ASHEBORO – The Asheboro City Council convened on Wednesday, Nov. 8, tackling a series of public hearings and financial decisions aimed at city development and improvements.
The purchase of a quick response vehicle was approved, with Fire Chief Willie Summers highlighted the vehicle’s benefits. “The quick response vehicle will enhance service delivery, maneuverability, flexibility, and operability,” the chief explained. “Especially during storms when it’s not practical to respond with a ladder truck or an engine truck.”
The council approved a contract amendment with WK Dickson, extending the contract time and expanding the scope of duties for work at Asheboro Regional Airport due to an omission in the P-501 concrete testing mix requirements. City Engineer Michael Leonard noted the contract increase of $8,723 and mentioned potential liquidated damages due to the oversight.
Council member Walker Moffitt expressed frustration with the situation, remarking, “While the FAA has very specific requirements for concrete and asphalt, there are very well known and very published requirements that are uniform throughout the industry, so I really don’t know how we got into this mess.”
Additionally, the council greenlit the acquisition of 3.25 acres at the intersection of Zoo Parkway and Crestview Road for $113,750, earmarked for an emergency operations center and third fire station. Summers affirmed that the location aligns with the department’s criteria for growth rate, response times, call volume, service delivery, and ISO rating.
At the beginning of the meeting, the council conducted three public hearings, starting with a request to rezone approximately one acre of recently annexed land on W. O. W. Road. Community Development Director Trevor Nuttall explained, “This is an application filed as a result of the recent annexation of this property. It is a request to place the property in the city’s medium-density residential zoning district. Currently, it’s in residential restricted county zoning through the county’s land-use ordinance.”
The second hearing focused on a rezoning proposal for properties at 639 and 645 North Fayetteville St and 114 Liberty St from B2 and R10 to OA6. Nuttall said, “This is an application to remove these properties from the city’s general commercial designation and a portion of R10 residential zoning to entirely office and apartment zoning. The request is to move this into a mixed-use zoning designation that the city offers. So approval of this application would permit both single, two-family, very limited multi-family development on the property but would also open it up to office and institutional uses and similar commercial uses.”
The third hearing addressed a resolution to apply for $950,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding for neighborhood revitalization, with the intention of supporting Wainman Homes, Inc. in maintaining CASPN Homes for future service.
The council unanimously approved each of the presented requests.
The Asheboro City Council is scheduled to meet again on Dec. 7.
