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Wayne County residents are being encouraged to attend a Thursday, Dec. 15, public hearing on the U.S. Air Force's proposal to base a reserve squadron of 12 of the new state-of-the-art KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
Doors at the Herman Park Center will open at 5 p.m. with the hearing to be called to order at approximately 5:30 p.m. followed by an Air Force presentation and an opportunity for public comment. It will close at 8 p.m.
Seymour Johnson AFB is being evaluated by the Air Force as the preferred alternative for what it calls the Main Operating Base 3 mission.
Grissom Air Reserve Base in Indiana, Tinker AFB in Oklahoma and Westover Air Reserve Base in Massachusetts are possible alternate sites.
A scoping meeting was held this past April at Herman Park Center for the public to learn more about the reserve squadron.
Pilots of the aircraft, project managers and local elected officials were on hand to answer questions from the public about the potential stationing of the aircraft at the base.
The new squadron would replace the existing KC-135 aerial refueling mission at Seymour Johnson AFB.
The 4th Fighter Wing operations on the base would continue unchanged, and the existing KC-135 training and refueling operations would continue through the construction phase.
A draft environmental impact statement on the beddown has been prepared by the Air Force.
The statement includes an analysis of the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposal to beddown the tanker aircraft, associated infrastructure and manpower for the Third Main Operating Base.
The Air Force is soliciting comment on the statement from local, state and federal agencies as well as local residents during the Dec. 15 public hearing.
A copy of the statement is available for review at the Wayne County Public Library, 1001 E. Ash St., and the Seymour Johnson AFB library, 1520 Goodson St., Building 3660.
The statement was prepared to provide the secretary of the Air Force, who will make the decision, and the public the information required to understand the potential environmental impacts of the decisions that may be made regarding beddown of the proposed mission at each of the alternative bases.
According to the statement, implementation of the proposed KC-46A mission at Seymour Johnson is not anticipated to contribute to cumulative effects on safety, cultural resources, land use, or socio-economic.
It would result in a total increase of 53 on-base full-time military personnel, the statement says.
It adds that total construction costs of $103.4 million could generate 1,144 jobs and $13.7 million in indirect and induced income for the duration of the construction activity.
The annual number of tanker operations would increase from 2,568 to 4,314, an approximately 68 percent increase.
Assuming all incoming full-time mission personnel would require off-base housing, there would be a potential need for 38 off-base housing units.
Approximately 37 military and non-military dependents of school age would enter public school districts in the Wayne County Public Schools.
According to the study, there would be no significant noise impact from implementation of the proposed Main Operating Base 3 mission.
A final decision will not be made until March 2017 on whether or not Seymour Johnson will get the tankers.
Even if Seymour Johnson is selected, it would be 2019 before the aircraft would arrive.
Residents interested in making evening trips to Walmart, Berkeley Mall or Wayne Memorial Hospital will get the chance with later bus route hours planned for the Goldsboro-Wayne Transportation Authority.
Three bus routes, including two of the most popular, will extend their hours to 8:30 p.m. starting in February, based on a Monday decision by the Goldsboro City Council.
GWTA operates from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The purple, blue and green bus routes will extend to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The red and yellow routes, which are less traveled, will maintain regular operating hours, said Fred Fontana, GWTA director.
The extended hours will be offered for three months, through April, as part of a trial run to determine the need for longer operating hours, said Mayor Chuck Allen.
"We want our folks without transportation to have better access later in the day to services," Allen said. "We're just trying something as an experiment to see is the need really there. We'll evaluate it. If it's there, we'll continue it. If it's not, then we won't."
The council approved the change, which includes an additional city cost of $9,685. The total cost to operate extended hours is $19,370, with the city receiving half the amount in federal funding, Fontana said.
In addition to the three buses, one Americans with Disabilities Act van will operate until 8:30 p.m., due to federal requirements. While each GWTA bus is ADA accessible, vans are also provided to the disabled, Fontana.
During a Monday council work session, Fontana presented several bus route options, including the cost to extend bus service one, two and three hours. Options for offering the hours during a three or six-month period were also considered.
Cost estimates were provided for GWTA's five routes, but Fontana said the yellow and red routes were less traveled. The yellow route includes stops at Carlie C's IGA grocery store and the Peggy Seegars Senior Center. The red route travels to the Rosewood area, with stops at Little River Square and Walmart.
Fontana said he could extend the bus hours as early as January but suggested a spring start, partly based on low ridership during the winter months.
Councilman Bevan Foster said Wayne Community College students would benefit from a January start.
Based on a suggestion from the city's community relations director, Shycole Simpson-Carter, the council decided on extending the hours in February.
The green bus route will have later operating hours due to its service to the college and nearby Wayne Memorial Hospital, on Wayne Memorial Drive, Fontana said.
The blue route makes stops at Walmart on Spence Avenue, Berkeley Mall, the Peggy Seegars Senior Center and the Wayne County Department of Social Services. The purple route offers service to AMF Boulevard Lanes, the Wayne County Courthouse, Seymour Homes and Lincoln Homes.
The later operating hours are being added based on community feedback and area needs, Allen said.
During Monday's regular meeting, the council:
* Approved a $25,000 economic incentive grant for Alta Foods, which plans to add five full-time jobs by Dec. 31, 2017 as part of a $2.5 million equipment and machinery investment at its corn and flour tortilla production facility at 701 S. John St.
* Approved assessment fees for 11 property owners at Balsam Place, at $1,739 each, as part of the city's extension of new sewer lines to the area.
* Denied rezoning 3001 and 3003 E. Ash St. from a residential to a general business conditional district for a bar, partly due to a request to remove a separation distance requirement. The bar proposed to open near Heroes Sports Oyster Bar and Grill.
* Approved a conditional-use permit for the operation of a used car lot at 2011 U.S. 70 West.
* Approved a site plan for the addition of three rental storage buildings at Ample Storage Goldsboro on Tenth Place.
*Approved bond orders to issue $10 million in general obligation bonds for road improvements and construction of a multi-sport complex.
* Approved a Stoney Creek Greenway Trail agreement with Ridgewood Drive area residents to maintain the trail as a recreational resource in the community.
Construction of a new Harris Teeter gas station should be finished this month with a planned January opening on Wayne Memorial Drive.
A specific opening date has not been determined for the Goldsboro location, one of a handful of Harris Teeter Fuel stations opening in early 2017, said Danna Robinson, Harris Teeter communication manager.
Harris Teeter, which opened its first fuel center in Folly Beach, S.C., in 2013, has eight stations with six more planned to open by the end of February.
"For the Goldsboro location, construction is estimated to be complete in December, and we anticipate opening in January," Robinson said. "No official opening date has been announced yet."
The gas station is near the Harris Teeter grocery store and alongside the Waffle House, on Wayne Memorial Drive near U.S. 70.
When the station opens, Harris Teeter will accept customer VIC discount cards that offer a 3-cent savings per gallon at the pump, Robinson said.
The 24-hour, seven-pump station will have an onsite employee stationed in a small convenience center building.
Harris Teeter selected Goldsboro as one of its new locations based on a variety of factors, including economic and residential growth. The station is being constructed along one of the city's busiest thoroughfares near the Memorial Commons, where a collection of some of Goldsboro's newest businesses are located.
Harris Teeter, acquired by the Kroger Co. in 2014, began operating its first fuel center in Folly Beach, S.C., in 2013 when it purchased a number of stores from Piggly Wiggly, including one that had an existing gas station, Robinson said.
Improvements to U.S. 70, U.S. 117 and Wayne Memorial Drive are expected to be included in the state's next draft 10-year transportation plan, which will be released in January 2017
The plan calls for upgrading U.S. 70 to freeway standards from the west end of the U.S. 70 Bypass to the Wayne-Johnston county line by eliminating at-grade intersections and driveway connections, which will improve traffic flow and safety.
U.S. 117 from Lee's Country Club Road to Old Smith Chapel Road at Mount Olive would be upgraded by constructing a new connector road along U.S 117 and converting the intersections to interchanges.
Wayne Memorial Drive would be widened to a multi-lane highway between New Hope Road and U.S. 70 Bypass.
The N.C. Department of Transportation Wednesday afternoon announced the division level transportation projects. The plan includes the years 2018 through 2027.
The draft 10-year plan is scheduled to be released in January 2017. A public comment period will be held and then the final plan is expected to be adopted by the N.C. Board of Transportation in June 2017.
Development of a new multi-tenant building on North Berkeley Boulevard is nearly complete with early 2017 openings planned for Chipotle Mexican Grill and Firehouse Subs.
Other businesses planned to open in the center include Sport Clips Haircuts, Sleepy's mattress store, Kay Jewelers and the Vitamin Shoppe, said Jay Hagerman, leasing agent with The Providence Group. The property, at 501 N. Berkeley Blvd., is near Cashwell Drive.
"The anticipation is to open in Goldsboro," said John Best, Firehouse Subs franchise owner. "The anticipated date is Dec. 22 when we're supposed to get the space from the landlord. It'll include an eight- to 10-week upfit, so we're looking at possibly late February or early March to have an opening date to the public."
Construction of the center has taken shape over the past seven months and the property is close to having its final inspection, said Allen Anderson Jr., Goldsboro chief building inspector.
Crews started laying asphalt for the parking lot, one of the final legs of the project.
The Sleepy's mattress store, which will be centered in the building's largest 5,000-square-foot tenant space, is expected to open first since the interior upfit was completed during the overall building construction, Anderson said.
"As soon as the building's done, they'll probably be open," Anderson said.
Sleepy's, which was bought by Mattress Firm in a late 2015 acquisition agreement at $780 million, is expected to take on the Mattress Firm name, said Rudy Cepeda, spokesman with the Houston-based company. The company is rebranding its more than 1,000 Sleepy's stores to Mattress Firm by early January, Cepeda said.
No plans have been announced on whether either of the two Mattress Firm stores in Goldsboro, also along North Berkeley Boulevard, will relocate into the new center, Cepeda said.
Kay Jewelers is planned to move from the Berkeley Mall into the center, a corporate official with the Akron, Ohio-based company confirmed.
With the exception of the mattress store, the interiors of the other tenant spaces will need to be developed and equipment added prior to opening.
Chipotle Mexican Grill is planned to open during the first quarter of 2017 and will be located at the end of the building, alongside Cashwell Drive.
The interior of Firehouse Subs will also take shape during the next couple months, and the inside walls will be decorated with firefighter equipment as well as law enforcement and military items, Best said.
The Goldsboro, New Hope and Rosewood fire departments have already donated expired gear to the restaurant.
The inside of all Firehouse Subs restaurants have a painted mural dedicated to the local community.
The restaurant will start hiring employees about three weeks prior to opening, with applications being accepted onsite or by emailing Best at jp.best@firehousesubs.com.
Patrice Pittman, also a Wayne County native, will be the general manager of the Goldsboro restaurant. Pittman currently works as a shift leader at Firehouse Subs in Greenville.
The future eight-tenant center along North Berkeley Boulevard is nearing full occupancy, with two remaining tenant sites available for lease. The property is being developed by the Syracuse, New York-based Hart-Lyman Cos.
City staff have received inquiries from a tropical smoothie and chicken-wing restaurant, but no site or upfit plans have been submitted, said Cindy Motsko, plan reviewer in the Goldsboro inspections department. Hagerman said the possibility of a chicken-wing restaurant fell through after building and equipment modifications couldn't accommodate the business.
Hagerman said the available spaces could be good fit for a nail salon, eye doctor's office or other retail or office-based business.
"We've got two other spaces we're trying to lease," Hagerman said. "We're talking to someone right now, and one space is still available for lease. We get calls on the center all the time."
The council Monday will hold four public hearings for rezoning and conditional-use permit requests, which take place before a formal Goldsboro Planning Commission review.
A public hearing will be held for a requested rezoning change from neighborhood business to a general business conditional district for a 1.82-acre site, at 1301 Wayne Memorial Drive, next to Family Dollar. The applicant is interested in adding an Advance Auto Parts store to the site.
Another public hearing includes a requested rezoning change from industrial business to a general business conditional district for a 4-acre site on Gateway Drive. Classic Goldsboro is seeking the permit that would limit the property use for vehicle sales, as a parking lot extension for the nearby Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram dealership.
A public hearing will be held for a requested conditional-use permit allowing the operation of an internet sweepstakes business at 1716 U.S. 117 South.
The location is the former Longhorn Business Center, which was shut down by local law enforcement in February due to noncompliance with state law. The owner contends that the business would reopen with new gaming software that complies with the law.
The final public hearing includes a conditional-use permit request from Ismail Qandeel that would allow the opening of a convenience store in the former Bob's Supermarket, a 9,000-square-foot property at 1717 S. Slocomb St., near Harrell Street. The applicant is interested in relocating Brookside Market into the building from its current location at 2000 S. Slocumb St.
After the public hearings, the planning commission will move to another room in City Hall and review the requests, which could be recommended to council for approval or denial during its Jan. 3 meeting.
The city council will have a work session prior to the meeting, at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall annex, at 200 N. Center St. The work session includes discussion regarding council appointments to its boards and commissions.
Well since Kmart in Goldsboro is now closing, what's the chance of publix grocery moving into that spot. Publix seems to like moving in the old Kmart locations.
Well since Kmart in Goldsboro is now closing, what's the chance of publix grocery moving into that spot. Publix seems to like moving in the old Kmart locations.
Pretty high. Not a single grocery store in that area other than the grocery section in Target. I fully expect a Publix there by 2018, 2019 if Kmart is closing later this year.
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