Fremont board talks sewer and gas line
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on September 25, 2017 5:50 AM
The Fremont board of aldermen listened to a presentation from county commissioner Ray Mayo at its recent meeting, and discussed a study to determine the impact of joining the Fremont sewer system with that of Goldsboro.
Mayo, Fremont's representative on the board of commissioners, spoke to the board about what he has been working on to benefit the northern end of Wayne County.
He focused on the need for a natural gas line in the town, and said he is optimistic about finding a way to make it happen. Mayo also detailed an idea for bringing wifi access to rural, sparsely-populated parts of the county by placing signal boosters on grain silos and other farm-related structures which already exist around the county.
He said that the idea had been in the works for at least two years and has begun to gain momentum, but did not offer details beyond that.
Mayo praised the board of aldermen and town staff for their work on managing Fremont's sewer system, which had come close to failing in recent years.
"You have all come a long way," he said. "You are to be commended for what you've done."
Mayo and the board discussed a proposed feasibility study on linking the town's sewer system with Goldsboro's. Mayor Darron Flowers spoke to county comissioners about the study at a meeting Tuesday morning, and reiterated his position on the study at the Fremont board meeting later that evening.
"I have no issue with the study, because all it does is give us information," he said. "There is no obligation."
Turning to look at the Fremont residents attending the meeting, Flowers continued.
"And you can be sure that no matter what the study says, this board will make decisions that are in your best interest."
The study would look at infrastructure needs, costs and potential avenues for reducing utility rates for customers. The study could take up to six months.
Flowers also asked Mayo to look in to bringing certain county services to Fremont.
"We have people here who need the department of social services, the health department, who have to pack up and drive to Goldsboro en masse to get to them," he said. "It would be great if you could have one person make that trip from Goldsboro to Fremont, maybe once a week, once a month, so that the people could have it here."
Flowers said that, while he does not have an exact figure, he believes that there are a sizeable number of families in Fremont and northern Wayne County who are in need of DSS or health department services, but who do not have reliable transportation to Goldsboro. He said that residents of Fremont have been conditioned to believe that driving to Goldsboro is the only way to get the services they need.
"If you live with something long enough, you learn to accept it, you believe that it's the only option," he said. "I happen to think this is a much better option."
In other business, the town announced that Fremont residents will lose power on Nov. 3 from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. as Duke Energy conducts maintenance on a nearby power station. The town gets its power from ElectriCities, which purchases that power from Duke.