Thomasville council accepts bid for 2024 repaving project

The Thomasville city council accepted the lower of two bids for the 2023-24 street paving project at Monday night’s meeting.

This map, also available on the city of Thomasville’s website in the public works section under streets, shows which of the city’s roadways will be resurfaced during 2024.

The city has worked every year to resurface a portion of the 100 miles of roadway it is responsible for. City Manager Michael Brandt said there are 180 miles of road inside the city limit, but 80 of those are maintained by the state. The remainder fall to the city and each year, a certain number of miles are resurfaced.

Last year six miles of roads were resurfaced or paved, and this year another five and half will be addressed,

The city had budgeted $1,049,799 for this year’s work, and had sent out a request for bids in November. Two bids were received, one from Blythe Construction for $1,158,508.93 and one from APAC, Arthur Thompson for $1,010,831.03. The city Monday voted unanimously to accept the bid from APAC.

“As the chair of the transportation committee…I appreciate that we are maximizing the impact within our budget,” said council member Payton Williams, noting that the city does prioritize roads with higher use and more density. She pointed out the city has gone a long way toward getting all the roads resurfaced, which is the end goal, before starting all over again.

In other business, the council approved three separate applications for rezoning. The properties included parcels on Kendall Mill Road, Lexington Avenue, and Taylor/Montlieu Avenue. The existing zoning of the parcel on Kendall Mill Road is R-8 CZ, which is medium density residential conditional zoning, and the council approved owner R.E.W. Homes LLC’s request to change it to R-6, high density residential.

Owners Joseph and Angela Dean requested the council change the property on which their home sits from C-2 Highway Commercial to R-8 Medium Density Residential>

“Our understanding is that if our home were to burn down, under the current zoning, we could not rebuild,” Angela told the council. As the parcel is an existing residence, there was no objection.

Finally, owner Rafaelle DiPuorto appealed to the city to change the zoning of a parcel he owns on Taylor/Montlieu Avenue from M-1 CZ Light Industrial Conditonal Zoning to R-6 High Density Residential. During the public hearing held by te planning board, the only concern expressed was that the property not be developed into more than two houses or a duplex. During the council’s public hearing, Samantha Pane spoke on behalf of DiPuorto and said the plans are to build two separate homes, each between 1,200 and 1,300 square feet, possibly with garages.

The council approved all three requests unanimously.

The council also approved three adjustments to the Thomasville Pay and Classification Study that was approved last month. Two positions within the fire department and one in the police department had their steps adjusted according to corrected information.

Williams applauded the city for investing in the study that is designed to make incomes for city jobs competitive.

“People who come to work for Thomasville are not slighting themselves by coming to Thomasville,” she said. Assistant City Manager Eddie Bowling echoed Williams’ support.

“I want to thank the council for investing in our employees and for supporting the Pay and Classification Study,” he said.

Each member of the council was asked for a brief comment, and most mentioned enjoying community events at Christmas for families such as the Chair City Christmas and the Save The Babies toy distribution, as well as the increase in activity recently for both Thomasville police and fire departments, commending both on their responsiveness.

Brandt said he had been given an opportunity to participate in the physical agility test with the fire department and he '“gained a whole new appreciation for what they do.”

Mayor Raleigh York, Jr. said he and council members Williams and JacQuez Johnson visited with students at both Primary and Liberty Drive Schools, and he is “always pleased when you can have an impact on a child.” He said during the visit, one of the students asked him for a hug, and later, he was at one of the Christmas events when the same child recognized him, saying “I saw you at my school.” Making connections with the youngest residents is something York emphasized as important, and Johnson agreed, saying “we are experiencing a changing of the guard, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be an advocate and true voice for the people of this city,.”

Pat Shelton and Neal Grimes are both serving temporarily, filling seats for two council members on short-term leave, and both expressed appreciation for having some time to serve the city again. They are filling the seats of Ron Bratton and Jeannette Shepherd, both on medical leave until March 1, 2024.

Mayor Pro Tem Hunter Thrift encouraged everyone to get out to see the holiday lights displayed downtown, commending businesses and others for their “beautiful work. It’s absolutely worth seeing.”

Williams noted that “there are a historic number of people struggling right now, financially and otherwise, and I would encourage people to call 2-1-1 to be directed to resources that can help, and I commend The Father’s Storehouse Ministries for opening their doors as an emergency shelter.”

City Attorney Misti Whitman took a moment to clarify a point regarding that overflow emergency shelter. There had been some question of how the overflow emergency portion would work, because in order to be in effect, the surrounding shelters in Lexington and High Point would have to be full.

“It will not require that a homeless person go to those shelters in person,” she said, explaining that the director of the emergency shelter could contact the existing shelters to determine if they are full, documenting the time, date and information of the call and keeping a record of ongoing updates. But it would not require that an unsheltered person make the trip between the three cities before being accepted.

Council members Lisa Shell and Doug Hunt encouraged residents to practice safety during the holidays and the colder weather.

“Please, if you are burning a candle be sure you put it out any time you leave the house, the room, do not leave it unsupervised and do not have it near curtains or paper or anything flammable,” said Shell. “And please, never never use an extension cord with a space heater, those cords cannot handle the draw it takes to run those heaters.
”As someone in the HVAC industry, I know everyone is using their heat more these days to try to stay warm, but it’s a good time to remind everyone to test their fire and smoke alarms and their CO2 sensors.