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City of Asheboro Council

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Asheboro sees uptick in chemical prices for Water Services Department

ASHEBORO — The City of Asheboro Council met Thursday, April 6, with multiple budgetary matters on the agenda.

The first action the council took was the approval of a contract not to exceed $41,500 for auditing services for the 2023 fiscal year.

“The Finance Department recommends the firm of Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams and Co. as the most responsive bidder for the City of Asheboro audit,” said Assistant Finance Director Steve Hackett. “The firm has six offices, and the audit will be staffed out of the Whiteville office with assistance from the Cary office if needed. Alan Thompson, a partner with the firm with over 25 years of experience, will be the partner in charge of the audit, and it will be staffed by an audit manager with three senior staff.”

The council was then given a preliminary presentation for a request from Downtown Asheboro Inc. for a $550,000 budget request in order to purchase property at 105 North Fayetteville Street.

“After doing some surveying on the property and assessing what available space we had with Trade Street and this project, it was found that this acquisition was needed to make sure we properly fit the required trash and power, and it will also provide additional parking,” said DAI Executive Director Addie Corder.

According to Corder, the $550,000 would be used to support the city’s Trade Street Project by purchasing property for the parking as well as to have a place for businesses to place trash receptors and power transforming units.

“By providing space for the transformer bank in that location, it frees up access on Trade Street, as well as saves some money in the distribution of electricity,” said Mayor Pro Tem Walker Moffitt. “There would have been a tremendous cost had we not had an alternate location, not to mention ongoing maintenance costs. So, it’s a partial reallocation as opposed to a straight expense.”

No vote was taken on the request, but one will be presented before the council at a later date.

The council then approved two change orders, one for $74,000 in order to add North Street to the Wooten Company’s engineering services contract related to the proposed Trade Street renovations and the other for $3,436 for additional design services by Prospect Landscape Architecture, PLLC related to the development of the David and Pauline Jarell Center City Garden Project.

“The City received a state grant for the purpose of improving the look and value of Trade Street while also maintaining that particular access,” said Community Development Director Trevor Nuttall on the first change order. “In the course of the staff team’s work on this project and after review of information that was starting to be compiled by Wooten, it became apparent to us that addressing the issues on trade street without having a plan for doing the same on the short segment of North Street between Trade and Sunset would be ill-advised. While we have the design team out there, now is the time to capitalize on that.”

The cost to add North Street was approximately 1/3 of the total design cost, according to Nuttall.

The council approved a resolution authorizing an application for a state loan for the Lake Lucas Dam Intake Improvements Project.

“The project did not score very well last year, and we’re trying to find any low-hanging fruit that we can to improve it,” said Water Resources Director Michael Rhoney. “It’s not looking great, but they’re expecting that there are no principal forgiveness loans this year. All loans, no grants, so I don’t think the competition is going to be as big.

“The criteria that they have, we just don’t meet a lot of the things. We don’t have the need that other people have, but we continue to try.”

The council then also approved contracts with five different companies for the purchase of seven different chemicals needed by the water resources department for the next year.

The chemicals include Liquid Alum at $399 a ton provided by C & S Chemicals, Liquid Caustic at $938 a ton, Fluosilicic Acid at $498 a ton, and Sodium Hypochlorite at $1.71 a gallon provided by Univar, USA, Inc., Calcium Nitrate at $2.71 a gallon provided by Aulick Chemical Solutions, Sodium Permanganate at $19.87 a gallon provided by Amerochem Corporation, and Calcium Hydroxide/Magnesium Hydroxide Slurry Blend at $1.70 a gallon provided by Polytec, Inc.

In terms of cost, according to Rhoney, it’s an overall increase of around 28% this fiscal year to purchase all of the same chemicals the department needs.

The City of Asheboro Council will next meet May 4.

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Asheboro City Council approves 44-unit subdivision design

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ASHEBORO — The City of Asheboro council met Thursday with a proposal for a new subdivision as well as updates on various parks on the agenda. 

The first action the council took was to accept a withdrawal of a variance request from the Windcrest Acres subdivision public hearing that was held and continued at last month’s meeting.

“The city received a written request from the Windcrest Acres, Section 4, withdrawing the variance request that was seeking to remove curb and gutter as a requirement for the development.”

The council was then presented with a presentation recognizing downtown Asheboro making it on the National Register of Historic Places.

“It’s quite an achievement that Asheboro has made landing its downtown on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Restoration Specialist Brett Sturm of the State Historic Preservation Office. “There were several existing properties in Asheboro on the National Register already, but what this district has achieved, which encompasses the core of historic downtown, links and actually links several existing mill properties that were already listed on the Register. This is the first time in my tenure that I’ve seen a core downtown be listed on the National Register.”

The council also approved a building reuse grant application as part of an economic development project with UpStyled Goods and Salon, LLC.

“UpStyled Goods and Salon is located just down the road at 122 South Church Street, and they sell re-textiled branded goods produced at Trotter Sewing Company as well as upcycled goods from other producers,” said President of the Randolph County Economic Development Corporation, Kevin Franklin. “The building will also continue to house the salon, although that will be separated from the retail space.”

The council held a legislative hearing for an application to amend R10 (CZ) zoning on the property at 1223 Crestview Church Road, which is located on the west side of Zoo Parkway, in order to allow a new residential planned unit development, including a subdivision sketch design.

“The rezoning request is to an amended R-10 conditional zoning to allow a planned unit development on this tract,” said Robert Wilhoit, who was representing the developers. “The initial application before the planning board was for 58 units, and it’s now been reduced to 44 townhomes.”

Since townhomes are regarded as planned unit developments according to the city’s code, the developers needed special permission from the council in order to approve the development.

“We’re looking at just about 10 acres, and the property is currently undeveloped,” said Community Development Director Trevor Nuttall. “The request before the council now seeks approval to allow 44 attached single-family dwellings in 44 subdivided lots. Under the city’s code, townhomes are reviewed as planned unit developments.”

According to Nuttall, the units shown on the site plan will be approximately 1,000 square feet inside, include a one-car garage, and each lot will contain enough space for three vehicles.

Following the hearing, the council approved both the amendment to the conditional zoning district as well as the preliminary sketch plan.

The council was then given an update on Frazier Park capital improvements and usage by City Manager John Ogburn.

“The Facilities and Maintenance crews have been working diligently to upgrade the park,” Ogburn said. “They’ve installed a new roof over the picnic structure. The restroom facilities are being renovated with new plumbing fixtures and partitions and it is being repainted. The roof of the bathroom is in poor condition, and it will be replaced to match the picnic structure. We’ve ordered parts to repair the slide. And we’ll be moving the Coke machine behind the little stage in the park to get it off the bathroom wall.”

The council also approved a standard abbreviated form of agreement between the City of Asheboro and JDavis Architects, PC, and along with that, a $145,000 corresponding budget amendment for the City of Asheboro I73/I74 Corridor Place Making and Branding Project at the Pineview Street Interchange.

According to Ogburn, the branding will include things such as animal statues and other zoo-related iconography and 

The Council approved a $12,960 professional design study for Bicentennial Park to be done by Freeman Kennett Architects, PLLC.

“If you went to the tribute band shows downtown, you saw 5,550 or 6,000 people, and you may have noticed that we finally had enough people down there to see that the stage looked backwards. And with the advent of the social district, it may be time to look into how we design or how we redesign Bicentennial Park,” Ogburn said.

Finally, the council approved a revised PTRC Agreement for Strategic Management Assistance for water line extension and wastewater services and a corresponding budget amendment of $18,750.

The City of Asheboro Council will next meet November 10.

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Asheboro City Council approves change order for Zoo City Sportsplex

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ASHEBORO — The City of Asheboro Council met Thursday, where they approved a budget amendment for unexpected costs related to the Zoo City Sportsplex, as well as held multiple public hearings for rezoning requests.

The council approved a $2,674,019 budgetary amendment to account for a change order with Terry’s Plumbing and Utilities, Inc. regarding the Zoo City Sportsplex Project.

“This work includes $940,953 of additional rock removal from the site,” said City Engineer Michael Leonard, PE. “The estimated excavation was for 10,000 cubic yards, and we ended up encountering approximately 24,500 cubic yards, most of which was in phase two.”

In addition, the change order also includes the construction of the restroom and concession stand for phase two, as well as all paving, concrete, and other pertinent items to complete phase one of the Sportsplex.

“I can tell you what,” said Mayor David Smith. “Part of what has made this an expensive and difficult project is exactly what’s going to make it one of the prettiest projects. The topography and the step down for terracing. It’s just going to be so beautiful, but we’re paying for it.” 

The city council held three public hearings regarding five different rezoning requests.

The first hearing was for an application to amend RA6 CZ zoning on property 3140 Zoo Parkway, including lots within the Parkway South Townhomes subdivision and the city’s sewer lift station.

“The purpose of this hearing is to request that the zoning approval be given to allow what are currently privately maintained streets within this planned unit development to be converted to publicly maintained streets,” said Community Development Director Trevor Nuttall.

There are 38 parcels involved in the request totaling just over 7.5 acres of land, all within the city limits. Still, due to the conditions of the roads, solid waste services would have to be done via dumpsters as the streets are not large enough for garbage truck collection.

The next public hearing was for an application to rezone property on the west side of Zoo Parkway, which is a planned residential unit development located approximately 225 feet south of Ridge Avenue from R10 to R7.5 CZ.

“This request is for townhomes,” Nuttall said. “The proposal is for 14 lots or homes that would be accessed via a private street or driveway. These would be single-story homes between 825 and 855 square feet each. Under the city’s ordinance, such a project is viewed as a residential planned unit development. The property is within the city limits, and utilities are available, so no annexation would be required in this case.”

The council’s final public hearing was for an application to rezone three separate properties.

The request was to rezone 1352 East Salisbury Street from OA6 to OA6 CZ for business, professional and personal services and an overflow parking area, to rezone 342 Patton Avenue from R10 to OA6 CZ for business, professional and personal services, and to amend the I2 CZ property at 1420 East Salisbury Street due to proposed changes to the motor vehicle repair and rental/sales of domestic motor vehicles uses.

“There are three addresses included within this request,” Nuttall said. “Three different zoning requests here. An amendment to an industrial zoning district, a request to take property from R10 general district residential to a conditioned office and apartment district, and then a request to take property from a general office and apartment to an amended conditional zoning OA6 district.”

The city council approved all three requests following the hearings.

The council then approved a subdivision sketch design review for the proposed Thomas Estates development.

“This is the first step in the City’s Three Step Process for subdivision review and approval,” Nuttall said. “This, in essence, is the concept or master plan that is being proposed for this project. It’s a part of one Randolph County pin, just over 13 acres in size with 38 lots total meaning an average lot size of three-tenths of an acre.”

The council also rejected all bids associated with the Industrial Park Avenue Sidewalk Improvements Projects following a staff recommendation.

“We believe there are other options available to the city to complete this project,” Nuttall said. “The proposals we received for both the inspection services and the construction were over the budget, so we think there are potentially better options.”

The council then approved the creation of an ordinance to prohibit on-street parking on both sides of West Kivett Street between South Church Street and South Park Street and both sides of East Kivett Street between Cox Street and Main Street.

The City of Asheboro Council will next meet August 4.