Tag Archive for: #hendersoncitycouncil

Henderson City Council Approves Resolution to Name Bridge in Memory of Master Trooper

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The Henderson City Council unanimously approved a resolution to name a bridge in Vance County in memory of Master Trooper James “Brent” Montgomery.

The action item appeared on the Council’s agenda Monday night. The resolution calls for the I-85 bridge at Satterwhite Point Road to be named in memory of Montgomery.  He died in March 2021 from complications of COVID-19 at age 50.

He had been a trooper for 15 years in Vance, Warren and Franklin counties, and before joining the Highway Patrol had worked with the local sheriff’s office and police department.

“As a dedicated public servant, he was exemplary in the performance of his duties and an inspiration to all who knew him,” according to information included in the Council’s agenda packet.

A portion of the resolution reads:

WHEREAS, the Henderson City Council desires to honor former North Carolina State Trooper and dedicated public servant James “Brent” Montgomery; and

WHEREAS, Master Trooper Montgomery served the North Carolina Highway Patrol in Vance, Warren and Franklin counties with diligence and honor for 15 years; and

WHEREAS, Master Trooper Montgomery served as Field Training Officer, Traffic Crash Instructor, Taser Instructor and had charge over the School of Safety Program; and

WHEREAS, after enduring a difficult battle with Covid-19, James Brent Montgomery, at 50 years old,
passed away on March 15, 2021; and

WHEREAS, personally and professionally, Master Trooper Montgomery was loved and respected for his exemplary conduct and service to the community.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Henderson City Council does hereby request the North Carolina Board of Transportation name the Satterwhite Bridge over I-85 for the late Master Trooper James ‘Brent’ Montgomery.”

CLICK PLAY FOR BROADCAST AUDIO PRIOR TO THE MEETING!

 

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TownTalk: Henderson City Council Meeting

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The Henderson City Council approved a couple of requests aimed at giving local law enforcements more money in their pockets and an additional tool to help them in their job of keeping the city safe.

Chief Marcus Barrow said the police department is allotted 52 sworn law enforcement positions, but it currently has about a dozen vacancies. In two separate requests, Barrow asked Council members to take the equivalent of one police officer’s salary – $66,000 – and use it to place 25 camera-like devices across the city that can read license plates.

Barrow, along with city staff, want to take some of that unused money from the “salary” category and put it to work to help the current officers who patrol the city’s streets and neighborhoods.

The license plate readers, or LPRs, are small and only weigh about 3 pounds but they can have a powerful impact. Police can enter license plate information into the system and the LPR will “look” for matching tags. Whether it’s a stolen vehicle or a vehicle associated in other criminal activity, the LPR can help police narrow down searches.

Flock Safety will provide 25 license plate readers for the police department to use, and will in essence, take the place of one law enforcement officer.

Numerous nearby municipalities are already using Flock Safety or have contracted
with them for deployment in the near future. Local law enforcement is in constant contact with those agencies to help solve crimes that travel through various jurisdictions.

To drive home the point, Barrow said the use of LPRs in Durham helped provide information that proved useful in the arrests of three people in connection with the deaths of two men found in a car on Gholson Avenue last month. One of the suspects is from Durham, Barrow said.

It’s one way that the police department can work smarter, not harder, during times when agencies continue to experience vacancies, with little interest from prospective employees.

“Filling positions has become increasingly difficult, and law enforcement agencies
across the nation are seeking alternative solutions to supplement their shortages with technology and tools to assist their workforce,” states information from the council’s agenda packet.

But additional technology isn’t the only thing that Barrow is asking council members to consider: the council also approved a request to bump up salaries by more than $6,000 for current sworm officers as a way to make the base pay more competitive with nearby agencies.

The city raised the base pay a couple of years ago, and Barrow said that helped retention rates tremendously. But now, surrounding agencies are upping their game and implementing pay adjustments of their own.

“We are just past the midterm of our fiscal year and anticipate a $400,000 to $500,000 surplus in our approved salaries, wages and benefits. With most agencies in the Wake County area at a $50,000 starting salary, and comparable sized agencies at or near this mark, it is necessary that we develop a salary adjustment that will align with the market trend to help with officer retention and recruitment,” Barrow stated in remarks to council.

The salary adjustment of $6,456 for each sworn employee brings the hiring salary for an entry-level sworn officer to $48,959 – just shy of Wake County agencies, but more in line with neighboring counties’ pay rates.

Barrow said he surveyed 25 nearby agencies and only Louisburg Police Department is lower than Henderson’s. He wouldn’t expect to be able to compete with a Cary or a Wake Forest, he said, but the $6,456 boost will help the local department compete with similar-sized agencies.

“If nothing is done, we expect shortages to continue and retention efforts to dwindle as competing agencies further the gap,” Barrow reported.
If implemented this month, March the total cost, including benefits but not
including the pending retirement of a Lieutenant in March or April, is approximately $102,000. In FY 23-24, the total increase would be $315,000 in the Salary/Wage line item.

 

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Henderson Council Moves Forward With Purchase Of Jointly Owned Properties

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The Henderson City Council approved Monday to purchase more than 100 vacant properties within the city limits that are jointly owned by the city and county, but the vote was one vote shy of being unanimous.

Council Member Garry Daeke cast the dissenting vote, but said Tuesday on TownTalk that it wasn’t because he doesn’t approve of the project – he simply wanted the county to give the roughly 26 acres of property to the city.

“I certainly approve what we’re doing,” Daeke said, adding that the city has demolished hundreds of vacant, derelict houses over the years. The properties will be bundled together and then bid on by builders who will erect affordable housing options within the city.

The city will be responsible for the infrastructure – lights, water, sewer, fire and police protection, for example, Daeke said. If the county had chosen to give the property to the city, it would have gone a long way to “jumpstart” the revitalization project.

“It seems to me that we’re going to be doing a lot up front,” he noted.

Once the houses get built, he added, the county will enjoy a greater return on the investment through higher tax rates than the city of Henderson.

“It would have been a great way to collaborate.”

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County Agrees To City Purchase Of Properties

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Vance County Commissioners approved last week the sale of its share of more than 100 properties jointly owned by city and the county. County Manager Jordan McMillen said the Properties Committee reviewed an offer of $181,529 from the City of Henderson.

“Our board did approve the sale of the properties,” McMillen told WIZS News last week. “We are working with our attorney to begin the title work and necessary legal work prior to conveying the properties.”

He estimated this process could take several weeks, considering the number of properties – 114 in all.

The deal has been in the works for a while, and city leaders plan to bundle properties and seek private developers as a part of an overall residental development plan.

The properties total approximately 26.7 acres within the city limits that came into possession of the city and county as a result of tax foreclosures dating back to 2007.

The properties committee also recommended holding off on selling three county-owned parcels totaling 8.16 acres along County Home Road to the city for future residential development.

 

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City Council OK’s Ordinances To Boost Fire Dept. Rating, Gives Nod For In-Car Video Grant For PD

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The Henderson City Council meeting approved a couple of ordinances that may help the fire department earn credits in its rating process. The ordinances regulate use of outdoor grills in certain locations and the use of fireworks in the city limits.

Council members voted on two ordinances at their Monday meeting.

Setting off fireworks should be left to those who have been trained and certified to set off “fireworks that explode or launch into the air,” the ordinance states.

The city fire chief must review plans in advance for any event that involves fireworks within the city limits.

Acting Fire Chief Curtis Tyndall brought the matter to the council, explaining that having certain city ordinances in place can result in credits used to rate fire districts.

The regulations presented to the council includes use of “open-flame cooking devices” such as charcoal grills – specifically, that they not be used “on combustible balconies or within 15 feet of combustible construction.”

There are a few exceptions to this, however, including buildings, balconies and decks that have automatic sprinkler systems.

The City Council also gave the go-ahead for the police department to seek a $29,500 grant from the Governor’s Crime Commission for purchase of in-car video camera systems for five patrol cars. These systems will fully integrate with existing systems as well as the body camera equipment currently being used.

The grant, if it is received, requires no matching funds from local sources.

 

The Local Skinny! Mayor Ellington Discusses City Council Meeting

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The Henderson City Council approved Monday a request of up to $15.3 million from the Local Government Commission to fill a gap in projected costs for the Kerr Lake Regional Water System expansion.

This request includes an extra cushion of $300,000 that may be needed for administrative costs, according to City Manager Terrell Blackmon, who explained the situation to council members during the regular monthly meeting.

Bob Jessup, an attorney whose firm the city contracted with to help manage this part of the project, told council members that the money could be available by mid-March.

Mayor Eddie Ellington elaborated on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny! and said that he and other city leaders have met with state officials to make sure the $80 million project stays on track.

“We’re always working to reach out at the state and federal level,” Ellington told John C. Rose on Tuesday.

Between the COVID-19 pandemic and the skyrocketing cost of materials, “expenses increased in a short amount of time,” he said. Ellington said he and others have met with state leaders to garner support for the project and have been met with nothing but positive responses.

N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore, Rep. Michael Wray have been supportive, as well as Diane Cox with the N.C. Kerr-Tar Council of Government.

“It’s a big deal,” Ellington said of the expansion project. “We have to have it for the future.”

 

 

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The Local Skinny! City Council Renames Street For Eddie Hicks

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It won’t quite be the same as having him there in person, but Melissa Elliott says she’ll be glad when she can look out her window at Gang Free, Inc. and see the street sign that proclaims the street nearby as “Eddie James Hicks Street.”

The Henderson City Council voted to rename E. Winder Street for the local hero who died in October.

Elliott’s Gang Free, Inc.’s location is in the community known as Flint Hill, where Hicks grew up.

“He had many ties to Winder Street and the surrounding area,” Elliott said on Thursday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

Newly elected council member Lamont Noel presented the request to the council, along with signatures on a neighborhood petition, and the matter easily was approved.

“Eddie’s heartbeat is in Flint Hill,” Elliott said. “It was an honor to be able to put this on the calendar so fast and to get it passed.”

Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington told WIZS News that the street name change will “honor the memory of one of (our) own who had many ties as a young man to Winder Street and the surrounding area. We remember that legends never die, they live on in our hearts forever

Eddie did so many things in this community, and the word “no” was not in his vocabulary when it came to requests for assistance from others.

“He would always help out,” Elliott said, from taking food to a senior adult to coaching a child, to waiting while Elliott finished up work for the day – which often turned into evening.

“He would not leave me at the building by myself,” she recalled.

Gang Free, Inc. is having a celebration gala Thursday evening, and Hicks’s widow, Jackie, is scheduled to attend.

“I’m excited about honoring Eddie – he will be with us tonight in spirit. He celebrated life and I’m just grateful to have known Eddie…he just wanted to make his community better.”

And while a street sign can’t take his place, Elliott said reading Eddie James Hicks Street will motivate her to keep Hicks’s memory alive by trying to make the community better.

 

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City Council Approves Reinstating Retirement Benefits To Employees Affected By State Policy Change

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More than a dozen current city employees – including the city police chief and fire chief, among others – have had their retirement benefits reinstated, thanks to an add-on agenda item at Monday’s Henderson City Council meeting.

Melissa Elliott, council member and chair of the Human Resources Committee, told WIZS News Tuesday that the council had voted to reinstate the benefits for a total of 20 current and former employees who would not have enough years in to qualify for full retirement benefits when the state changed the eligibility requirements.

“We got it back,” Elliott said in a phone interview.

Council member Garry Daeke said the cost will probably be along the lines of $192,000. “That’s money that won’t be available for other things,” Daeke said in a telephone interview Tuesday.”

When this particular group of employees was hired, there was one policy in effect, but that changed in the mid-2000’s.

All new hires understand that they must have 20 years of full-time employment to be eligible for state retirement benefits, including health benefits until they reach age 65 when Medicare kicks in.

Elliott said she is happy that this group of city employees, some of which now are retired, will have access to the benefits that were in place when they were hired.

She added that the nearby municipalities of Oxford, Wake Forest and Louisburg also have voted to reinstate the benefits.

Daeke said when the state changed the policy, local leaders were advised that there simply wasn’t enough money in the coffers to be able to afford it – “there was too much on the books to pay out,” Daeke said in a phone interview.

Although he wasn’t ready to call it a broken promise, Daeke acknowledged that it was a “serious change” for city employees to face when the state policy was amended back in 2009.

“The good news is, it’s been reinstated,” Daeke said.

NCDOT

Henderson Gets $463K in Powell Bill Funds From NCDOT

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Henderson is the big winner among area municipalities in the recent $154.8 million Powell Bill allotment announced by the N.C. Department of Transportation for street improvements.

City Manager Terrell Blackmon told WIZS Wednesday that he and the City Council will be working to help prioritize where and how to use the $463,634.73 allotment, about half of which has been distributed.  The remaining amount to be paid by Jan. 1, 2023, according to a press statement from NCDOT.

Officially called the State Street Aid to Municipalities, the program also is known as Powell Bill funds. This year, a total of 508 municipalities statewide benefitted from the allocation.

The Powell Bill funds are used primarily to resurface municipal streets but also may be used to maintain, repair, construct, or widen streets, bridges, and drainage areas. Municipalities can also use Powell Bill funds to plan, construct and maintain bike paths, greenways or sidewalks.

The amount each municipality receives is based on a formula established by state law, with 75 percent of the funds based on population and 25 percent based on the number of municipality-maintained street miles.  The annual population figures are provided by the Office of State Budget and Management.

“Powell Bill funding allows us to complete a lot of transportation projects important to North Carolina communities from Murphy to Manteo,” said State Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette.  “Municipalities can use these funds on projects that make our state a wonderful place to live, work and play.”

The fund is named for Junius K. Powell, a former state senator and mayor of Whiteville. Powell was the primary sponsor of the 1951 bill to help the state’s cities with urban road problems. The first allocation of Powell Bill funds was for $4.5 million and was distributed to 386 cities and towns.

Here’s what other area municipalities received through the Powell Bill:

  • Oxford – $255,752.37
  • Butner – $211,071.63
  • Creedmoor – $136,485.84
  • Louisburg – $95,153.03
  • Franklinton – $81,171.29
  • Youngsville – $61, 422.29
  • Norlina – $36,146.25
  • Stem – $29,567.39
  • Warrenton – $29,013.37
  • Stovall – $12,849.72
  • Middleburg – $6,201.01
  • Kittrell – $5,248.47