BY DEBBIE PAGE

Troutman Town Council members and Town Manager Ron Wyatt expressed their dismay that they had been left in the dark by county commissioners about plans for improving the Iredell County Fairgrounds.

Councilman Eddie Nau held up a copy of a local newspaper announcing a $60 million fairgrounds project that mentioned Troutman becoming a partner in the project. Nau said he was reluctant to be a partner after reading some of the article’s comments by a county commissioner.

In April, county commissioners approved a motion to spend up to $16 million and outlined their priorities, which included a construction of an agricultural center, fixing the present buildings at the site, repairing the parking lot and developing an outside farmers market. (See Related Article HERE.)

During Monday’s council meeting, Town Manager Ron Wyatt went over some of the history of the talks with the county since 2017, when town council members appeared before the commissioners and asked that the fairgrounds stay in Troutman after some discussion occurred about moving the facility to the western part of the county.

These former commissioners requested that Troutman get some “skin in the game” in the proposed regional attraction beyond the annual county fair. The previous town council agreed to developing some sort of partnership with the county related to the fairgrounds renovations.

After a lapse of several years, fairgrounds meetings began with two county commissioners, county staff members, and one seat for Troutman’s mayor, who requested Wyatt also attend the meetings in case the mayor was unavailable.

Many ideas were discussed over the years, with a price tag hitting the $50 million range. Then a new commissioner joined the meetings and advocated for the west Iredell location.

Wyatt noted that the entrance to the fairgrounds is not county property but is owned by the town. That was considered by Troutman as adding “skin in the game.” Though the county attorney claims that the county has the land by “use,” Wyatt said the deed clearly shows the Town of Troutman owns the land.

Wyatt said a gravity flow sewer project with the county, town, Children’s Hope Alliance, and the now Wakefield development area was also proposed. The fairgrounds has had sewer issues, and the project would also benefit the Iredell County Recreation Center.

The county and CHA disagreed with the plan, instead spending $600,000 on a sewer system that will not be needed once Wakefield develops and the gravity system is in place.

Wyatt also said Wakefield developers offered Troutman 14 acres after the county rejected it. The mayor offered this site to the county for parking or an amphitheater for the fairgrounds as well as 30 additional acres the developer offered. This proposal was rejected by the county, he said.

At the next meeting, the county said the fairgrounds would have nothing north of the creek beside the fairgrounds and that the Iredell Rec property was to be left intact. This decision was made without Troutman input.

One of the state elected officials involved in the fair committee meetings favored the site becoming a regional activity center for sports, conventions, and other events that would attract thousands of people regularly, along with a leased area for hotel development. The county rejected the idea of a hotel.

Mayor Teross Young said he is unsure what the final phases of the fairgrounds project are or what is in phase one that is proceeding.

Wyatt said that nothing had been shared about the phases of the fairgrounds project with Troutman officials.

No one from the county has reached out to the mayor, Town Planner Andrew Ventresca, or Wyatt about the project.

“It’s certainly their choice with how to spend their money,” said Wyatt, “but like you I take offense when somebody starts saying that ‘we owed’ or ‘we were expected’ or like we were asking for something for free.”

“This town has never received money from the county, and Mooresville and Statesville has for infrastructure that benefits the entire county. I do not begrudge the airport or Mooresville or Statesville for water/sewer projects. I’m not disappointed at all.”

“But in this particular case, the five commissioners cannot agree about what needs to be done, and I certainly do not appreciate the fact that one of them would take a pot shot at us, like we’re asking for something unreasonable.”

Nau said one commissioner worked well with the town, but he questioned why Troutman officials and staff were being excluded from these discussions.

“I think we should voice our displeasure with the county commissioners via a letter saying if you are going to exclude us, don’t ask us for any help.”

Mayor Young said he would like to invite commissioners to have a discussion on the matter to get a “level set to see where they are and the idea of what a partnership means.” He said he or Wyatt would contact the commissioners to gauge their interest in a meeting.

Council member Paul Henkel expressed his dismay that council members were learning about this project through the news media. “We should be finding out directly from the county what is going on and be included in those discussions and decisions. That’s just not happening.”

“The previous commissioners were more inclusive, The current (members) seem to want to go it alone. They’re in our backyard, we’re willing to help, but we are a small town and have limited resources.

“We would like to be a part of the discussion and contribute to the decisions – see us as an ally, not the enemy or that we are trying to take over. We’re not. We would rather learn things directly instead of through the press,” he added.

TROPICAL STORM DEBBY PREPARATIONS

The community is asked to be weather aware for possible flooding later this week. The Troutman Police Department and Troutman Fire and Rescue have been put on alert to ready swiftwater rescue teams, as has the volunteer Iredell Search and Rescue. They are preparing to assist locally or send teams to hard hit neighbors in other areas as needed.

Wyatt reminded residents that limb pick-up is for those limbs up to 4 inches in diameter. Downed trees are the property owners’ responsibility to clear, though authorities will help clear roads blocked by trees.

PARKING ISSUE

Community members are reminded that when parking on the street, they should park in the direction of traffic. The mayor has had some complaints about cars being parked on curbs and facing oncoming traffic.

Wyatt said he would put a reminder in the next town newsletter.

THURSDAY AGENDA

During Thursday’s meeting, the Town Council will consider:

♦ Approval of a contract between Troutman and the law firm of Ralston, Benton, Byerley, and Moore for Attorney Jason Ralston to provide legal services to the town. Long-time Town Attorney Gary Thomas is retiring.

♦ A request from South Iredell High School for a road closure for the Homecoming Parade on Wednesday, October 16, at 6:30 p.m.

♦ An ordinance enacting a Code of Ordinances for the Town of Troutman revising, amending, restating, codifying, and compiling certain existing general ordinances of the political subdivision dealing with subjects embraced in such Code of Ordinances. This formalizes existing town ordinances in a more cohesive format.

♦ An ordinance amending the town’s Code of Ordinances mandating that all properties participating in the collection of the town’s solid waste services remain as customers. Town residents would not be allowed to opt out of this service or waste collection fee for nuisance and public health reasons.

♦ Consider rezoning by the Town of Troutman for 2.63 acres at 524 Autumn Leaf Road to revert from its conditional highway business zoning to its original zoning designation of suburban residential after no development progress has occurred.

♦ A text amendment to amend the Design Review Board’s membership to allow out-of-town members to help fill the design professional requirement and to add an alternate member position.

♦ A text amendment to replace the Traffic Impact Analysis section of the Troutman Unified Development Ordinance to reflect the town controlling TIA processes for developments through contracted services with Kimley-Horn.

RECOGNITIONS

♦ Kimberly Sager will be honored as the July Town of Troutman Employee of the Month.

♦ The Exchange Club of Troutman and the Evening Exchange Club of Lake Norman will be honored for the Walk of Heroes event.