County to discuss hazard mitigation
By Steve Herring
Published in News on February 20, 2017 9:44 AM
Applications are still being accepted from Wayne County residents for assistance under the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management Hurricane Matthew Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
Nearly 300 applications have been received thus far, and county planner Chip Crumpler will update Wayne County commissioners on the process when they meet Tuesday morning.
In other business Tuesday, commissioners are expected to approve a revised resolution petitioning the state to name the center section of the new U.S. 70 Bypass in memory of John Kerr III.
The public's support is being sought as well, and public comment on the resolution will be allowed at the meeting.
The meeting gets underway with an 8 a.m. agenda briefing followed by the formal session at 9 a.m. Both will be held in the commissioners' meeting room on the fourth floor of the Wayne County Courthouse Annex.
The county is handling the letter of interest for Wayne County and all of its incorporated towns. The deadline to submit the letter to the state is March 31.
Once the state has the letters from eligible counties, a cost/benefit analysis will be conducted to determine the cost effectiveness of the proposed projects.
Once completed, North Carolina Emergency Management will submit a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Eligible grant projects include acquisition (buyout), elevation (house raising), mitigation/reconstruction (demolition/rebuild), generators, early-warning systems, regional plans, storm water management, wind retrofits and the mitigation of commercial properties.
To date the applications include:
* 271 acquisition projects. Of that total 125 received less than 50 percent damage; 146 received greater than 50 percent damage; 229 were in a mapped flood zone area; 42 were not in a mapped flood zone; 21 structures received greater than 50 percent damage and were not located in a flood zone.
* 22 elevation projects. Of that total 10 were less than 50 percent damaged; 12 were greater than 50 percent damaged; 15 are located in a flood zone; seven are outside the flood zone; 19 experienced some level of water over the first floor; three experienced water under the home in the crawlspace, but not over the first floor.
* Other projects: Emergency generator for the town of Mount Olive.
Commissioners first approved a resolution to name a section of the U.S. 70 Goldsboro Bypass in Kerr's memory in June 2015 -- just one month after his death.
However, state policy requires that the person must have been dead for a year.
The resolution seeks to have the section of the new highway beginning at the Interstate 795 interchange and continuing five miles to U.S. 13 named in memory of Kerr.
Kerr, one of the powerful members of the General Assembly, championed improvement to state infrastructure including the U.S. 70 Goldsboro Bypass.
He was first elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1986 and served three terms before being elected to the North Carolina Senate, where he served from 1992-2008.
In the North Carolina Senate, he served as a member of the Appropriations, Commerce and Judiciary Committees and co-chair of the Finance Committee.
The resolution notes that Kerr, "dedicated his life to his family, Madison Avenue Baptist Church, civic organizations, numerous boards and many causes, which touched the lives of the people and communities in North Carolina and especially eastern North Carolina."
It adds that Kerr, "focused on the need to increase eastern North Carolina's infrastructure, including water, sewer, natural gas and roads. He was vocal is his support for getting the Interstate 795 designation between Goldsboro and Wilson and was a strong supporter of the US Highway 70 Goldsboro Bypass."
Also on the agenda, commissioners will consider yet another change to how the public comments portion of their meetings is conducted.
Currently, public comments begin at 9:15 a.m., and speakers have four minutes to comment on their topic of choice.
Tuesday commissioners will consider moving public comments to begin five minutes, or as soon thereafter as possible, after the start of their meeting.
In other business, commissioners will consider motions to:
* Approve Gander Lake Subdivision Phase 2 and 3 preliminary plats.
* Approve Plantation Point, Section 2 Final.
* Award the construction contract for the Wayne Executive Jetport omnidirectional approach lighting system project to Cedar Peaks, the lowest responsible bidder, for $116,720.
* Endorse the Wayne County Development Alliance request to seek a variance from the city of Goldsboro for the Advance Manufacturing Center.
Finance director Allison Speight will make a presentation on the quarterly financial statement for the county for fiscal year 2016-2017 through Dec. 31, 2016.
She will also make a presentation on the quarterly financial statement for the Wayne County Tourism Development Authority for fiscal tear 2016-2017 through Dec. 31, 2016.
Consent agenda items include applications for present use value and budget amendments.