West Rowan News, Events, and Fun

    Commissioner Gerald Osborne said he was not in favor of a tax increase for Cleveland, "not in any way, shape, or form." He said that the past year had been rough on residents and that many were living on tight or fixed incomes.  The town has accumulated $743,680 between 2009 and 2020, and Osborne said that he thought the town should tap into that rainy day fund. With the spending approved by the town board, the shortfall on the budget would be about $156,000.  All board members ultimately agreed to keep taxes at the current rate of 28 cents.  Some expenditures for the year were not on the table for discussion. Residents need water/sewer, and those are self funding. In other words, the charges cover the costs. With some big ticket costs coming up, the rate for water and for sewer will go up each by 5 percent this year.  Town Clerk Cathy Payne said that looking at a typical family and considering usage of 4000 gallons for a month for each service that the...

Cleveland, NC town board had a special called meeting tonight Tuesday May 18, 2021. The purpose of the meeting was to hammer out budget details for the upcoming year.  Residents of Cleveland should expect to see a 5.5% tax increase and 5% increases in water and 5% increases in sewer when the final budget is passed.  For property, the rate goes from 28 cents to 33.5 cents. Mayor Pat Phifer said that the average property in town was probably valued at around $150,000 so that taxes of $35 a month would increase to $41 month. Under that scenario, yearly taxes would increase for the average individual by $72/year. Town clerk Cathy Payne said that the typical water user would see the water bill increase $1.48 month and that the last water rate increase was in 2015. Water and Sewer in Cleveland Commissioner Gerald Osborne discussed the town's need to address water/sewer issues. The infrastructure is aging, and the town is at the point where a new water tower will be needed soon. An e...

  Tonight 5-10-2021 marked the monthly town board meeting for Cleveland, NC. The meeting was open to the public with masks and social distancing (with two non-town-employees in attendance). Zoom attendance was also available, and all board members had microphones.  The biggest issues dealt with water/sewer which Commissioner Gerald Osborne has said would need to be addressed soon. He has been working with a twenty plus year timeline in mind so that money invested now will have public services working for years to come.  Osborn requested that $101,500 be spent for engineering which is needed to lay out upgrades for water/sewer in town. Town board members Travis Summitt, Richard Taylor, and John Bradford voted yes to the proposal along with Osborne.  Cleveland has had violations at the WWTP (water waste treatment plant) for the last six months with chloroform levels off. This was due to the bypass valve not being closed all the way. To remedy this situation now, the to...

  Tonight 5-4-2021 was the monthly Zoning and Planning Board meetings for Cleveland, NC. This was technically the April meeting, but some members were not able to attend on the original date, so tonight was the make up date.   The major concern at the meeting per Town Commissioner and Board Member Bryan Little was a notice by the North Carolina League of Municipalities abut a bill to take the local jurisdiction for R15 zoned property away from local towns and have the power in the hands of lawmakers and policymakers in Raleigh at the state level.  Little explained that this change would be a "one size fits all" approach for affordable housing with decisions made outside the area for R15 as defined here:  https://nmcdn.io/e186d21f8c7946a19faed23c3da2f0da/71b809487afe4d7da3262b45ea8ef886/files/services/planning-and-inspections/current-planning-2/permitted-uses/R-15.pdf.  Board member Chris Adkins said, "It's happening everywhere I'm afraid." Board Member Jim ...

  The Cleveland, North Carolina zoning board turned down a request for a conditional use exception at a special called meeting tonight 3-11-2021. Cleveland resident, George Eller, wanted to turn on electricity to a 16x24 storage building on his property at 202 School Street. He had installed the portable building last year, and power lines had been added. But, the building did not meet zoning guidelines then or now. The issue came up when he tried to have electricity turned on. The power company would not turn on electricity with the building not to zoning standards. Eller stated that this was when he became aware of the zoning requirements.  Since Eller was not able to have power to his storage building, he checked with Cleveland town hall and requested an exception which goes before the zoning board.  Tonight Eller explained his dilemma and said that he was not aware of the rules beforehand. He noted that the building in question is at the back of the lot and actually a...

Cleveland Community Volunteer Fire Department meets yearly, and today was a beautiful day for the annual meeting which was held in the big garage area housing the firetrucks with the doors open and warm breeze blowing. There were around twenty people present as the voting portion came to a close.  Captain Ron Herion welcomed visitors to the station and gave an overview of the process and details on the new fire station.  Board members voted in today included: Brian Fero Kenny Payne Ryan Haglan Jimmy Roberts Board members serve for three years with four rotating off or up for reelection every year. There are not term limits, so if locals wish to vote for additional terms for a board member, that is okay. The board is made up of twelve members total. Milestones for the Year at Cleveland Fire Dept. Captain Brian Fero gave the yearly round up. All told, there were 538 calls for the past year. Rescue techs were able to take part in trainings, and a new truck was added. The new truc...

  Cleveland, NC town board met today 2-19-2021 at 3:30 p.m. in a special session by Zoom. The meeting was to sort out a new wastewater treatment contract and to take bids for town mowing. Commissioners in attendance included Brian Little, Richard Taylor, and John Bradford. Patrick Phifer, mayor, was also at the meeting. Travis Summit was visible on Zoom for part of the meeting. Gerald Osborne had reviewed the wastewater contract prior. The contractor said that items 8 and 10 on the contract were problematic due to insurance. A lawyer advised against adding the town to the contractor's insurance. Also, Phifer had discussed the wastewater employee mowing the grass and doing weedeating at the water treatment facility. The contractor was fine about doing that, but insurance was an issue.  Commissioners voted to accept the contract with items 8 and 10 removed. Town maintenance will probably mow at the treatment facility as well as at the town park.  The cost of the service was...