BY DEBBIE PAGE
Troutman Town Council members discussed a variety of items during their agenda briefing on Monday afternoon, including the town’s Blessing Boxes, code enforcement, community communication efforts, road construction, the delay of an annexation boundary agreement with Statesville, food trucks, and the fairgrounds redevelopment and renovation.
Council member Eddie Nau asked citizens and community groups who are able to support the Blessing Box, located on the drive-thru side of Town Hall, to help those in the community who are struggling to feed their families.
His family, which regularly places nonperishable food items in the box, has noticed it has been low on several occasions.
Town Manager Ron Wyatt said he would reach out to Rocky Mount Church members who placed the box and several South Iredell High School groups that previously supported the effort.
Wyatt said the planned Girl Scout pet blessing box project, already approved by the council, is scheduled to be installed later this year.
Council member Paul Henkel praised new Code Enforcement Officer Shane Harris for his hard work and measured approach in addressing violations as he makes sure town UDO rules are being followed after a lapse in some areas of monitoring.
Council member Felina Harris has had several meetings with citizens who did not understand or know how town decisions are made in various areas, including who owns what roads and how planning decisions are made. The town is planning citizen question-and-answer sessions.
Mayor Teross Young invited citizens to attend all town meetings and to be engaged.
Council member George Harris suggested the council and appropriate staff members take advantage of free Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) training to better understand NCDOT scoring of transportation projects to help meet town traffic and safety needs more quickly.
Wyatt is meeting Neil Burke, CRTPO deputy director, this week and will start planning this training for those interested.
Wyatt also addressed questions council members have received about night construction work at the Autumn Leaf Road and South Main Street area that has disturbed area residents. The work is scheduled at night to impact the least number of people and to avoid worsening traffic delays.
These new turning lanes, required by the NCDOT traffic impact analysis for the Falls Cove development, were at first being built during the day, causing major traffic delays that garnered many complaint calls to Town Hall and NCDOT, after which construction was moved to nighttime hours.
The project has also suffered from weather delays and periods of water outages for area residents as the project progressed, causing more complaints.
The town notified town residents of the water outages necessitated by the construction (scheduled 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.), but some had not given their phone numbers to the town for its Blackboard notification system and were caught unaware.
Wyatt urged all townspeople to have a valid phone number on file with the town to get town notifications. He said work was scheduled to be complete in four to six weeks, absent weather delays.
ANNEXATION BOUNDARY AGREEMENT DELAYED
Wyatt notified council members that the planned April vote on the annexation boundary agreement with Statesville was being delayed after both towns agreed that an official land survey, costing $12,000 to $15,000, would be beneficial before moving forward, although it is not required of governing bodies.
Statesville will spilt the costs of the survey with Troutman.
Wyatt said affected property owners would be notified about the survey and reminded that the survey or agreement does not affect their property status in any way. It just determines under whose jurisdiction the property would fall if the property owner ever chose to be annexed into a municipality in the future.
Council members unanimously approved the request for the survey and sharing half the cost.
MOBILE FOOD TRUCKS TEXT AMENDMENT
Council will consider Town Planner Lynne Hair’s proposal to amend the town’s food truck ordinance to differentiate between individual and special event food trucks and to raise the fee for a three-month (non-consecutive days) special use permit at one location for individual trucks to $50 (previously $45) to be in line with other areas.
Individual food trucks can operate for a total of 90 days at one location and then may move to another property, with owner permission, for another 90 days with a new permit.
Special event food trucks, such as those for an ESC Park or fairground event, are not subject to these fees or permits.
Nau questioned why food trucks at the fairgrounds were exempt from the permit and fee, and Wyatt explained that the exemption was a goodwill gesture to the county and noted that the fairgrounds bring in customers and tax revenue to the town and area businesses.
Wyatt went on to speak on the meetings and plans occurring over the past three years to renovate the fairgrounds area and noted Troutman’s strong desire to have the fairgrounds remain at the current site.
He explained that $11 million has already been allocated from state and county funds for the project, which will turn the site into an event center that will be used more frequently and bring benefits to the town.
A hotel, restaurant, and permanent food service areas are part of the current concept plans.
Mayor Young said the fairgounds renovation and development will not be a quick process, but the plans are on a positive path.
Wyatt added that N.C. Sen. Vickie Sawyer and Reps. Jeff McNeely and Grey Mills were instrumental in getting state funding for the fairgrounds project.
SOUTH MAIN REZONING
On Thursday night, the council will consider the rezoning of 10.5 acres at 726 South Main Street, near the Rocky Creek development and across from the Troutman Logistics project, from county residential agricultural to town highway business zoning.
In March, the Planning and Zoning Board unanimously rejected recommending the rezoning because the recently adopted Future Land Use Map, created with extensive community input, designated the area as medium-density residential.
In her presentation the the board, Hair recommended the zoning change, noting that the area has other highway business and industrial zoning. She said the area would be a transition to the industrial and higher density in the nearby areas.
Though Hair cannot detail the planned project since the request is not a conditional rezoning, she could say it was for a retail use, noting citizens have asked for more retail choices.
Planning Board members also cited the desire for an attractive gateway to town, the lack of information about the planned project, and the ability to build anything allowed in the highway business use if the current project fell through as reasons for their denial.
THURSDAY NIGHT AGENDA
The council will also consider approval of:
♦ Various budget amendments to reconcile the budget.
♦ An amendment to the Town of Troutman Personnel Policy regarding comp time.
♦ A text amendment to allow off-site monument signs for multi-tenant retail centers.
♦ An updated state required Town of Troutman Water Shortage Response Plan.
♦ The Troutman Bike and Pedestrian Plan.
The council will also:
♦ Select the 2023 Citizen and Organization of the Year.
♦ Recognize of Brent Bustle, Jay Murdock, and Bobby Deal as “Town of Troutman Employees of the Month.”
♦ Proclaim April 2023 as National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
♦ Hear the ABC Store quarterly report.