City earmarks funds for lights, widening
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on October 7, 2009 1:46 PM
Planning Director Randy Guthrie asked members of the Goldsboro City Council for guidance Monday, as he and his staff prepare to set aside some $3.5 million in street bond money for upcoming road projects.
And by the end of the 15-minute discussion, the board members seemed to agree that certain projects must be funded.
Like the new computer signal system effort an-nounced by the Department of Transportation -- a $4 million project that will involve upgrading all traffic control equipment, instal-ling fiber optic cable and video cameras to monitor traffic in the city. Guthrie confirmed that $1.2 million of that cost would need to be incurred by the city.
The council also agreed that $1 million should be budgeted for the city's match in the proposed widening of Berkeley Boulevard. That money, Guthrie said, would cover the "right of way component" of the project, which was also recently discussed by DOT.
Another $500,000, he and the council agreed, should go toward street resurfacing.
But exactly what areas of the city will benefit from that effort is still unclear.
"We're right now riding the city doing a pavement study survey to determine which streets are in the worst shape," he said.
The remaining funds for street projects -- just more than $800,000 -- would have essentially been left alone for the time being.
But when Mayor Pro Tem Chuck Allen suggested that some of it -- roughly $140,000 -- be used to draw plans for the future realignment of Central Heights Road at Berkeley Boulevard and Royall Avenue, the rest of the council agreed.
Council member Jackie Warrick, however, was concerned about the future.
"I've got a question," he said. "What are we going to do, where is the money going to come from to resurface roads next year? This is it, right?"
The answer, as far as street bond money is concerned, is yes, but future projects could be completed using money from the General Fund.