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Wilson This Week -- Feb. 2, 2024
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Celebrating 175 Years of Wilson's History
The City of Wilson celebrated its 175th birthday on Monday! The N.C. General Assembly approved our charter on January 29, 1849.
Mayor Stevens read an official proclamation during the January City Council meeting and we've been highlighting key milestones throughout the week on the city's Facebook page.
We have made remarkable strides in the past 175 years, including being one of the first cities in eastern North Carolina to start its own electric utility; start a fire department and hire professional firefighters; build a reservoir; and offer citywide broadband services. We think we're looking pretty good at 175 and look forward to the years to come.
Learn more about Wilson's history at the link below or follow our social channels for a few fun facts and historic images.
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Recycling 101
Throughout February we will be sharing some pro tips for recycling. What can be recycled changes from time to time, and keeping our recycling "clean" is important for many reasons. We've created a video in the "Welcome to Wilson" series to let newcomers know how recycling works in Wilson. Stay tuned to the city's social media for more Recycling 101.
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Next City Council Meeting is February 15
City Council's February meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 15, beginning at 7 p.m. at Wilson City Hall. The agenda has not yet been set, but it will be posted by Monday, Feb. 5.
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State legislators presented the Wilson City Council with a $26 million check in January, symbolic of future commitments to the city from the state’s 2023-24 budget.
N.C. Sen. Buck Newton and N.C. Rep. Ken Fontenot came to the meeting to celebrate a budget with a lot of allocations to local governments and organizations.
The big one for the city was just over $23.5 million for water and sewer improvements. Some of that money is earmarked for repairs to Lake Wilson dam, but the majority can be used for water and sewer improvements.
The budget also included $1,150,000 for city parks and recreation projects at Lake Wilson Park and the Reid Street Community Center. The city wioll receive $300,000 for economic development projects.
The state budget also included $30 million to Wilson Community College for a biotechnology workforce training center. This will train employees to work in pharmaceutical and biotechnology careers.
The budget also included money for water or wastewater projects for Barton College, the town of Stantonsburg and Wilson County.
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Former golf course now set for hundreds of homes
The Wilson City Council has agreed to rezone the former Happy Valley Golf Course, which will allow the construction of a new subdivision with hundreds of new houses off Lipscombe Road.
At the Jan. 18 meeting, Council Member Gillettia Morgan called the development one of the most biggest residential projects the city has ever seen and "a game changer" for east Wilson. Residents have wanted more shopping, restaurants and employment along the U.S. 301 corridor, she said, and these homes will create more interest from the business community.
Developer Wellspring Carolina Investments, LLC, plans to build a mixture of single-family homes and townhomes, according to engineer Mike Stocks. The development will be between 475-600 units, the total number of each depending on market conditions. But they anticipate the units having around 1,800 square feet apiece.
The developer will now have to work with city staff to go through the subdivison process where utilities, stormwater and streets planning would be designed to engineering standards.
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Reverse angle parking added to Nash Street
A new type of parking is now available near Centro on Nash Street. Reverse angle parking is a safer type of on-street parking. While it looks different than a traditional parking lot or parallel parking, it’s as easy as 1-2-3!
- Signal a right turn to warn other drivers
- Pull past the parking space and stop
- Reverse into the parking spot
Reverse angle parking has many benefits:
- Improved visibility and increased field of vision. When leaving the parking space, you can see oncoming vehicles and don’t need to back out blindly from the parking space.
- Improved safety. Car doors open in a manner than directs children to the back of the vehicle, toward the sidewalk not towards traffic.
- Improved loading and unloading onto the sidewalk away from traffic.
- Easier than parallel parking. Backing into an angled space is easier than parallel parking.
- More spaces in the same amount of space as compared to parallel parking. In the area near Centro, we have eight reverse angle spaces where only three to four parallel spaces would have been possible.
In the next few weeks we will be adding signage to the existing spots on Nash Street near Centro. For now the spots are not time limited, but we expect to add a time restriction once the apartments and retail space open.
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Help shape Wilson County's future plans
Wilson County is updating its Comprehensive Land Use Plan. When completed, this plan will help guide growth and development over the next 20 years. The County’s current plan was developed in 2008 and it is time to update it to ensure the County is serving the needs of current residents and proactively preparing for the future. The guidance in this plan will be applicable to all residents of the county, although towns and cities will still be the authority within their municipal limits and extraterritorial jurisdictions.
Your input is important to this process and we'd love to gather your feedback and perspectives. Use the link below to take the survey. The survey closes February 25.
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Human Relations banquet tickets
The 53rd Human Relations Awards Celebration will be Friday, Feb. 23, at the Darden Alumni Center, 1600 Lipscomb Road, doors open at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner and the awards ceremony. Human Relations Director Billy Woodard will be the guest speaker.
Tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance. Go to the Human Relations office, 104 Nash St. N, or call 252-399-2308 for more information.
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