A letter from Alan Ferguson
"As you probably know, the Randolph County Board of County Commissioners voted 3-2 Monday
night to spend $5.8 million Randolph County dollars to buy an
additional 169 acres for its proposed megasite. Where will the County
get this money? The stated sources were "savings" from the budgets of
various county departments and the county's reserve, rainy day fund
(ordinarily held for emergencies).
Commissioners Arnold Lanier, Phil Kemp, and Darrell Frye voted in favor of the additional purchase. Commissioner Lanier went out of his way to critique our arguments against the site and our motives for making those arguments.
Commissioners David Allen and Stan Haywood voted against the expenditure.
Many
of you also have received notices that the City of Greensboro is now
interested in placing water and sewer lines across your property. Last
night, I attended the regular meeting of the Greensboro City Council and
complained about the process, again. The mayor asked the city water
department employees there to meet with me outside and give me a better
map of their proposal. A copy of that map is attached.
The "water-sewer informational meeting" is June 18 at 5:30
at Providence Grove High School. The City told me last night that they
would have plentiful staff there to answer any questions. NERPO will
also be there to answer questions.
The City Attorney also informed me yesterday of what he believed to be the City's eminent domain authority to enter onto our properties.
As
I have said before, it is the infrastructure where eminent domain will
come upon us. It didn't even take a day for that to happen, and here it
is. Attached is the statute the City sent to me under which authority
they will condemn our properties for water and sewer lines.
I
encourage everyone to spread this news to anyone affected by these
lines, particularly to folks in Guilford County. It will soon be too
late unless sufficient numbers of us rise to oppose these proposed
"condemnations".
More later.
Alan E. Ferguson
President, Northeast Randolph Property Owners"
Might I remind you that while Alan and others in Randolph County work to fight this project the City of Greensboro is planning on spending over $22 Million Dollars on the project located in another county, miles away from where the jobs are needed most-- in Greensboro.
