Northwest Observer | July 22 - 28, 2016

July 22 - 28, 2016

bringing the local news home to northwest Guilford County since 1996

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Town to participate in regional water authority Water-for-ﬁre protection study results presented; town to collaborate with Rockingham County by PATTI STOKES SUMMERFIELD – One of two purposes of a special-called meeting on July 14 was to present the results of an engineer firm’s study on water options for fire protection within Summerfield Fire District. At the meeting’s start, Summerfield Town Manager Scott Whitaker recapped the events that led to the study, explaining the Town’s Public Safety Committee was asked in 2015 to make a recommendation on how to address Summerfield

Fire District’s concerns about having an adequate water supply for fighting fires.

With no municipal water system, the fire department relies on ponds and lakes for water to fight fires. Over the years the impact of environmental changes, road construction and land development have all contributed to a steady loss of these water access points, from 30 to 13. “This causes an increase in the amount of time the fire department has to travel to get to the site of an emergency,” Johnson told the town council when the issue was brought to the forefront in February 2015. “With the road improvements (which will widen U.S. 220 to a four-lane highway with a median), it will take even more time.”

In January of this year, the Town entered into a contract with The Wooten Company to undergo a water-for-fire protection study.

John Grey, an engineer with the firm, presented the results of the study at the July 14 meeting. At the outset, he said the Town had been very clear it wanted to consider water options for fire protection only. Six water options were presented. Option A explores placing small tanks storing between 30,000 to 50,000 gallons of water at six key locations within the town; each tank would require a well for water supply, site work, yard piping and electricity for the well pump. Depending upon tank size and whether placed above or below ground, the tank,

materials and installation were estimated to cost $130,800 to $301,800 each; the tanks could be placed one at a time to stagger the capital outlay. With this option the Town would have to own the property where each tank is located. With Option B, a centrally located ground-level storage tank would be placed on town-owned property at the intersection of U.S. 220 and N.C. 150, with water coming from four existing wells on the 13-acre site. Tanks storing 75,000, 100,000 and 200,000 gallons of water were considered; including the tank, materials and installation, cost was estimated at between $334,800 and $433,600. With this option the fire district would gain only one additional water access point.

...continued on p. 18

Industrial operation violates zoning, town says Photo by Patti Stokes/NWO

Property on Fogleman Road, which is zoned for moderate intensity ofﬁce use, appears to be in use as a gas line pipe ‘staging area.’

by PATTI STOKES OAK RIDGE – A flurry of industrial-level activity is taking place on Fogleman Road off N.C. 68 in Oak Ridge, and Town Manager Bruce Oakley says the activity appears to be in violation of the property’s GO-M zoning (General Office-Moderate Intensity). As defined in the Town’s development

ordinance, a GO-M zoning district is primarily intended to accommodate moderate intensity office and institutional uses, and to support service and retail uses. At the Fogleman Road site owned by Oak Ridge resident Billy Kanoy, however, a modular office unit is surrounded by heavy equipment and crews welding together gas line pipes. Oakley said the Town has

received several calls of concern and complaints about the type and level of activity at the site. In response, the town manager recently met with Kanoy and Greg Greenwell, a superintendent with Primoris Services Corporation, a contractor for Williams Gas Pipeline Transco. During that meeting

...continued on p. 10

IN THIS ISSUE News in Brief .................................. 3 Your Questions .............................. 4 Summerfield Town Council .......... 6 Business Notes .............................. 8 Bits & Pieces .................................. 8 Paying it forward..........................11 Crime/Incident Report ................14 Community Calendar .................15 Letters/Opinions ..........................16 Grins & Gripes ..............................17 Classifieds ....................................19 Index of Advertisers ................... 23 NWO on the Go .......................... 24

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