining tenants, Dollar General and Town & Country Barber Shop, is allowed to sink further into a state of disrepair. The shopping center has a long history of deferred maintenance dating back to the previous owner, ARCO Realty, according to Marty Kotis, owner of Kotis Holdings, which manages the property. “Frankly, we’re digging out from a hole that’s
...continued on p. 18
Photo by Joe Gamm/NWO
Summerfield Square shopping center on U.S. 220 in Summerfield, once anchored by Food Lion, has been in a steady state of decline for the last several years.
Upcoming June 1, 8 and 13 council meetings to include budget hearings by PATTI STOKES
expenses) of $512,874 next fiscal year.
NW GUILFORD – Oak Ridge Town Council will hold its regular monthly meeting Thursday, June 1, 7 p.m. at Oak Ridge Town Hall. A public hearing for the draft FY 2017-18 budget, which includes $1,050,273 for capital expenses, will be held during the meeting. For the first time since levying a property tax in 2004, the Town is proposing its 8.63cent tax rate (per $100 property valuation) be reduced to 8 cents. Even with the lower tax rate, the Town anticipates net revenue (before capital
Projected capital expenses for the first year of a four-year capital budget that will go into effect July 1 total $1,050,273. Of this amount, $170,000 is allocated for purchasing trail easements and other expenses related to a Mountains-to-Sea Trail segment that will pass through Oak Ridge; $28,000 to install a sidewalk from Oak Ridge Elementary School to Tarleton Drive; $300,000 for three lighted and fenced tennis courts in Oak Ridge Town Park, as well as $450,000 for two additional
athletic fields, $12,000 for a fitness trail and $18,000 for a beach volleyball court; and $50,000 for two sets of flashing crosswalk poles and signs for the crosswalk on Linville Road, between the town park and Town Hall, and at Oak Ridge Military Academy on Oak Ridge Road. The Town proposes a transfer of $537,399 from its undesignated fund balance to balance the proposed $2,046,322 budget. Following the public hearing the council is expected to vote on whether to approve
...continued on p. 3
IN THIS ISSUE News in Brief ..............................2 Your Questions ..........................4 Business Notes ..........................6 Bits & Pieces ..............................6 Pets & Critters ............................7 Happie Blankies fund rescue ...8 Youth/School News ................10 High School Sports .................10 Student Profile ......................... 11 Crime/Incident Report ........... 14 Community Calendar ............ 15 Letters/Opinions ..................... 16 Grins & Gripes ......................... 17 Classifieds ............................... 19 Index of Advertisers ...............23