Council eyes bond levy
By Matt Caulder
Published in News on October 20, 2013 1:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
The Goldsboro City Council is set to discuss an $18.9 million bond referendum, part of which would pay for a new W.A. Foster Center at Mina Weil Park (pictured).
The Goldsboro City Council is expected to discuss a number of city facility planning issues during its work session Monday night at 5 p.m.
The meeting, which will be held in the large conference room at City Hall, is set to include discussion of the new GATEWAY transfer facility and a possible bond referendum for Parks and Recreation projects.
A possible $18.9 million Parks and Recreation bond would fund the construction of a new W.A. Foster Recreation Center at Mina Weil Park with park updates, the construction of a multi-sports complex, improvements to Herman Park and Herman Park Center and paving greenways across Goldsboro -- the referendum would have to be voted on by the citizens before the bonds could be sold to fund the projects.
A bond referendum, if passed, would raise the city property tax rate by about three cents per $100 of valuation. The increase in the property tax income of $600,000 per year would serve as the city's collateral to borrow against for the bonds.
The GATEWAY transfer station will be funded as part of a $10 million TIGER grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The facility is in the design phase, and the council will hear an update from the architect Monday night.
Five public hearings will be held during the City Council meeting that will be held after the work session -- the start time is 7 p.m. in the council chambers.
On the docket is the possible approval of a new 42-lot subdivision on Corbett Street near Central Heights Road.
Also on the agenda is the proposed rezoning of a single-family home on Cuyler Best Road. The owner has requested the rezoning to make the property more attractive for selling.
A petition against the request garnered the necessary amount of signatures that the vote has to pass by a six to seven margin for the rezoning to take place --more than 50 percent of area residents signed the petition.
Another zoning issue set to be discussed involves the owner of the former First Citizen's Bank building at the corner of Berkeley Boulevard and New Hope Road, who is asking that his property be rezoned as a General Business Conditional Use District.
The property would be sold with a non-compete clause disallowing the use for the property as a financial institution.
Other items on the agenda include:
* The owner of a property on U.S. 117 that was formerly the 117 Truck Stop is seeking to have the parcel rezoned for use as a used car lot with space for 36 vehicles. The owner has requested an exception in the city Planning Code to be allowed to use existing gravel parking areas as opposed to improving the lot with paved parking.
* The owner of a used car lot on U.S. 70 near N.C. 111 is seeking approval to open an auto repair business in conjunction with the used car lot operating on the four-acre lot. The lot is in the Accident Potential Zone for Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and has certain restrictions on density of people that can be in an area.
* The council is expected to vote on a budget amendment to appropriate $6,000 to Literacy Connections after the county cut its funding and then denied a second request for funds to keep the program's three employees and keep services running. The program tutors adults how to read and also offers English as a Second Language classes. Literacy Connections requested $27,000 in funding from the county to fund a part-time registrar and two AmericCorps workers.