Council talks library heaters, 3 new four-way stops and more

Janet Imrick

Randolph Hub

ASHEBORO — The discussions around roads, intersections and parking across the downtown area continued at the Nov. 7 Asheboro City Council meeting. Members followed up on parking concerns around the city, along with approving changes to three intersections and announcing meeting dates for the community to talk about downtown parking.

Intersections and parking

PARKING: The city will host a series of input meetings with community members, property owners and business owners downtown to get feedback on parking. They can hear more about the parking study being done for the downtown district. Assistant City Manager Trevor Nuttall said anyone interested must pre-register to attend. The dates and times have been posted on the city’s Facebook page.

A public open house will be held on Nov. 20 from 4-7 p.m. at the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Adult Resource and Education Center, also known as Randolph Senior Adults Association. People can drop in at any time to learn more, with presentations held at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.

INTERSECTION CHANGES: Traffic lights at three intersections are at the end of their lifespans. 

City Engineer Michael Leonard told council members that replacing the lights would cost $230,000, so he recommended changing the following to four-way stops:

- Worth Street and North Main Street.

- Worth Street and North Elm Street.

- Brewer Street and North Elm Street.

Leonard said crash records show those are low-incident spots. He said they would keep the traffic signals up for a period as flashing lights to help drivers get used to the change. The city gave staff the go ahead to work out the logistics.

LOACH STREET PARKING: City council approved an ordinance to create four new parking spaces along Loach Street. Each spot will be one-hour from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

They first suggested adding the parking spaces in September to accommodate restaurant customers.

Next construction phases

FIRE STATION #3: Asheboro Fire & Rescue Chief Willie Summers gave the latest update on the future Fire Station #3 on Zoo Parkway. 

He said the application has been sent to the NC Emergency Management department, and they will send it to FEMA for the final review. Permit requests have been sent to both the NC Department of Transportation and Environmental Quality. Phase 1, the schematic design, has been completed, and the next step is design and development for a 12,000-square-foot building. The city council agreed to authorize the execution of the next phase with Stewart Cooper Newell Architects.

WOLFSPEED WATER LINE: The Wolfspeed water line is also ready to move into the next phase, Water Resources Director Michael Rhoney said.  Council members approved the next order of piping and fittings. Rhoney said the first order of material should arrive in December. Phase 2 of the Wolfspeed Design-Build Contract is to cost $19,909,309.02.

TEMPORARY HEATERS FOR LIBRARY: The Asheboro Public Library asked for heaters to get through the winter months while their HVAC system is being replaced. Finance Director Deborah Reaves said delays pushed the construction further into the year, and the books have to be kept at a very specific temperature. They will rent two heaters and fuel for $21,714. They will also purchase three heat pumps for $16,500, which can be kept by the city for future projects. The city council voted to move the requested money from the maintenance budget to the library budget.

Accolades

HIRE VETS AWARD: Human Resources and Randolph Community College presented the news about new awards. Human Kristen Terry told council members about the city’s recent 2024 Gold HIRE Vets Medallion Award. Sponsored by the US Department of Labor, it recognizes cities which show exemplary efforts to recruit, employ and retain veterans. Terry said 10 percent of city employees are veterans. City Manager John Ogburn noted that the national average is 1 percent.Terry noted that despite not having a specific program for veteran employment, Asheboro has attained its high rate by encouraging veterans to find and choose jobs that fit their background and skillsets. 

RCC RANKED #1: Randolph Community College (RCC) Strategic Planning and Development Officer Linda Brown delivered the news that RCC was ranked the #1 community college for a second year in a row. This ranking comes from Niche.com and SmartAsset. Smart Asset also named RCC the #2 community college in the United States, up from #47 last year.

Mayor Pro Tem Walker Moffitt said that RCC is gaining an international reputation due to the need for workers at the Toyota plant. He said he saw that play out last month while attending the Southeast U.S./Japan Conference in Charlotte with RCC President Shah Ardalan.

“You have the Toyota North Carolina president mentioning the successful relationship in front of so many people in the Japanese government,” Moffitt said. “Other community colleges are telling their success story of placing people in the tens and fifties. Dr. Ardalan was talking in hundreds, and it shaped the conversation at his table. It is well-known, and well-deserved.”

Rezonings

Council reviewed and OK’d 3 rezoning requests, two for undeveloped land.

- The first is along U.S. Highway 220 Business at Oakhurst Road. Property owner Rodney Tyler with AIM Integrated Solutions asked that the 1.12 acres be made I2 General Industrial to match the surrounding properties.

- Rick Powell of 41 Chevy Realty, LLC asked for 1135 and 1147 South Cox Street to be given an amended RA6 (CZ) High-Density Residential Conditional Zoning to allow for the construction of a third duplex. Asked how this will affect Lindsey Avenue, which ends at the back of the property, Community Development Director John Evans said there will be no thruway to Lindsey Avenue.

- The final rezoning vote removed the conditional zoning on a residential plot north of the Heathwood Acres subdivision on WOW Road. Evans said the land was never recombined with the subdivision and remains undeveloped. The zoning will allow for one family dwelling to be built there.