County is not buying building
By Steve Herring
Published in News on November 18, 2015 1:46 PM
Wayne County commissioners have reversed their decision to spend $640,000 to purchase an empty commercial building at 2803 Cashwell Drive to house the county's expanded 911E call center.
Commissioners approved the deal Nov. 3, contingent on ensuring that the property met certain criteria.
The item was not on the board's Tuesday agenda, but was added following a 30-minute closed session called to discuss property purchase.
"We did have to put down $10,000 in earnest money with the understanding that we have ample time to do our due diligence to see if the property would work for a 911 center," Chairman Wayne Aycock said. "Staff and the city of Goldsboro Planning Department, we met on several different occasions.
"That was the main reason we wanted ample time to do our due diligence. We feel like the property will not work for a 911 center so we are declining the purchase of it and the reason is we had a security (fencing) issue."
Commissioners liked the site because it is on a different electrical circuit than the existing center. That means if a substation went down on one 911 center, the other would still have power. It is also on a different telephone line.
Another factor that worked against the location was the size of the lot.
"We are also going to have to put up a monopole which feeds the microwave signal back to our main tower site," Aycock said. "Anytime you put up a monopole or tower, you have got to have fall radius. If it is a 150-pole, you have got to have 150 foot for it to fall. We did not have it on this property."
The building is "fantastic" and the purchase was a "great idea" to start with, but commissioner have to keep in mind how they spend tax dollars, Aycock said.
But again that was why it was important that the county had had enough time to complete its due diligence, he said.
"We just feel like it will not work, and I am putting it in the form of a motion that we do not buy the property and reverse the budget (amendment for $640,000)," Aycock said. "We are going to have to go back to the drawing board and look at other routes for the 911 center."
The $10,000 will be refunded, commissioners said.
Commissioners initially approved the purchase at their Nov. 3 meeting following a two-hour closed session for more than two hours to tour the property and to discuss the purchase.
The nearly 9,000-square-foot facility and lot have a tax value of $1.1 million. It is owned by New Century Bank of Dunn.
The $39 million five-year capital improvement plan commissioners approved in June as part of their budget process includes $6.7 million for a 911E call center.
The 911 center has been an issue for months following a study by Mission Critical consultants on the center's staffing and facility needs. The consultants recommended that the county either expand its current center or build a new one to add more telecommunicators to handle an increased volume of calls.