SUMMERFIELD town council
Aug. 8 / MEETING HIGHLIGHTS as reported by CHRIS BURRITT SUMMERFIELD – Mayor Tim Sessoms called the monthly meeting in Summerfield Community Center to order, with Mayor Pro Tem Lynne Williams DeVaney and council members Jeff Davis, Janelle Robinson, Reece Walker and John Doggett present. DeVaney offered the invocation, which was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
CONSENT AGENDA 5 0 to amend the meeting
agenda to add a resolution regarding potential casino legislation being drafted in the state General Assembly.
5 0 (separate votes) to approve
the amended meeting agenda, June 13 open session meeting minutes, and a resolution concurring with North Carolina DOT’s decision to add Carson Path, a Summerfield road, to the state’s secondary road system.
ANNOUNCEMENTS Recycling event. A recycling event sponsored by Guilford County is scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 16, at Laughlin Professional Development Center at 7911 Summerfield Road in Summerfield. Campaign signs. Town Manager Scott Whitaker said candidates in the town’s Nov. 7 election will receive a letter by email explaining rules for posting campaign signs.
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RECOGNITION Sam Schlosser. The council recognized the contributions of Summerfield resident and longtime volunteer Sam Schlosser, who died Aug. 15, 2022, at the age of 75. (See p. 14 for more details.)
RESOLUTION 5 0 to request the state legisla-
ture grant municipalities the option to hold local referendums to decide casino and gaming-related issues. The resolution relates to the nearly 193 acres on U.S. 220 in southwestern Rockingham County that are potentially slated for a casino. The project faces two legislative hurdles. In Raleigh, Republican leaders are drafting a bill that would expand casino and gaming operations beyond tribal lands in North Carolina. If enacted, the legislation would allow gaming in three counties: Rockingham, Nash and Anson. Second, the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners plans to consider and possibly vote Aug. 21 on whether to rezone the Highway 220 property to allow “electronic gaming operations.” The resolution passed by Summerfield’s council recognizes that “significant public sentiment in Rockingham County suggests that North Carolinians want a voice in their rural
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WHAT they voted on, and HOW they voted: Mayor Pro Tem Lynne Williams DeVaney and council members Jeff Davis, Janelle Robinson, Reece Walker and John Doggett voted on the following items during the council’s Aug. 8 meeting. Mayor Tim Sessoms was present, but in Summerfield the mayor votes only to break a tie.
5 0: Approve (in separate votes) an amended meeting agenda, June 13 open session meeting minutes, and a resolution to add Carson Path, a Summerfield road, to North Carolina DOT’s secondary road system 5 0: Ask the state legislature to grant municipalities the option to hold local referendums to decide casino and gaming-related issues
5 0: Authorize town staff to negotiate a contract with consultant Destination by Design and engineering firm Kimley-Horn to prepare engineering and construction documents for Bandera Farms Park
5 0: Approve numerous appointments and reappointments to the Finance, Founders’ Day, Historical and Trails and Open Space committees 5 0: Schedule a public hearing Sept. 14 to get citizens’ input on proposed voluntary annexations into Summerfield
5 0: Approve a consent order settling a legal dispute between the town and Kotis Properties, owner of Summerfield Square shopping center 5 0: Approve a 5% pay raise for Town Manager Scott Whitaker communities regarding casinos and gaming activities.” The resolution does not express either opposition or support for gaming, Whitaker emphasized. Rather, it requests the legislature give local governing boards the right to schedule voter referendums.
“It’s about giving the people the opportunity for their voices to be heard,” Sessoms said. The mayor added that he’s reached out to mayors Ann Schneider of Oak Ridge and Mike Crawford of Stokesdale about supporting a similar resolution.
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Summerfield Fire District. The department responded to 137 calls in July, including 23 fire-related calls, 62 EMSrelated calls, and 52 other calls. The staff installed two child safety seats. Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s District 1
office handled 281 calls in Summerfield last month; 17 of those resulted in formal case reports. A residential breaking and entering on Henson Forest Drive on July 15 remains under investigation.
COMMITTEE REPORT Historical Committee. Mark Brown reported that committee and church members and Oak Ridge-based BSA Troop 600 have begun clearing overgrowth and leaves from the cemetery of Hopewell Wesleyan Church at Pleasant Ridge, Carlson Dairy and Lewiston roads. The next cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 26. This fall, the committee plans to use ground-penetrating radar to conduct a search of the pre-Revolutionary War graveyard, where Brown said British soldiers and slaves may be buried in some of the unmarked graves.
PUBLIC COMMENTS Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page expressed his opposition to the possible casino on property just off U.S. 220,