Hope Town Square improvement project advances

Hope will be moving forward with a plan to improve the area around the Town Square, with a grant application to the state. 

Main Street of HOPE director Susan Thayer-Fye put forward a plan at last week's Town Council meeting to attack four areas of concern on the square:

• Repairing sidewalks.
• Replacing the benches, planters, trash cans and cigarette receptacles.
• Improving lighting in and around the square. 
• Making the pathways in the park accessible under the rules of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The most expensive part of the proposal, and the one that raised concerns with the council, was the coast to replace lighting. Thayer-Fye presented an estimate from Duke Energy. Replacing the more than 40 streetlights in and around the square would cost the town more than $2,800 per month, she estimated. 

Councilman Clyde Compton balked at that estimate, suggesting the town go with other vendors with better pricing. The proposal outlined more than $138,000 coming from the town's coffers, a price that Compton said the town could not afford. 

Thayer-Fye said that Main Street did not like the style of lights allowed by Duke Energy, and would rather go with another vendor who would make the lights in a more historically correct style. Estimates placed that cost at about a third of the Duke Energy costs. But it also left open the question of who would service the lights once installed and whether the private vendors would completely rewire the lighting in the square. 

The current Duke-provided lights in and around the square are more than 25 years old, not energy efficient nor bright enough and do not fit the town's historic theme, Thayer-Fye said. There has also been safety concerns with some of the wiring recently, she said.

The Council agreed to allow Main Street to continue with the grant application. Thayer-Fye said the final proposal has to be turned in to the state by May and the approval process is expected to be very competitive.

In other business before the Hope Town Council.

• Republican Ohmer Miller will continue to serve as the council president. Compton recommended Councilman Jerry Bragg for the role but the rest of the council voted for Miller. Democrat Nellie Meek will serve as vice-president this year.
• Trena Carter, the town's grant administrator with Administrative Resources Association, said that it appears the town may have extra money from an owner-occupied housing project fund. That money would allow the town to rehabilitate a sixth home this year. She also said the town would soon have to do another income survey, which allows the town to qualify for some grant programs. 
• The Council was scheduled to discuss the town manager vacancy, but decided to put that discussion off, perhaps at an executive session not open to the public. Last month, a majority of the council (Miller, Meek and Ed Johnson) voted not to approve the contract for former town manager J.T Doane. Instead, the Town Council agreed to seek more bidders for the contract.
• The Council agreed to consider seeking bids to fill the contract for town building and zoning inspector. Greg Potts continues to fulfill that roll despite the Council's decision not to renew his contract last month either. His contract was caught up in the issues with Doane's contract and the council also agreed to seek bidders for his contract. Town Attorney Scott Andrews said that the council could revisit its decision if it wished, but it chose not to. 
• The Town Council and advisers discussed their hopes for a grant to cover the storm sewer replacement project on the south side of the Town Square. An aging storm sewer line in that area has been collapsing, causing holes to open up on the Town Square parking lot. Town officials were expecting an answer on Thursday of last week to their grant application for about $535,000, but it was not among the projects approved by the state.