Ag Center sign, next bridge on state trail stir debate

Janet Imrick

Randolph Hub

ASHEBORO — The cost of a sign for the upcoming agricultural center and the next bridge on the Deep River State Trail fueled intense discussion between Randolph County Commissioners. Both contracts were awarded with split votes at the Feb. 3 commissioners’ meeting.

Agricultural Center sign

County Engineer Paxton Arthurs drafted two recommendations for the main sign at the Farm, Food, and Family Education Center. The 30-foot sign with an LED display is to stand at the entrance off U.S. Highway 64.

Choosing the bid became complicated because the design recommended a specific light by Optec Displays, but contractors may recommend a different manufacturer. Arthurs asked them all for a base bid with any manufacturer and for a preferred alternative that used Optec.

Bids came from Stonetree Signs, Signage Industries, and Clark Sign Corp. Stonetree was also the company to help Arthurs with the design and bid document preparation.

Signage Industries bid lowest overall, a base bid of $164,416.23 using lights by Vantage. Stonetree had the lowest preferred alternate bid at $187,703.05 using Optec.

Arthurs gave a presentation on the different lights. He said Optec uses newer surface-mount-devices (SMD) that generate the same brightness with less heat, using fanless ventilation. 

Vantage’s dual-inline package (DIP) would use less power, with a voltage of 10.8 amps compared to Optec’s 23.6 amps.

County Manager Zeb Holden said based on his research, DIP is traditionally more suitable for outdoor displays and has a longer view distance. “The sign is going to be 30 feet in the air and along the highway, where people are going to be going faster than we’d like to admit,” he said.

Commissioner Hope Haywood asked who would maintain the lights. Arthurs said both systems come with a 10-year warranty.

Commissioner Lester Rivenbark said his own research suggested DIPs will hold up better with the elements, road vibrations and mechanical stress. “You’re talking wind, rain, trucks,” he said. “For the Ag Center, you want what’s most durable.”

Commissioners voted 4-1 to award the project to Signage Industries. Haywood voted against, saying she felt she did not have enough knowledge of the different lights to choose between the two. She said, “Since this is front and center, I want to make sure we make the right call for the type of sign.”

Bush Creek Bridge

The cost of the next bridge along the Deep River State Trail far exceeded what the county expected. Arthurs said the lowest bid to cross Bush Creek along the Franklinville trailhead was $987,000 from Eastern Structures, LLC. The engineer’s estimate for the project was $554,550.03.

The Bush Creek Bridge will be longer than the Sandy Creek Bridge on that same trail, requiring a center support column. Eastern Structures built the Sandy Creek Bridge, and Arthurs said he had a good working relationship with them.

Commissioners said the bridge will use up much of what’s left of the Complete the Trails Grant. They asked Trail Coordinator Mary Joan Pugh to talk about what still needs to be done to complete the Deep River State Trail.

Chairman Darrell Frye said, “My concern is what comes after this. I don’t think it’s likely we’ll get another million dollars from the state, after what happened in Western North Carolina.”

Pugh said approximately $28,000 of the grant is still uncommitted. Next on her schedule is engineering for the Harlan Creek Bridge and the Randleman Dam Paddleway.

While there is a rail trail along Bush Creek, Pugh said they must do more work before they can officially open a trail to the public. She said the current clearing and grading should save them money on the trail.

“I definitely want to come back to you and talk about up to half a million dollars to complete this project,” she said. “We’re leveraging $860,000 of Complete the Trail funds.”

She asked commissioners to approve the bridge bid, so they do not lose the money they already committed. “I don’t want to lose $860,000, and we have to have a bridge for this project,” she said.

They voted 4-1 to award the contract. Rivenbark voted against. He said, “Will we have a million-dollar bridge to nowhere, because we’ll have no money to finish the trail?”

Commissioner David Allen said, “We got $860,000, and I hate to not use that. There’s been a lot of work done on this. This is not just something that happened tonight. I know putting together pieces of parcels, getting easements. I go down there, and that’s one of the places we’ll walk.”