Union County - Carolina Weekly Newspapers

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Page 6 • Sept. 4-10, 2009 • Union County Weekly
Union Transportation Advisory Board
up and running
Six months after it was proposed, the Union County Transportation Advisory Board
is filled.
The 22-member board will act as a third tier in the hunt for transportation dollars,
behind the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the Mecklenburg-Union
Metropolitan Planning Organization and Rocky River Rural Planning Organization.
The advisory board will collect data and citizens’ input to develop a complete picture of
the county’s transportation needs. Its findings will be presented to commissioners at a
later date.
Once the board of commissioners decides how to use the information, its representatives
to MUMPO and RRRPO, Tracy Kuehler and Allan Baucom, respectively, will meet
with other Union County representatives to try to convince the organizations to vote the
same way on some issues.
The board includes one member appointed by each of the county’s 14 municipalities,
five members appointed by commissioners from the county’s unincorporated areas,
one member from the Union County Chamber of Commerce, one from Union County
Public Schools and one representing the parks and recreation department. q
Advisory board members:
• Fairview: Bill Thomas
• Indian Trail: Councilman Dan Schallenkamp
• Lake Park: Mayor Kendall Spence
• Hemby Bridge: Alderman Chris Baker
• Marvin: Mayor Pro Tem Terri Patton
• Marshville: Councilwoman Denise Whitley
• Mineral Springs: Councilman Jerry Countryman
• Monroe: Councilman Bob Smith
• Stallings: Mayor Lynda Paxton
County says no deal on Belk-Tonawanda
The county still owns a 5.5-acre section of Monroe’s Belk-Tonawanda Park after
the Union County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 31 rejected the city’s request for
it to donate the land. The county has been at odds with Monroe since March over who
owns portions of the park, located at 217 W. Allen St.
In the late 1980s, commissioners allowed the city to use 5.5 acres of county land to
help create the park. It also includes just under 10 acres of city land.
The agreement wasn’t official, however. Last summer, city officials discovered the
county still owns the 5.5 acres, valued at an estimated $83,700. Monroe officials proposed
the county donate the property, as the city paid all maintenance and insurance
for at least 10 years.
“Over the past few decades, the taxpayers of Monroe have been paying to maintain
all of Belk-Tonawanda,” Monroe City Council candidate Rick Alexander told commissioners
Aug. 31. “It’s really a no-brainer. Just give the land to the city.”
During a July 21 meeting, city and county officials had agreed to negotiate a deal.
Commissioners wanted a written agreement
allowing all county residents to use
Correction
In a June 5 article titled, “City’s
future up in the air,” the number
of employees at BAE Systems in
Monroe was incorrectly stated.
BAE has 48 employees. UCW
regrets the error.
• Waxhaw: Mayor Daune Gardner (interim)
• Weddington: Mayor Nancy Anderson
• Wesley Chapel: Councilman Brad Horvath
• Wingate: Councilman Barry Green
• Unionville: Commissioner Ken Brown
• Union County Public Schools: Adam Johnson
• Chamber of Commerce: Jim Carpenter
• Parks and Recreation: Rick Becker
• Unincorporated: Jonathan Thomas, Mark
DiBiasio, John Barker, Jack Ross and Jerry Simpson
Beat breast cancer, get a massage
Visit Waxhaw, Blakeney, Ballantyne Massage Envys
Massage Envy locations across the state
are partnering with Susan G. Komen for
Massage for the Cure Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Massage Envy is offering a one-hour therapeutic
massage at any of its 25 locations
for only $35. All profits from the event will
support breast cancer research and local
Komen community health programs.
Last year, North Carolina Massage
Envy clinics donated $50,000 to Komen
affiliates.
Massage for the Cure runs from 8 a.m.
to 10 p.m. and appointments are being
accepted now. Massage Envy has several
locations in Waxhaw and south Charlotte:
Waxhaw, 8139 Kensington Dr., 704-243-
1111; The Arboretum, 8020 Providence
Road, 704-749-5000; Ballantyne, 14835
Ballantyne Village Way, 704-369-5220; and
Blakeney, 9831 Rea Road, 704-541-2600.
Call 800-944-ENVY to reach any Massage
Envy location in North Carolina. q
the park and parking space as they currently
do. The city, meanwhile, asked that the land
be turned over without stipulations. Neither
side has moved from its position.
“I’m not sure where to go from here,”
Commissioner Tracy Kuehler said. “We
agreed to negotiate, and I fail to see where
the negotiation is.” q
County approves
contract
negotiations
for fire study
The Union County Board of Commissioners
voted unanimously Aug.
31 for staff to hire Pennsylvania-based
Emergency Services Education and
Consulting Group to conduct a countywide
fire-protection study.
The study will determine the county’s
fire-protection needs, evaluate its 18 volunteer
fire districts and offer recommendations
for implementing any proposed
changes.
Emergency Services was selected
from eight companies that bid on the
study. It presented one of the lower bids
at $76,000 and had solid references from
Carteret and Mecklenburg counties,
which currently are implementing the
company’s recommendations, according
to Union County Fire Marshal Neal
Speer.
The county budgeted $65,000 for the
study; the additional $11,000 will be taken
from the county’s fund balance, leaving it
with $489,000. Commissioners will review
the contract before it’s signed.
Commissioner Tracy Kuehler previously
raised concerns about Emergency
Services’ relationship with its parent
company, Volunteer Firemen’s Insurance
Services, which insures rescue squads
and fire departments. Kuehler said her
concerns about a potential conflict of
interest were addressed in a letter from
Emergency Services stating the company
hasn’t had a conflict before. q
Water contract
extension delayed
Hoping to buy more water than the
1.4 million-gallons-per-day they currently
do, county commissioners voted
Aug. 31 to put off extending a deal with
Anson County. Union’s current amount
is limited by the county’s infrastructure;
the contract allows as much as
4 million gallons to flow in daily.
The extension, which would continue
the agreement until June 1, 2034, also
would give staff the authority to negotiate
with Anson to increase that total to
6 million gallons. However, conversations
with Anson County commissioners
led Union County Chairman Lanny
Openshaw to believe there could be
more than 6 million gallons available.
“I’d like to get as much water out of
that pipe as possible,” Openshaw said.
He noted that in conversations with
Anson commissioners he was told
8.6 million gallons per day could be
available. With that in mind, he said he
(more on page 7)
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