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.” office handled 281 calls in Summerfield last month; 17 of those resulted in formal case reports.

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.

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 mayor added that he’s reached out to mayors Ann Schneider of Oak Ridge and Mike Crawford of Stokesdale about supporting a similar resolution.

Public Safety

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

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.

„ Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page expressed his opposition to the possible casino on property just off U.S. 220, about six miles north of Summerfield. Page said he favors a referendum for local voters to express their support or opposition to gaming in their communities.

Page described as “mighty suspect” what he said were behind-the-scenes efforts by Rockingham County and state legislators to pave the way for non-tribal gaming in the state. (See related article on FC.)

„ Bill Goebel, who serves as the county school board’s District 3 representative, said inflation has increased the price tag of renovating, rebuilding and building new schools countywide. Current building projects are being funded from $2 billion in capital bonds approved by voters in 2020 and 2022.

Goebel invited people to contact him for details about spending earmarked for Northwest, Northern and other schools in the area.

„ Gail Dunham said she’s been waiting more than three months for town staff to fulfill public records requests (PRRs) she submitted.

Later in the meeting, Robinson said the town has gotten 57 PRRs from Dunham just since the start of the year. She noted that some of the financial info-related PRRs came during the preparation of the town’s annual budget this past spring and early summer, an especially busy time for Finance Officer Dee Hall, who works part-time for the town.

Even though she’s behind on fulfilling some PRRs, Hall “does a great job,” Robinson said. “She works her tail off for us. I have no doubt she will be caught up soon.”

„ Patti Stokes, president of Summerfield Merchants Association, spoke about how the association’s 54 members, all professionals representing various businesses and nonprofits, support each other and the community.

“I think we’re kind of a quiet group, but we accomplish a lot,” said Stokes, who shared that earlier this year, SMA members donated $1,900 to Summerfield Elementary School to help replace outdated projectors; donated items for a Northern Guilford High School fundraiser; sponsored and volunteered for Founders’ Day in May; and will sponsor and volunteer at Summerfield Fire District’s Stop, Drop and Roll 5K on Sept. 30 and the town’s holiday tree lighting in November.

The association also gave $2,500 scholarships this past May to two high school seniors who live in Summerfield.

“Besides what we do as an association, individually, our members give a lot back as well,” Stokes said, ending with a request for residents to support their local businesses as those businesses in turn support the community.

Five candidates for town council in the Nov. 7 municipal election spoke during the public comments period.

„ As a candidate for mayor, Linda Wendelken said she loves the town and wants “to keep it Summerfield.” She added that she opposes the possible casino in Rockingham County because gambling operations target people who can’t afford to lose money.

„ If elected to the council, Heath Clay said he would work to preserve Summerfield’s “small-town values. I love this town and the country living.”

Clay said he favors term limits for elected officials, and he has no business or development interests that could possibly sway his decisions.

„ A former council member, Teresa Perryman said she’s running for a council seat again because she “wants to make transparency a high priority with our town. I believe slow, controlled growth is great for our community.”

A lifelong Summerfield resident, Perryman said she favors a continuation of the town’s limited-services government and the protection of wells and septic systems.

„ A lawyer, Jon Hamilton said he believes he could help the town resolve its legal issues if he’s elected to the council. As a member of the town’s Finance Committee since May, he said he seeks greater involvement in town affairs, such as fighting de-annexation efforts by landowner David Couch.

“I don’t know how much fight he actually has,” Hamilton said. “I am against David Couch; I am against high density.”

„ Seeking reelection to the council, Lynne DeVaney said she supports “local businesses, firefighters, first responders… controlled growth, parks and rec and water for fire protection.”

“I am against de-annexation,” she added.

MANAGER’S REPORT

Bandera Farms Park contract

 5  0 to 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, and to provide construction oversight.

Sustainable Stables, a Durham-based designer of equestrian properties, would serve as a consultant to the two firms.

The design of horseback-riding trails “is obviously a critical component of this project,” Whitaker noted.

As a next step, the manager will work to negotiate a price for the contract and present it to the council for consideration.

The 120-acre park at Bunch Road and Interstate 73 is slated for completion by September 2025.

Appointments and reappointments

 5  0 to appoint Jayme Gruen to the Trails and Open Space Committee, and add Nolan Carter of Greensboro as a non-resident, ex-officio member.

By unanimous vote, the council approved the following committee reappointments:

• Finance: Alan Abrams, Vicky Bridges and Wendel Parks.

• Founders’ Day: Jane Doggett, Lynne Williams DeVaney, Mark Brown and Reece Walker.

• Historical: Andy Schlosser, John

White III, Kenneth Robinson, Loren Sterling, Mia Malesovas and Troy Stantliff Jr.

• Trails and Open Space: Ginger Lambrecht, Jane Doggett, Neala Jones, Paul Lambrecht and Trudy Whitacre. Land use plan update. Whitaker reviewed the council’s earlier decision to pause proposed land use plan deliberations by the Planning Board and the council until the outcome of landowner David Couch’s de-annexation efforts is clear.

If Couch’s 973 acres are removed from the town limits, it would change the land use plan, Whitaker explained.

For

Water system update. Engineering firm Freese and Nichols is assessing whether an existing well on the townowned Gordon tract, which fronts U.S. 220 at N.C. 150, would provide enough water to supply a proposed elevated storage tank, Whitaker said.

Trash and recycling services. Whitaker asked for council input on whether staff should explore replacing Republic Services as the town’s trash and recycling contractor.

He described the town’s relationship with Republic as “up and down,” but said based on citizen complaints over the last year or so, the company had been doing “fairly well.”

A&Y Greenway update. Whitaker said a contractor is surveying property along the trail as part of work on its southern loop.

Martin house and Gordon Hardware building update. Plans by Lauren Cox to purchase the historic Martin house at the corner of N.C. 150 and Summerfield Road have been delayed by the town’s requirement for a water runoff collection device such as a retention pond, Whitaker said, while adding that engineers are trying to resolve the hurdle.

Preservation North Carolina, which is handling the sale of the Gordon Hardware building, across from the Martin house, is working on “a new option” for the project, Whitaker said.

“As everybody knows, these are both really challenging sites in relation to parking, wells, septic and land use requirements for buffers,” Whitaker said. “I will tell you more when I can.”

Council Business

Voluntary annexations

 5  0 to schedule a public hearing for the council to seek input on proposed voluntary annexations into Summerfield. The hearing will be held 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, at Center United Methodist Church at 6142 Lake Brandt Road.

After last year inviting property owners to seek voluntary annexation into Summerfield, the town received 16 petitions from homeowners on the eastern outskirts of town.

Some of the properties are contiguous with the town limits but others are considered “satellite” annexation petitions.

“We are missing that critical mass of contiguous property that would make for what I would call a cleaner addition to our corporate limits,” Whitaker said.

Following the Sept. 14 public hearing, the council will consider whether to approve the petitions.

Constitution Week. Sessoms said he will ask the council next month to proclaim the week of Sept. 17-24 as Constitution Week.

Closed Session

The council entered closed session to discuss legal and personnel matters. One hour, 20 minutes later, it reconvened into open session and voted on two matters.

Consent order

 5  0 to authorize a consent order settling a legal dispute between the town and Kotis Properties, owner of Summerfield Square shopping center.

In Guilford County Superior Court, Kotis challenged decisions by town staff and the Board of Adjustment that the size of the sign above the Clouds vaping store in the shopping center was bigger than allowed by the town’s development ordinance.

The order will allow the sign to remain in place “for the time being,” Whitaker said. If the town wants to force the removal or altering of the sign, it has the option to amend the development ordinance, he said.

Pay raise

 5  0 to approve a 5% pay raise for Whitaker, increasing his annual salary from $143,742.48 to $150,929.60, according to Hall.

The raise is retroactive to June 12, Whitaker’s start date 11 years ago, and consists of a 3% cost-of-living increase and a 2% merit increase.

“We appreciate the good job,” Davis told Whitaker.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m.