Town Council approves annexation
By ANGELA FARR KING
The Taylorsville Town Council met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. The Council entered into a Public Hearing to consider the annexation of 83.854 acres of property located to the east of Happy Plains Road and encompasses the lands of Martha G. Stikeleather. The tax parcel numbers for the property proposed for annexation are 00017819, 0009979, 0009980, and 0009981.
During the Public Hearing, the Council heard from a representative from Eagle Engineering about the plans for the property to build a housing development consisting of approximately 150 single family housing units, which will be known as “The Woodlands.” The representative stated that there would be no new zoning changes for the property. The zoning already exists for the housing development. He said there is a creek on the property and the development will be developed on both sides of the creek.
According to Council meeting documents, the “Town Council finds that the area described therein meets the standards for annexation, which include the following: a) The nearest point on the proposed satellite corporate limits is not more than three miles from the corporate limits of the Town of Taylorsville, b) No point on the proposed satellite corporate limits is closer to another municipality than to the Town, c) The area described is so situated that the Town will be able to provide the same services within the proposed satellite corporate limits that it provides within the corporate limits, d) No subdivision, as defined by G.S. 160A-376, will be fragmented by this proposed annexation.
The Town Clerk, Yolanda Prince, certified the petition for annexation and that all owners of real property lying in the area had signed it. The Council voted unanimously to approve the annexation.
Nathan Hester, the Town Manager, brought forth the Taylorsville Land Use Plan for a second time with revisions and corrections made. It had been presented in the December meeting and Council members had pointed out grammatical errors. After reviewing it with corrections, the Council voted unanimously to approve it.
Hester then announced the 2025 Main Street Conference, which will be held in Mooresville, NC, during March 11-13. He suggested that it would be a good idea for Council members to attend this conference because the Council is planning to apply to become a “Designated Main Street Town.” He noted that this is a lengthy two-year process. Council members Eric Bumgarner, Tamara Odom, and Kim Brown all said they had attended this conference in the past and found it to be very educational and beneficial. Several Council members plan to attend.
The Council was then asked to consider three pieces of equipment as surplus equipment: a 1997 Chevrolet truck, a 2013 Dell computer server, and old and damaged picnic tables from Matheson Park. The Council voted unanimously to dispose of this surplus property appropriately.
The Town is currently contracted with J.M. Teague Engineering and Planning, which is a company studying the traffic patterns of the Town and how to make improvements in the traffic flow in the Downtown area. The engineering company asked the Council for an additional $6,000 in order to complete a study that will include the following additional services: two additional turn-movement counts at NC 90 and Main Avenue Drive and NC 90 and Main Avenue Drive/Linneys Mountain Rd. (the original four study intersections remain), synchro and simulation modeling of six roundabouts, draft technical memorandum, and sealed technical memorandum. The Council voted unanimously to fund the additional services. The plan is to hopefully do away with all traffic lights in the Downtown area and possibly replace them with roundabouts. This will be a large part of the additional study.
Finance Director Zach Greene reported about three budget amendments. The first was a transfer of $6,000 from the General Fund to Contracted Services for the additional services from J.M. Teague Engineering and Planning. The second one was $725 from the sale of a 2009 Ford Crown Victoria, which was transferred into Capital Outlay for the Police Department. The third was a $4,730 donation from a private citizen transferred into Capital Outlay for the Town Christmas tree. The Council voted unanimously to approve all three.
The Town Council then considered entering into an agreement with GWI Tax and Accounting for preparation of annual financial statements, accounting services, and general accounting and advisory assistance. Town Finance Director Zach Greene said that this is simply an update to an existing contract due to the fact that their current accounting firm has merged with this firm and changed their name. There will be no change of services and no change in cost.
In his Town Manager’s report, Nathan Hester reported that the ABC store in Taylorsville will be closed until approximately February 1. The new Taylorsville ABC Board had their line of credit approved and they will soon receive their new inventory. A manager has been hired for the store and they will be hiring staff. Hester said they should be on track for a February 1 opening.
Next meetings set
Mayor Holleman announced a Town Council work session for Tuesday, January 21, at 2 p.m. with the next monthly meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 4, at 5:30 p.m.
