Commissioners likely to award stream debris cleanup contract today
By Steve Herring
Published in News on July 17, 2017 8:47 AM
Wayne County commissioners Tuesday morning are expected to award a $146,507.25 contract for a stream debris cleanup project designed to lessen the threat of flooding following heavy rain events.
The meeting will get under way 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 has received $237,473 in state funding through the Golden LEAF Foundation and another $223,961 from the Disaster Recovery Relief Program through Soil and Water Conservation to remove debris from streams and creeks, but not the Neuse River.
Approximately 21 miles along 11 streams including will be cleaned.
Targeted streams include:
• Stoney Creek (outside the Goldsboro city limits) between Combs Road and the Neuse River
• Halfmile Branch (near Ferry Bridge Road and Old Smithfield Road) to the Neuse River.
• Creek beginning near First Congregational Church on the Old Mount Olive Highway, Dudley, to Durham Lake.
• Durham Lake to Thoroughfare Swamp.
• Thoroughfare Swamp to Falling Creek.
• Blue line ditch at U.S. 13 South to Falling Creek.
• Falling Creek to the Neuse.
However, the low bid from A&K Grading is approximately $315,000 less than the total of the two grants and will allow the county to look at additional these areas for cleanout as well:
• Thunder Swamp (Mount Olive area)
• Nahunta Swamp (Eureka area)
• Approximately 55 locations along the Neuse River that have blockages
• Poplar Branch to the Neuse (Mar Mac Area)
It will take some time to evaluate the additional areas and estimate the cost, County Manager George Wood said in a memo to commissioners.
The agency is open to suggestions of any other areas in the county that may need cleaning out.
Beaver dams will be removed, too.
The grant does not provide extra money for hauling off the debris. Instead the debris will be taken from the stream and placed between 15 to 30 feet up from the stream bed.
Letters will be sent to property owners asking for permission to be on the property. If the property owner does not respond, the section of the stream on the property will be bypassed.
In other business Tuesday, Wayne County Planner Chip Crumpler will update the board on the county's efforts to secure countywide Internet.
The county has contracted with Open Broadband, LLC to perform a Phase 1 level engineering study/survey for a test section of the county where it may be possible for a fixed wireless Internet solution to be successful and profitable, Crumpler said.
Open Broadband has a three-phase process when deploying broadband into a market.
In the first phase, Open Broadband will create a broadband engineering study for a fixed wireless internet network design to cover the county.
Phase 2 will be implementing a pilot network program offering broadband service to a small list of initial users as a demonstration of capabilities before proceeding to phase 3 -- deployment countywide.
Also on the agenda are motions to:
• Approve the change order on the contract for the site work at Lot 8 in the ParkEast Industrial Park.
• Approve a contract with engineering consultant Freese and Nichols, Inc. for the sewer consolidation feasibility study. The county has received a $50,000 Local Government Commission grant for a study to look at possible consolidation of the Fremont/Eureka sewer systems and the potential costs of rates/long term rate study/infrastructure needs/and its potential effect on Goldsboro and Wayne County. In addition, the study will look at the possible merger of Goldsboro, Fremont, Eureka and Wayne County sewer systems.
• Authorize Wood to negotiate an engineering contract with WithersRavenel for the replacement of the substation near SPX. The county has received a $178,000 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation to replace the lift station.
Consent agenda items include applications for Disabled Veteran exclusion and for Elderly or Disabled exclusion; and motion to approve a proclamation honoring Purple Heart recipients.
Public comments will start at 9:05 a.m. Speakers will have four minutes to comment on their topic of choice.