At every meeting of the Surry County Board of Commissioners is a period of Open Forum during which citizens can rise to speak to the commissioners on any topic for up to three minutes. This is their chance to say what is on their mind, bring attention to a problem, or give credit where it is due.
Last week, the Forum was visited by Gary York, local personality on WIFM radio, who rose to ask the board if they had fully considered the ramifications on exiting from the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART).
He said those most affected by the removal of a commuter bus line would be those who could least afford for it to cease operation: namely the elderly seeking medical treatment in Forsyth County.
“Some folks have no alternative whatsoever other than riding PART particularly to Winston-Salem to the V.A. or the doctor,” he observed. “Think about going down to the lot and riding the bus and see who’s on there. Its pandemic time, all things have changed. The people on the bus could be some folks that won’t have any alternative to go when PART leaves.”
PART operates the commuter bus line service that is meant to ease congestion on the roads and alleviate some of the pain at the gas pump for commuters working outside the county. The Surry County Express runs from Winston-Salem to hubs in Pilot Mountain and then on to the park and ride lot in Mount Airy off Andy Griffith Parkway and Carter Street, beside Big Lots.
Ridership numbers for Route 6 have varied for several years as the commissioners have previously observed. PART noted in a report to the commissioners that ridership across all forms of public transportation were down due to COVID-19, but that they are seeing ridership returning.
A federal grant to expand services on Route 6 created this situation, PART felt the best way to grow ridership was to increase services, thereby giving the rider more options. The board saw that as money chasing money on a bus line that served a purpose, a purpose that may not exist anymore. The transformation of the American workforce to one more reliant on remote work may never go back to the traditional commuting model of a decade ago.
The commissioners previously passed a resolution to proceed with the county exiting PART, and to begin the process of rescinding a tax on car rental that some of the board felt was unfair.
“The magnitude of this decision is onerous. It’s not about a lot of money, but it’s about folks who have no alternative to navigate going to public services in Winston-Salem. I ask you and challenge you all to look for the good, for there is that of God in all of us. There is good in everything we do.”
– James Henson made an appearance to present the commissioners with a “unique opportunity” to upgrade the county’s volunteer fire service, a topic of recent interest to the board. He mentioned he is paying a fire tax in three districts, and the rate differs between them. “Why is that fair? Our property taxes are the same.”
He offered that it is “time to do something immediate and bold, and level the tax” between fire districts. By having the same fire tax rate for each of the districts it would offer a “chance to revitalize” the volunteer fire departments of the county.
-Surry County has entered into another one-year agreement with Armfield Civic Center in Pilot Mountain to have them manage and facilitate the soccer leagues at Fisher River Park in Dobson.
-Surry County Sheriff Steve Hiatt asked for, and received, permission for his office to apply for an Internet Crimes Against Children grant from the North Carolina Sherriff’s Association. A decision on the grant application will be made in early May.
The grant could award up to $75,000 for the Sheriff’s Office to cover training costs for investigators of these heinous crimes, and an upgrade to computers and networks used in the investigatory process.
– Surry County Board of Elections supervisor Michella Huff has presented options for the realignment of the districts within the county. The BOE had previously reported an imbalance in headcount between the districts of the county commissioners. The goal is for each commissioner to represent as close to 14,271 individuals as is possible.
Currently Commissioner Mark Marion is representing 20,476 citizens compared to Chair Bill Goins and Commissioner Larry Johnson, each representing 12,104 residents a piece in the two Mount Airy districts.
Three proposals were made, and the commissioners chose the option that takes Stewart’s Creek #2 and moves those voters into the Mount Airy district. This change will leave the central district with 16,427 and the two Mount Airy districts with 14,129 each. While still not perfectly balanced, these numbers are closer to the target population.
-At the suggestion of Commissioner Larry Johnson, the board created a committee to investigate and study the need for a county funded fire department that would supplement the efforts of the county’s 17 volunteer fire departments. This committee will report back to the board of commissioners at a later date.
—Finally, Melissa Hiatt, executive director of the United Fund of Surry, thanked the county staff for their participation again this year in the Fund’s annual campaign. Assistant County Manager Sandy Snow received a special call out from Hiatt for her assistance in organizing the county’s campaign.
She went on to offer thanks to the many individuals, organizations, and businesses that participated in the successful United Fund Community Campaign. They will use these funds to offer support to the 26 member organizations that fall under their umbrella.
Hiatt has said that being the United Fund of Surry allows her organization to keep more of the money raised serving the needs of this community rather than sending local dollars to a national organization to spend as they see fit.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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