Darian G. Goins
PILOT MOUNTAIN — More than $50,000 in paving work and an agreement for a new Dodge Charger police car were among approvals given by the Pilot Mountain Board of Commissioners Monday night.
In other business, town officials recognized a recent accomplishment by a local girls softball team, and announced the hiring of a maintenance supervisor for the public works department.
Paving Projects
Conditions along Pine and School streets should become a little smoother, due to a $54,580 paving contract being awarded to Carter & Kirk Paving Co. Inc. of Jonesville. It was among four companies submitting bids on a total package of six different projects that also included work on Bullington Lane and Butler Street.
However, due to funding limitations, that was scaled down. “We don’t want to totally deplete our Powell Bill balance,” Town Manager Homer Dearmin said of annual state allocations to localities derived from gas taxes which are used for street improvements.
So he recommended, and the board concurred, that paving be done along School Street, from Swanson Street to Friends Street, and from Friends Street to Westfield Road, which will involve coating cracks with tar and gravel and repaving the surface.
The Pine Street work is to include patching entrance and ditch areas at mailboxes, and repaving, based on bid documents.
Improvements on other streets targeted will be delayed until the next paving cycle in the summer of 2013.
“We’re trying to play catch-up from the last couple of years,” Dearmin added.
New Police Car
The acquisition of a squad car for the Pilot Mountain Police Department was included in the 2012-2013 budget, with the transaction receiving final approval Monday night.
“Our police cars that we have now, there’s several that are high-mileage,” Dearmin said, including vehicles with 200,000 miles.
He said the new car will help ensure reliable response in emergencies and offer less maintenance costs than is the case with an older one.
Board members OK’d a government obligation contract for the Dodge Charger which the town manager described as a lease agreement. The vehicle is being obtained under state contract and financed on a three-year basis, with an $8,153 expenditure required this year.
In response to a question from Commissioner Gary Bell, Dearmin said the money being allocated is for the vehicle only and does not cover the cost of outfitting the squad car. However, lights and other equipment — including an on-board computer — can be transferred to the new vehicle from one it will replace.
Team Recognition
A sports-related matter also made it onto the town board’s agenda Monday night, when officials recognized an East Surry youth all-star softball team that won the state 9-10 title and placed strongly in a regional tournament in Virginia.
In recently capturing district and state tournaments, the team went undefeated in the process. It won five all-star games leading to the district title by a combined score of 68-3.
After winning the state championship over Cape Fear, the local girls journeyed to the Southern Regional Tournament in Luray, Va., and competed against champions from Georgia, Alabama and Florida which were part of an eight-state field.
The East Surry squad ended up fourth in the regional event.
Nearly all the team members were present for Monday night’s town meeting and drew praise from officials and audience members for their recent on-field achievements.
“We’re proud of all of y’all, what you’ve done for the community,” Mayor Sheppard told the girls, who also were accompanied by their coach, Brent Jones.
Maintenance Employee
Darian G. Goins was announced Monday night as a new maintenance crew leader for the town public works unit.
Goins, a 1993 graduate of East Surry High School who attended Surry Community College, was among seven finalists who were interviewed from a pool of 26 applicants.
“We had a tough decision to make,” Dearmin said. “There were many qualified applicants, but after interviewing Darian, we felt that he would be the most-qualified individual and the best fit for the town.”
Goins will be performing supervisory tasks that will involve directing the activities of work crews engaged in general maintenance and repair of the town’s facilities, infrastructure and public rights of way.
“We are excited about Darian coming on board with us,” Dearmin said. “He has a proven work ethic, and we feel he will be a great asset to Pilot Mountain.” Goins’ past experience includes the mechanical and industrial maintenance fields.
He has been a member of the Pilot Knob Volunteer Fire Department since January 1999, and now serves as its safety officer.
Other Business
Also Monday night, the Pilot Mountain council:
• Heard a positive report regarding the town liquor store. Marshall Atkins, chairman of the Pilot Mountain ABC Board, said that while revenues, and profits, have dipped at other outlets around the state, sales have remained solid at the town’s store.
Of the 165 stores statewide, only 52 are operating in the “positive range” compared to a year ago, Atkins said. “And we were in that category.”
• Declined to take action regarding the proposed closing of Simmons Street, from an unpaved portion to the end of an unimproved right of way. No board member elected to introduce a motion regarding that action, and “it is not accepted,” Mayor Sheppard said.
Bob and Marilyn Thomas had informed the board of their desire to leave that portion of the street “as it currently is,” noting that it serves as a right of way into their property.
Reach Tom Joyce at 719-1924 or tjoyce@heartlandpublications.com.
Post a Comment
