Cleveland Mulls Tap Water and Toilet Flushing . . .

It's nice to turn on a faucet or flush a toilet and not give it a second thought, but Cleveland, North Carolina is growing and waste water is becoming a key concern. The current  water and sewer systems have some mileage, and as the town becomes more populated, the needs get greater, including the need for more water and removal of the water that is used.

The town board invited Mike Koser of Withers & Ravenel to the March 2020 monthly meeting 2-9-2020 to update on the current waste water treatment study for Cleveland which has been ongoing.

Currently Cleveland is at stage two of a four step process to guide the future of water and sewer in the town. The first two steps included a request to the state of North Carolina to make changes or upgrades, and the second step involved documenting the need to upgrade water/sewer. Requests have been made, and new houses and the new elementary school prove the need for more infrastructure. More studies and concrete information are needed as far as industrial usage in the town, so that part of the process in still underway.

The next stage is doing evaluations about various ways that Cleveland can provide more services and includes various considerations. For example, can the town shift to old ways of doing things like having water lagoons and pump away waste water? Could we discharge the used water to Third Creek? Would it be possible to connect to another plant and pay for the services rather than providing the extra services in town? These are questions that are posed by the state and considered in approving the town's eventual proposal.

Koser did note that environmental and cultural considerations are not a big concern under the current rules. Impact on the environment and on community concerns like historical landmarks do not come into play these days at least on the state level.

The final stage would be funding the product which would be incremental and over a twenty year period according to Commissioner Gerald Osborne.

Mayor Pat Phifer noted that: "We know that we can't run another sewer plant." The cost to do so would be more than the community could support. That means that the town board is looking to expand the current  waste water facility off Third Creek Church Road but in stages to hopefully avoid taking out large loans.

In the meantime, emergency repairs were made at the current waste water facility during the recent heavy rains  which flooded some of the local roads. The cost which was approved this evening was $12,740 to Kemp Construction.

New Housing Development Will Be on on Upcoming Agenda

Lisa Revis of Southern Charm Realty Inc. addressed the town board and provided a map of a proposed housing development which will be considered later in the year.

The project would involve land off Academy Street behind Deer Park Apartments.

Per a provided tentative map, there would be eight houses in the development which would include a green walkway to the town park. The houses would be in keeping with the character of the town and would include various styles. For example, some houses would have stonework reminiscent of the old stone buildings in town.

New Trailer for Maintenance

The board approved spending $4980 for a trailer. The current trailer is too high and too slick to be safe with loading the equipment the town has invested in. The new trailer would be much safer which was the main consideration after it was mentioned there had been a problem with equipment slipping on the wet surface of the current trailer.

The old trailer wold still be used, but the new trailer which is lower and tilts would be for moving any heavy equipment around town.

Zoning Request for Commercial Burning

Commissioner Bryan Little noted that the town had a request for an amendment in the zoning to allow commercial burning at Kesler and Highway 70. The request would include "clean wood" like untreated pallets, and burning would be in a bin that looks like a roll back dumpster which is supposed to output smoke only when product is being added.

The request will be voted on at a future meeting.

Rowan Public Library Children's Programs

The county library requested to use the town hall for a summer reading program which would run seven weeks and include one day a week (Thursday) from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The program has been in Cleveland in previous years but expanded to add two extra age group sessions for a total of three groups.

Two concerns were brought up:

1. Clean up of the facility after the programs.
2. Staffing during the lunch hour.

It was noted that the town clerk and assistant could not be expected to clean up after the programs and that the two employees take a lunch break at the same time when no one would be supervising the facility.

Commissioners Richard Taylor and Gerald Osborne offered to be at Town Hall to cover the lunch hour in question. The two men would plan to meet and work out a schedule to cover the hours.

The board voted to allow the library to have the programs as long as the bathroom and meeting room are cleaned by library staff and not town hall staff. This would also include library staff and children in the program following the "no food/drink rule" at town hall.