Commissioners reject car charging stations
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
County Commissioners voted unanimously to reject electric car charging stations at new libraries and approved land acquisition for a school bond project during their Monday, March 13, meeting.
The commissioners voted unanimously to not accept a$10,000 grant from Duke Energy Carolinas for two electric car charging stations at the new Clemmons and Kernersville libraries. Commissioner Everette Witherspoon was not in attendance and the late Walter Marshall’s seat was still unfilled. The commissioners soured on the grant when they discovered it wouldn’t cover the installation of the stations entirely and would cost the county $9,400 per station.
County Commissioner Vice Chair Don Martin said the vote wasn’t a rejection of charging stations, just of using county money to install one.
“When they make it free and the grant covers all costs, we’re in,” said Martin.
County commissioners approved several measures that allow the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Board to purchase land around Paisley IB Magnet School. The land will be part of a project from the 2016 school bonds for a replacement school for Paisley that’ll expand its capacity to 1,027 students. A new Lowrance Middle School will be built on the same
campus.
Commissioners voted unanimously to subdivide the Smith Reynolds Airport, which is owned by the county, creating two new parcels that contain an old landing gear shop and a nearby parking lot. This small portion of the airport contains soil and water contamination from the solvents formerly used there. The clean up of the site is coming to an end. Creating parcels means the restrictions that will be on the contaminated site, which include no wells and no schools, won’t apply to the rest of the airport.
Last year’s bond included money for Forsyth Technical Community College to start a program at the airport that’ll teach students how to work on the mechanical body of planes. The subdivision will ensure the restrictions don’t stop Forsyth Tech from locating the program in a different part of the airport with no contamination.
Commissioners also approved measures to let Coffee Park operate a commissary in the renovated Central Library, and to pay $55,748.63 to Owen G. Dunn Company for voting equipment that was rented when early voting was extended last year.
