City begins work to reconnect power to homes
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on January 23, 2017 10:09 AM
City of Goldsboro inspectors plan to start working to get electricity reconnected to homes that sustained water damage following Hurricane Matthew in October.
In an effort to get residents back into their homes, the Goldsboro City Council decided last week to provide no-cost re-inspections at the request of property owners, said Scott Stevens, city manager.
Inspectors started adding door hangers to homes this week, notifying residents of the opportunity.
"What we've got to do is find a solution," Councilman Gene Aycock said during a council work session Tuesday. "Let the city try to get everybody back into their homes."
After the hurricane, the city coordinated with Duke Energy Progress and disconnected electricity to 310 homes after water was found underneath houses and concern was raised that electrical systems were damaged.
An estimated 180 homes are still without power, said Allen Anderson Jr., Goldsboro chief building inspector.
The city plans to hire an electrician and electrical engineers to reinspect the homes, at the request of property owners, Stevens said. If every property is reinspected, the city cost would be $300 to $500 per home and total near $60,000, Stevens said.
The homes include many that were temporarily condemned by the city due to hurricane damage. Approximately 65 homes have had condemnation signs removed out of the 400 originally condemned, Anderson said. The signs are being taken down after repairs are made and inspected by city staff.
During the council meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Bevan Foster shared concern that electricity was disconnected from homes that never had floodwater damage inside while others in the Willow Run neighborhood had several inches of water in livable areas. Electricity was not disconnected from the flooded homes in Willow Run, he said.
Foster raised the issue after being contacted by residents who have questioned the disconnections.
"In my district, I have two sets of people being treated different," Foster said. "I just don't understand. When I took this seat (on the council), I took this seat for fairness. I took this seat for equal treatment of all people."
The city's re-inspections will include inspections of properties in Willow Run, if requested, Stevens said.
"(The) main goal is to make sure that homes are safe to live in," Stevens said.
In October, the city hired electricians to complete the initial inspections, at a $20,000 city cost, Stevens said. City officials also worked to try and help residents who experienced loss during the storm.
"We spent a lot of hours, weekends and nights and extended times, trying to help," Stevens said. "I had numerous conversations about how to not cut the power off."
Electricity was disconnected after many homes with cloth-covered electrical wiring were soaked in water. Safety, as well as liability concerns, were raised and prompted the decision.
The city plan to hire electricians and electrical engineers is a double effort to make sure electrical systems are safe to operate, Stevens said.
"I feel like, at this point, we owe the citizens of Goldsboro that may still have condemned signs, we owe them whatever we need to do, at this point, to try to help them out in this situation," Foster said.
Residents have also received door hangers that detail the process of applying for the Hazard Mitigation buyout program.
The council, also during its work session, approved a suspension policy for Goldsboro Parks and Recreation facilities and programs.
The policy includes three levels of action, with the first step involving a decision to send an adult or child home for excessive profanity, a fight or scuffle, intentional damage to equipment, public display of affection and disrespect toward staff, a coach or volunteer.
The second level involves a two-to-seven-day suspension for fights, not backing down from a heated exchange and repeated dismissals from park programs.
The third level involves a suspension of three, six or 12 months for repeated offenses, violence and criminal activity. Suspensions can be appealed to center directors and the city manager. Suspensions longer than three months will be reviewed by the city manager.
The policy sets specific suspension time frames that were not previously defined in rules for the city park and recreation system, said Felicia Brown, assistant director of the Goldsboro Parks and Recreation department.
In other matters, the council:
* Tabled a decision on design plans for a future Herman Park Recreation Center. Aycock asked that the council be offered more time to review the plans before making a decision.
* Voted against a five-year lease agreement with the Yamaha Motor Finance Corp. for 58 new golf carts for the Goldsboro Municipal Golf Course.
* Approved a reimbursement agreement with Duke Energy, which plans to provide the city with $10,000 to install a dual-port electric vehicle charging station in the John Street parking lot downtown.
* Approved a near $18,000 contract with Igoe Creative for marketing and advertising of the 2017 Wings Over Wayne Air Show. The approval is lower than a $29,880 contract requested by the Travel and Tourism Department.
* Approved accepting a donated single-wide modular unit from Wayne UNC Health Care, which will cost the city between $10,000 and $15,000 to move and locate at the city public works department.
* Set the council's annual retreat dates for Feb. 15 and 16.