Council approves sidewalk projects
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on August 10, 2018 5:50 AM
The Goldsboro City Council approved a pair of sidewalk construction projects and denied a permit request for an internet sweepstakes parlor on Parkway Drive during its meeting Monday.
The council discussed four potential sidewalk projects and decided the city could accomplish two of them with the $55,807 in its sidewalk fund. The first will be a 5-foot-wide sidewalk along West Grantham Street from North George Street to the railroad right-of-way. The sidewalk is slated to extend 1,290 linear feet and will cost $22,944, according to the city's planning department.
The other approved project is a 1,000-linear-foot sidewalk along the south side of Wayne Memorial Drive, from 9th Street to the U.S. 70 bridge. The project will cost $17,792.
Two other sidewalk projects are on the city's schedule for the future but were not approved Monday. One project on East Ash Street from North George Street to U.S. 117 is expected to cost around $43,424, while another on Spence Avenue from Royall Avenue to Mall Road would run the city $41,568. Both of the projects run across railroad right-of-way areas, which adds to the cost.
The decision was not unanimous, as Councilman Bill Broadaway pushed for the Royall Avenue project to be completed as soon as possible. Assistant Planning Director Jennifer Collins said she is still waiting on calls back from the railroads to determine the costs of building through a railroad right-of-way. Collins said she would need to have cost estimates before going ahead with the projects.
Mayor Chuck Allen said the two railroad projects did not look ready and suggested that the board take up the two projects the city could complete within its current budget. Councilman Antonio Williams made the formal motion, and the council voted 5-1 in favor of the West Grantham and Wayne Memorial projects. Broadaway voted against the motion. Councilman Mark Stevens was not in attendance.
In other business, the council accepted the planning board's recommendation to deny Jay Patel a conditional-use permit to operate an internet sweepstakes business on the west side of Parkway Drive, near Berkeley Boulevard, citing the city's requirement that such establishments not exist within one mile of each other.
Another sweepstakes parlor already exists in the Pinewood shopping center, 4,842 feet away from Patel's proposed site.
Before the vote, several council members had already expressed hesitance to allow more internet sweepstakes to open in the city.