Residents revel in return of lights
By Steve Herring
Published in News on December 17, 2014 1:46 PM
Christmas is still a week away, but residents in the Ashby Hills subdivision are planning to hold a parade today at 5 p.m., complete with a band to celebrate an early Christmas present -- street lights.
"This is a good day for Ashby Hills," resident Michael Hinnant told Wayne County commissioners Tuesday morning. "I will tell you something else, I said to my wife at least two years ago, 'If we can ever get our lights turned back on. I might just have a parade.'
"So I want to invite everybody tomorrow (Wednesday) to Ashby Hills. The Charles B. Aycock band is going to be there, and we are going to march all around Ashby Hills at 5 o'clock."
Hinnant made his comments during a public hearing before commissioners on whether to levy an assessment of $49 for each lot in the subdivision to pay for Duke Energy turning the street lights back on.
No one spoke against the proposal that was unanimously approved by commissioners.
County Manager George Wood said that Duke Energy officials had told him the lights could be back on as early as today.
"We have been in the dark at Ashby Hills for what seems like a long time," Hinnant said. "But we wanted to let you know how important this is to us. You can tell by the percentage of the people who signed up. I put a little sign up out in front of my house on Monday. I said, 'I will be here from 1 to 4 (p.m.) You stop by if you want your lights turned on.'
"I had 22 people show up that afternoon. We were very eager to get our lighting back on. It is a safety issue. We have some elderly people in the development, and they don't leave their homes. They are afraid to drive because they don't know if they can get back into their driveway."
Ashby Hills and several nearby subdivisions lost their street lights after being de-annexed from Goldsboro just over two years ago.
When the developers built the subdivisions they had an agreement with Duke Energy to provide street lights. But when the area was annexed into the city, state law required Goldsboro to take over street lighting, thereby voiding the original contract.
That cost was paid through property taxes.
When the area was de-annexed the city was no longer legally obligated to provide street lights. Also, Duke Energy did not have an entity, such as a government or homeowners association, to contract with to provide the service.
Commissioners in October took advantage of a state law that allows them to create special districts, similar to fire districts, and levy an assessment to pay for a service -- in this case, street lighting.
The districts and the annual costs are:
* No. 1, Buck Run, $88
* No. 2, Morgan Trace, $47.16
* No. 3, a combination of three small subdivisions, Pine View, Tarklin and Perkins Road, $59.52
* No. 4, Falling Brook, $48
* No. 5, Ashby Hills, $49
* No. 6 Salem Church/Buck Swamp, $93.84.
Commissioners met with residents of the areas to explain how districts to would work.
They also provided petitions to each district for property owners to sign. Gathering the signatures is the responsibility of residents in the areas affected.
At least 67 percent of the property owners in each district must agree to the arrangement. In Ashby Hills, 88 percent agreed.
Tuesday's public hearing was not required by state law, but commissioners said they wanted to hold it to be fair to everyone in the district.
Commissioners also scheduled public hearing for their Jan. 5 meeting at 9:15 a.m. on levying the assessment for Buck Run.
The assessment is not a property tax. It is based on the number of lots and the number of street lights in a district. People who own more than one lot in a district must pay the assessment for each lot.
Creating the special district provides an entity Duke Energy could contract with. Duke would bill the county, which would use the revenues from the special assessment to pay the bill.