  |
 |
|
News & Information Contact Web Links
|
Council Comments
May 2008 The Mayor’s Report - George Erickson Swimming Pool Fees 2008 When the Foxfire Village Parks and Recreation Committee called a public meeting in November 2007, the purpose was to seek input from the Village residents on the PARTF grant that was submitted in January 2008. Several suggestions were included in the final grant request. Several speakers also said the Village needed to charge more than the one dollar ($1) fee that was charged the past two summer seasons. At the April 8, 2008 Village Council meeting the members approved a $15,000 bid to make improvements so the pool can be used this summer. These repairs were requested but the Moore County Department of Environmental Health. As a result of these costs, the Village will be charging fees for using the pool facilities this summer season. The details of these charges are listed in this newsletter. 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal On April 15, 2008, we received a letter from Regional Director, William W. Hatcher. He indicated many dress rehearsal activities for the 2010 Census have already taken place. Questionnaires have been mailed to the residents living in Foxfire Village. Mr. Hatcher encouraged us to remind members of the community to complete and return the questionnaires as soon as possible. If you have returned the requested information, thank you. PARTF Grants Meeting Scheduled The North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Board of Directors will meet on May 16, 2008 in Raleigh. The purpose of the meeting is to award seventy-five (75%) of the available funds for projects submitted last January. The Village Center Recreation Project submitted by Foxfire Village for improving the swimming pool area totaled $693,958. If approved by the PARTF Board, fifty-percent (50%) of the cost will be paid by the grant ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Public Safety - Page Coker CITIZEN ALERT, NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH, BLOCK WATCH, OR COMMUNITY WATCH: the names may differ, but the idea is the same. Neighbors looking out for each other. Because law enforcement officers cannot be on every street corner, citizen involvement is necessary to combat crime. On average, there are approximately two law enforcement officers for every 1,000 citizens. For our approximately 600 residents, Foxfire Village is very fortunate to be above the average with our police department. Chief Campbell and Officer Shue are providing outstanding dedication and service to our community which contributes to our crime rate being very low. You and your neighbors are the ones who really know what is going on in your community. By cooperating with each other and with the police, citizens can help fight crime in the most effective way – preventing the victimization of themselves, their families, and friends. You are the key element in continuing to prevent crime from occurring in our Village. GET INVOLVED! Mark your calendar for these important dates: Thursday, May 1st @ 6:30 pm, Village Hall – Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) UPDATE – Speaker: Steady Meares - Moore County EMS Tuesday, May 20th @ 7:00 pm – Community Watch Organization Meeting Officer Shue will be our speaker - information and materials with be supplied. Saturday, June 14th from 10:00 to 11:30 am, Village Hall – Child identification (Officer Shue can fingerprint your child and offer safety measures for your child’s protection). Please sign-up for the above programs offered as soon as possible. Email: redfox@nc.rr.com or phone 673-6533. Thank you in advance for answering the call, and doing your part to help keep Foxfire safe and strong. FOXFIRE POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFERS THE FOLLOWING SERVICE PROGRAMS: Please call 295-5959 to schedule an appointment. Operation I.D. – This program involves engraving your valuable personal property with your driver’s license number thus making it easier to identify if it is stolen. Examples: bicycles, golf carts, etc. Home Security Check – Our officers will visit your home and make recommendations for your home security. They have a three-page checklist that they go by. Future programs- First Aid/CPR, Self-Defense for Women, Community Clean-Up day. As your Councilwoman for Public Safety, if you have any suggestions or comments please feel free to contact me at 673-6533 or e-mail: redfox@nc.rr.com. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Parks & Streets Department - Vic Koos Village Green Walking Trail The walking trails at the Village Green Park have eroded again. I met with Ronnie Williams, the contractor that installed the walking trails. Last year, Ronnie’s company repaired the trails at a cost of $3,500 with a one-year warranty for work. Ronnie has agreed to once again re-do the walking trails at no cost to the Village. Weather permitting, all work should be completed within the next ten days. Village Roads Bert Beacham from Hudson Paving and I rode through and inspected the Village roads. Hudson Paving will fix the damage at the intersection of North Shamrock and Bluebird Circle and the drainage problem at 20 Woodland Circle. I am awaiting an estimate for road repairs. Red Dump Trucks There have been complaints of dump truck traffic on Richmond Rd. to Bluebird Circle. I contacted the company owning these trucks and was informed they should be finished with dumping by the end of June. Mowing Contractor The Village’s mowing contractor Green-Up Landscaping has sold it business to a Green Dreams. They will finish mowing by April 30. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Water Department - Ed Lauer As you know this has been a tough year for the Water Department. As a public utility the Water Department does not get money from the General Fund and funds itself through the revenue it generates. With the need to bring in new wells on line, to mix with two existing wells, to reduce the radium levels and to extend water lines to service parts of the Village has wiped out our surplus and may force us to borrow money to bring another well on line. We will redeem some of this money with assessments for the extension of the water lines; however, that is a slow process. Our ordinances give us the option of having the developers provide for this infrastructure up front rather that the Village fronting the cost and then recouping via assessments. It will be the policy of the Water Department to consider the requirement for developers to provide this infrastructure as the preferred option for any further extension of services to new areas. How successful we are in the attempt to lower the radium level through mixing and consideration of our future needs will be a big part of the analysis on the direction we take in the future. As you are all aware, several of the future options would include some sort of connectivity with the Moore County Public Utilities. It is my intent to begin discussions with Moore County Public Utilities to begin to explore options; part of these discussions would include potential costs of various options, such as being a bulk purchaser of water and maintaining our current distribution system. Another option would be becoming a part of the Moore County water system. The cost of these options would be weighed against the cost of maintaining our current system and the status of our water availability and quality. On the positive side, our wells are in good shape and under current growth projections, we should be able to continue to supply water for a good number of years (five to ten years). The main wild card will be the ability to remediate the radium levels. We have received permission from the State to connect the new well with one of the wells currently showing radium levels, so we should have a good feel for how successful we are in a very short time. The cost of bringing a new well on line averages approximately $180,000.00. We will have to bring on line one additional well within the year to remediate the second well or replace them should the mixing not be successful. I will continue to keep the community informed as to the status of any future moves that may be in the offering. I want to reiterate that we are in good shape as far as current supplies of water are concerned; the issue is the cost of maintaining a quality water supply in the future. That is why we undertake a very thorough cost analysis on future options in order to insure we provide the best and most cost effective solution to future water needs. As has been announced we have rolled back our restrictions to Phase 1 based on our positive feeling about the availability of water and our wet spring. However, I would ask you all to continue to conserve water as you have over the last year. Thanks for your cooperation.
|