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Forest Hills leaders OK idea of revisiting highway connector
By Lynn Hotaling
Forest Hills officials Monday (March 6) endorsed a proposal to bring a portion of the Southern Loop bypass off the shelf.
The vote was 2-1 in favor of Mayor Jim Davis’ suggestion that board members lend support to a request that N.C. Department of Transportation officials revisit the idea of an alternate route that would allow eastbound traffic from Cullowhee to bypass N.C. 107. Board members Jim Wallace and Joe Rossano voted “yes,” and board member Sue Burton cast the single “no.” Board member Dick Iobst was absent due to illness, Wallace said.
According to Davis, Jackson County Commissioner Conrad Burrell, District 14’s representative on the state DOT board, told local mayors that it would be advantageous if all of the county’s municipalities were in agreement that they’d like to see a U.S. 74/N.C. 107 connector put back on the table.
Davis said the problem of congestion on 107 came up during recent inter-agency planning meetings. Though he said there was no mention of the Southern Loop, the idea of an alternate route between the two highways was a key component of a DOT proposal made in the summer of 2003 that generated widespread opposition from the towns of Sylva and Webster and from a grassroots group, the Smart Roads Task Force, that organized to fight the planned road.
The idea is to find a way to get traffic off 107, said Davis.
“Students seem to be a lot of it, and with everything growing, especially the southern part of the county, it seems time to revisit the idea of an alternate route,” Davis said.
Burton said she voted against the idea because she doesn’t think people are in favor of such a plan.
“I went to several Smart Roads meetings, and most of those present were opposed to having roads cut through,” she said. “That’s why I voted ‘no.’”
In other business, Forest Hills’ board took no action on a proposal by Mayor Davis to name board member Wallace as mayor pro tem, or vice mayor.
Burton was elected to that post in 2003 and said Tuesday that board members had indicated in December that she should remain vice mayor.
State statutes provide that a mayor pro tem be elected by the board during its organizational meeting, which is usually the December meeting that follows municipal elections. With town elections held last fall, the December 2005 meeting should have been Forest Hills’ organizational session.
Davis said that since a vice mayor was not chosen by the board in December, he brought the matter up Monday night. The matter will likely be on the board’s Monday, April 10, agenda, he said.
Forest Hills attorney Jay Coward said Tuesday that his opinion is that because a vice mayor was not elected in December, board members can fill the post at any time.
Burton opposed Davis in this past November’s election, and the two finished the race in a dead heat. A coin flip after the official election canvass returned incumbent Davis to office.
Also Monday:
– Board members discussed having a meeting of North Country Club Drive residents in order to facilitate right of way acquisition so the state can assume maintenance of the road.
According to Davis, prospects for state manintenance look good if homeowners agree.
– Forest Hills officials unanimously approved the county’s new land-use plan. The document, formulated by representatives of county and municipal governments, Western Carolina Univesity, Southwestern Community College and the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority, is being approved separately by each participating unit.
– Board members changed their April meeting date from the first to second Monday. They will next meet April 10 at 7 p.m. at the University Inn. A public hearing on the town’s planning board report will precede the regular session.
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