ASHEBORO – Randolph County is aiding the Town of Seagrove with one of its major projects.
At its meeting Monday, the Randolph County Board of Commissioners approved a $250,000 loan to the Town of Seagrove to assist with its upfit of the Historic Lucks Cannery.
“As of now, Seagrove has spent a little over $3 million to try and get the cannery up and operating,” Seagrove mayor David Fernandez said. “We don’t have a certificate of occupancy right now, which means two-thirds of the building we can’t use. So our request to the commission is to not give us money, but to loan us the money that we need to finish the cannery and be able to get our certificate of occupancy.”
The cannery is being developed into a five-acre municipal center that will house community spaces, shops, entertainment and more and, according to Fernandez, the process for obtaining the certificate of occupancy is expected to take just a few months with the loan.
In terms of paying back the loan, Fernandez was confident that the town would be able to pay it back and stated that the only reason they were even asking the county for funding now was due to the timing of potential businesses looking to occupy space in the cannery.
“In the five years that we’ve been going about putting this together, we’ve raised over $3 million,” Fernandez said. “We currently have several grant requests out there to various foundations and a large portion of the money that we’ve been able to raise already has been through grants and donations from individuals and corporations. We have a pretty good track record in that regard and once the building is operating, we’ll also be generating income from the use of the facility.
“I’m very confident that Seagrove will be able to pay it back.”
Other funding, merger approvals
The board also approved the use of $116,000 in Law Enforcement Restricted Funds for the purchase of 25 BolaWrap 150 devices as well as subscriptions for two data collection software to streamline and centralize the process.
“The BolaWrap is a device that basically deploys a seven and half foot, Kevlar tether with hooks on it,” said chief deputy Steven Nunn. “Where a lot of your less lethals, like tasers, beanbag rounds, things like that use pain compliance, the idea behind this is to restrict movement. It wraps the person and allows the deputies a few extra seconds to get in there and gain control of the individuals.”
Finally, the board approved the merger of two fire departments doing business within the county into the Central Piedmont Fire Department.
“Climax Fire Department is merging with Pleasant Garden Fire Department effective July 1, 2025,” fire marshal Erik Beard said. “Both of these departments have a long history of providing the highest level of fire protection to both the citizens of Randolph and Guilford counties and I believe this merger will not only enhance those services, but will preserve them for many years to come.”
While Pleasant Garden is based in Guilford County, it had provided services in Randolph County.
The Randolph County Board of Commissioners will next meet July 7.
