2007

Council to air bank purchase

Slugline Publication Date Section(s) Page Byline Council_to_air_bank_purchase__ Wilson Daily Times September 20, 2007 Local News

By Rochelle Moore Daily Times Staff Writer The Wilson City Council will hold a public hearing tonight for a proposed installment-purchase plan for the downtown Carter Bank building. City Council decided in July to buy the bank for $1.35 million and use it as a customer-service site. The purchase plan involves an agreement with Carter Bank and Trust for 13 annual payments of $100,000, plus 4 percent interest, and a final payment of $50,000 plus interest. The public hearing will be held during the 6 p.m. City Council meeting in City Hall. The Nash Street bank, across the street from the BB&T towers and the Wilson County Library, will become the city's future customer service and utility billing office, said Gordon Baker, Wilson finance director. It was originally built as First Union National Bank's Wilson office. Residents will be able to pay city electric, water and future Internet, phone or cable bills in the building or through one of four drive-through bays. The two-story, approximately 14,500-squarefoot building also includes 90 parking spaces in the rear of the 2-acre property. Even though the City Council has agreed to buy the building, the public hearing is needed as part of the process for N.C. Local Government Commission approval of city financing plans. The city plans to make its first $100,000 plus 4 percent interest payment during the 2008-09 fiscal year. The city plans to close on the property Oct. 24. Minimal renovations are planned, but some modifications will be done to the restrooms to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition to the $1.35 million purchase price, the city plans to spend $40,000 on administrative fees, closing costs and professional services and will set aside $10,000 in contingency funds. The

money will be taken from the city's general, water, electric, gas and water resources funds. Also during tonight's meeting, City Council will hold two other public hearings for proposed zoning changes recommended by the Planning Board. Bartlett Engineering and Surveying is asking the city to approve a zoning change to its property at 1900 W. Nash St. from an intermediate business district to an office and residential district. The company is also asking that 1902, 1904, and 1906 W. Nash St. properties, where three houses are located, be changed from a single-family residential district to office and residential. The company wants the option to expand in the future. The zoning change will allow businesses to encroach into a nearby neighborhood. Only one resident spoke against the change during the Sept. 4 Planning Board meeting. Also under consideration, is a zoning change to the U.S. 301 corridor near Lipscomb Road. The Highway 301 Advisory Committee is asking that six properties in the Ward Boulevard and Lipscomb Road triangle near U.S. 301 be changed from an intermediate business district, B-4, to a neighborhood service district, B-4A. The change will allow the area to be more neighborhood-friendly and will remove nearly 30 land uses allowable in the B-4 zone. rochelle@wilsontimes.com | 265-7818