Cleveland, NC Town Board March 2022 - Slow it Down in Cleveland

 

Cleveland, NC town board met tonight 3-14-2022 with things more like our old "normal." Commissioners were back at their desk, citizens were in rows with no spacing, and no one wore masks after many, long months of Covid precautions. 

The town welcomed new hire Financial Officer Rebekah Brown who started at the last meeting as an observer. She joins Kelly Rodgers at Town Hall. Brown grew up in the area as did Rodgers.

In other employee business, John Ritchie's contract was extended at full-time through June 30 due to medical concerns in the wastewater treatment department. After June, he will shift to part-time status per the last town board meeting. 

The town voted for a new contractor for chemicals at the wastewater plant. The change results in a savings of $5237 per year per Commissioner Gerald Osborne who said that commissioners should be looking at annual cost savings in all areas. 

The mowing contract for the town was approved for this year. The town voted to pay for contractor mowing last year. Areas mowed include the median on Highway 70/Statesville Blvd and the town cemetery. The cost is one nickel less this year as compared to last year per FO Brown. 

A local farmer who had been mowing on the edge of a cornfield next to the town park had been in touch about mowing. He is no longer going to do that which will impact on walkers in the area. Commissioners moved on and did not make any decisions about that issue.

Town Hall Sign

Last month commissioners discussed a new sign for town hall but had questions, so a representative from Sirf Speedy sign shop Statesville, NC came tonight to overview signs and to answer any questions.  

The main questions about a new sign related to the resolution of the signage which impacts on the cost. The standard for signs now is typically 10 or 16mm. That is how close together the bulbs are placed with the lower number meaning more closely placed bulbs. So, the 10 would be tighter spacing on bulbs. The elementary school sign on Highway 70 is at 16mm which looks fine from a distance and at a faster speed. The fire department sign is crisper and probably at 10mm. It's closer to the intersection.

Since town hall is in a 35MPH zone and with sidewalks, the 10mm would look better and be easier to read. 

The cost for 16mm would be 21K while the 10mm would run $24,500. Commissioner Travis Summitt noted that the costs today are lower than they were ten years back when the town considered signage (due to lower costs for electronics and digital).

Commissioners voted unanimously to go with the 10mm version which includes also color versus monochrome (single color) and software (signs can be programmed a full year at one sitting) with a one year labor warranty and five years on parts. The price also includes the computer to program the sign wirelessly from inside town hall. The sign will be arched on top with wording (perhaps Cleveland Town Hall) and have screens on each end which are needed so that the digital panels get air.

The cost does not include a built up base at the bottom. Mayor Pat Phifer said that the West Rowan High School Masonry class might work on that project. 

When the new sign goes in, any scroll, flashing etc. will be turned off at night per town ordinance, so the sign should not bother residents in that area. 

Town employees will no longer need to tape notifications to the front doors of town hall, since information can be programmed to display on the town sign.

News at Cleveland Town Park

Cleveland resident Jeanette Rankin attended the town board meeting tonight to inquire about progress at the town park.  

Commissioner Richard Taylor reported that the buildings at the park had been pressure washed and lights were in progress. He said that the job was not completed yet due to the contractor's truck breaking down. He also said that he had not gotten any bids on working the baseball field. He had requested four estimates, but none of the contractors had provided numbers. When Taylor called one of the contractors, he said that business was so brisk that he likely could not take on a small project. Labor issues and supply chain have been concerns in many areas since the global pandemic and are having an impact even in a small town. 

Commissioner Gerald Osborne told the board that First Baptist Church of Salisbury, NC is getting new playground equipment and is willing to give their old equipment to Cleveland. The town would need to arrange for moving the equipment and for landscaping the area where the playground pieces sit currently to match the rest of the property. Taylor said that the donated equipment could be pressure washed and refurbished along with the currently owned playground equipment at the Cleveland Town Park. The donated equipment might go to the park in east Cleveland or might go on the new park land given to the town by the county and located beside the West Rowan branch library on School St.

Walking trails at the park are slated to be redone but the work has not been started due to the cool weather. The materials will not pack down correctly when it's too cold. There is also a problem with the grading which Taylor said was not done correctly previously. 

Commissioner Danny Gabriel said, "We have dropped the ball on the park." He said that he was on town board when that happened and that more effort needs to be put into the parks (both of them). 

The board did approve buying three new doors for the shelters at the park and the storage shed for $2006. Tayor said he would paint them once they are installed.

Light Issue on Main Street

Residents Tom and Velma Knox signed up to speak tonight, and Mr. Knox said that since the town took out a Duke power pole with a light at his driveway (510 E. Main) when putting in the new decorative street lamps (across the road) that he and his family have a dark spot.  Knox questioned why the pole at his driveway was removed while others remained. 

Phifer said that poles with lights turned inward toward the houses were left and that residents paid the bills for those lights and that lights that faced outward toward the road were taken out.

Knox said that some of the outward facing lights were still standing but not his.

Phifer said that the town has "twice as much light as we had before" and that 72 lamps were installed but he did not know about the impact of the removed power pole. 

Phifer and all town board members made plans to go see the light (or lack of) so that a decision can be made about the lighting concern. 

New Tractor

Summitt requested money for a new tractor. The "little tractor is shot," he said. 

Board members approved $50,940 for a new tractor. Summitt said that $1800 for a third function and $3200 for a front blade for snow removal would be needed later. He said that town employees could do some snow scraping since the cab of the tractor was heated. 

Board members plan to sell the old tractor, because the market for used vehicles of all types is pretty brisk during the pandemic. It may be used as a trade in but may go on a government site to sell directly.

Slow it Down Drivers

Gabriel stated that traffic on Main St. in Cleveland was "unreal" and had gotten "out of hand." He said that drivers were doing 55/60 and up through town and also going way too fast on Third Creek Church Road and Bear Poplar. 

Residents have long cited Freighliner as the source of speeding vehicles, but Gabriel said that was twenty minutes when they get off shift and that speeding was a problem constantly. 

Gabriel has been talking with Police Chief Jon Jessop and said that more tickets will be written "if that's what it takes." Gabriel did note that Cleveland had never been known as a "speed trap" and that maybe that's why people think it's fine to drive so fast. He said that with the weather warming up and with the new sidewalks, people will be out along the roads and that something must be done about the speeding.  

Shift of Funds at Police Department

Jessop requested that some funds earmarked for building renovation at the police department on Depot Street be used for needed supplies like body cameras, fingerprint equipment, protectors for the front of police vehicles, and bio-hazard materials which are now required.

The board approved $6,500 for these purchases to be moved to capital outlay.

Police Stats for January and February 2022 per Police Chief Jessop 

January:

40 calls

13 traffic stops

14 citations

5 warrants

1 traffic accident

February:

47 service calls

20 traffic stops

11 citations

12 warrants

2 arrests

1 accident

1 check point

Other News from the town of Cleveland

The sidewalk on the west end of Main Street should be done in a week and a half. The company is waiting on ADA grates which have been ordered, so there are some gaps/holes left for the grates. Three mailboxes of residents will be moved to complete the job. 

Board members approved closing one lane of Highway 70/Main Street for the WRBTA (West Rowan Bible Teachers Association which raises funds to pay for a Bible teacher in the local schools) 5K run. The lane closing would be from 8:30am to 1pm. Since one lane will be open, it's more like supervised driving during that time versus an actual closure. 

Commissioners looked at photos of new traffic signs which will be used to "dress up the town" per Phifer. He said that with all the delays, it would be good to make decisions early for next year's spending. 

The town now owns the land at the end of Depot St. where the old mill once stood. The land is in three parcels currently, but the town will have the deed changed to one property for all the land.