County OKs 911 study
By Dennis Hill
Published in News on February 4, 2015 1:46 PM
Wayne County commissioners moved a step closer to a new 911 emergency center Tuesday, approving a call for an architectural and feasibility study for a new or renovated facility.
They also entered into a contract with Mission Critical Partners for help in applying for grant money as well as providing program management for the project. The company recently completed a study of the center, focusing on staffing and operational issues. It recommended adding six dispatchers as well as improving the center's facilities.
The architectural and feasibility study will look at renovating the existing center and/or building a new one. Commissioners discussed various proposals that involved either renovations to the existing center or construction of a completely new one. County Manager George Wood presented several options -- from renovating the third floor of the Jeffreys Building for the center to building a new facility and even taking a regional approach to a new center by linking with Greene County.
The 911 center is currently located on the second floor of the Jeffreys Building and is at capacity. Expanding the current location is also considered an option.
The deadline for companies to submit proposals for the architectural and feasibility study is Feb. 11.
In other business, commissioners agreed following a public hearing to levy an assessment fee of $48 per lot per year for residents of Street Light District No. 4, the Fallingbrook subdivision, so street lighting can be resumed. Residents had to sign a petition seeking to have the lighting.
Bob Pleasants was the only speaker at the public hearing. Pleasants thanked commissioners for their efforts in helping re-establish street lighting in the area. About a dozen residents in attendance applauded the board.
The area is one of several neighborhoods in the Hood Swamp community that lost their street lights when the area was deannexed from the city of Goldsboro. Commissioners created the street light districts through a state law that empowers local governments to create service districts, such as for water and sewer. Residents were told that the lights should be back on by Friday.
Commissioners also approved an amendment to a municipal engineering contract with Municipal Engineering Services Co. for Grantham Middle School to accommodate its septic tank system. The amendment involved using another section of land for the system than had been previously considered.
Commissioners approved the Ingram Fields subdivision plat in Fork Township and increased rates for Medicare for county emergency services.
Commissioners also approved a resolution opposing gay marriage -- even though the commissioner who introduced the original resolution ended up casting his ballot against the version that came to a vote.
Commissioner Ray Mayo introduced a resolution that called for commissioners to go on record as opposing a federal court ruling that struck down a portion of the state Constitution defining marriage as the union of a man and woman. Voters in Wayne County and North Carolina overwhelmingly supported the amendment to the constitution at the ballot box, he said, and the voters' will should be followed.
When an amended resolution was offered by Commissioner John Bell that called on the state attorney general to defend the state constitution, Mayo voted against the new version, saying he felt the wording took away from his emphasis on the rights of the voters.