Randolph County Comprehensive Transportation Plan

Randolph County Comprehensive Transportation Plan
Following is a link to the road plans worked up by Randolph County and the State Department of Transportation. There are many good maps in this report, as well as narratives regarding transportation improvements in the works for our area.

http://www.ncdot.gov/doh/preconstruct/tpb/PDF/RANDOLPH_CTP_report.pdf

New 100kV Electrical Transmission Line Right-Of-Way Proposed June 30,2016

Hello Everyone,

The latest development regarding the proposed Greensboro-Randolph Megasite is the announcement of a public meeting to be held July 12 at 4:00 PM, at Southeast Guilford High School in the gymnasium there. The school is located at 4530 Southeast School Road. A notice of this meeting has been published in both the Greensboro and Asheboro newspapers.

According to these notices, the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Foundation has "partnered with Duke Energy to identify a study area and conduct a siting study to gather date to determine the least impactful route to install a new transmission line to provide electricity to the megasite once a customer is secured."

The notice of the meeting invites anyone to come who would "like to learn more about the siting process, discuss how the preferred route will be selected and provide valuable feedback . . ."

That's good information, as far as it goes, but there is more that you should know before you go to this meeting. First, what is the "study area?" Well, NERPO now has a map of that area, and it is attached to this letter. As you can see from the map, the study area covers a vast swath of northern Randolph and southern Guilford Counties. It's basically from Benny Lineberry Road in Randolph up to Forest Oaks in the north, and from near Pleasant Garden on the west to just shy of Liberty on the east.

The second question is, "How wide will the route be?" The notice doesn't say, but the map states that the "study area" is for a "100kV transmission line". If you want to know what a 100kV transmission line looks like, one crosses US 421 at the bottom of the hill just south of the new overpass leading over to Forest Oaks at Woody Mill Road and Company Mill Road. According to the attached map, thats a "100kV" line.

So how wide is a "100kV" right-of-way? Well, we can't know what is to be proposed for us until they tell us, but we can look to other nearby similar rights-of-way for clues. We looked up one of the right-of-way agreements for the line I just noted, recorded in the Guilford County Register of Deeds. That Right-Of-Way Agreement sold to Duke Power Company a 150-foot wide swath of land in which to place the lines and towers. A copy of the language from the document we found is attached. (All names are removed for privacy reasons.) As you will see, in addition to the 150-wide strip sold to the company, the right-of-way agreement also sells Duke the right to cross the property owner's land outside the right-of-way itself in order to get to the 150-wide strip containing the transmission lines.

These are things you should know before you attend this meeting. You will not see or hear this information anywhere else, so I encourage each of you to make this information known to any friends in the "study area" so that they can prepare themselves to provide the input that the notice in the newspaper states that the megasite proponents want to hear.

I strongly encourage you to come out to that meeting. Part of the purpose of meetings like this one is to determine whether anybody cares about steel towers and transmission lines crossing their and their nearby neighbors' properties. These rights-of-way would have to be purchased and the megasite folks want to begin to get some idea of how much more effort, lawyering and dollars will be required to get this additional land for the proposed megasite.

The more of us who attend, the stronger the message will be that "yes, we do care".

Alan Ferguson
President, Northeast Randolph Property Owners

study_area_for_new_electical_utility_line_2016.pdf
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New Power Line Right-Of-Way Meeting Called August 25, 2016

The Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Foundation has now scheduled another public meeting for Tuesday, September 13, 2013. According to public notices in the Greensboro News and Record and in the Asheboro Courier Tribune, the purpose of the meeting is to allow us "to learn more about the preliminary alternative corridors, [and] discuss how the preferred route will be selected and provide valuable feedback." The meeting is to be held at the Quaker Lake Camp, 1503 NC Highway 62 East, Climax, NC 27233, between the hours of 4:00 and 7:30 PM.

Apparently, Duke Energy has now identified properties on which they would like to construct a new 100 kilovolt line. As we learned at the previous meeting, this line will require a 68 foot right-of-way and will consist of a series of concrete support structures sunk thirty feet into the ground. You should come to this meeting if you are at all concerned about the impact of this project on your property. The cost will be $1,000,000 per mile for the construction. The right to cross over property will first have to be purchased from individual property owners who are willing to sell.

New Meeting on Power Line Right-Of-Way for September 13, 2016 September 2, 2016

Hello Everyone.

The saga continues. Attached you will see a map and a letter from the Megasite Foundation. These are copies of a map and a letter which have been sent to some unknown number of local property owners regarding the Foundation's proposal that Duke Energy acquire property over which to construct a 100 kilovolt electrical line. These documents started arriving today.

I think the letter speaks for itself. The map is not the clearest, but it's the best copy I could get. (Believe me, the Foundation is not sending me anything in as part of their effort to assure that "public involvement be an essential part of the siting study process", as they state in the letter as one of their goals. NERPO finds out about their activities, as always, only second hand, and only because we have built up a network to gather information over the years.

As you can see from the map, many, many property owners beyond the megasite footprint will now be affected by the plans of Mr. Melvin, the North Carolina Railroad, and some of our local leadership.

Now the the long-awaited point in time where the negative impact of this project begins to spread out into our community. We stand to gain many new friends now. What can you do? If you are an owner of a parcel affected by one of these proposed lines, you need to be at the meeting advertised in the letter for September 13, 4PM, at Quaker Lake Camp on Highway 62 near Climax. If you object to your property being considered, you need to leave any bashfulness about this at home and make your opinions known to the Duke Energy and Greensboro Megasite people there. Go also if you have any interest in this project. Let them know your thoughts.

No one of you is alone in this. Many of us believe that the power company has no right whatever to take property for this project. I believe that the laws of North Carolina support this position.

At this point, my best guess is that they have already chosen a preferred route, and they want to see whether there are strong objections to that choice. If there are none, I suspect they will move forward to formally identify that route, and then begin to attempt to purchase Option Agreements allowing them to acquire title to right of way land at some point in the future. We will have a full discussion of these issues after the meeting later in September at our regular NERPO meeting.

No one, including the power company, the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Foundation, and the North Carolina Railroad may take your property away from you without the due process of the law. Until they are able to change that law, this means that a property owner who objects to the taking away of his rights under the North Carolina Constitution and the Constitution of the United States of America has the right to challenge any such procedure in North Carolina Superior Court. Juries there have been sympathetic to their fellow property owners over the years, so this is a road that takers such as railroads and power companies and cities are not eager to go down. An eminent domain is a principle which is not very popular these days.

Keep heart. Keep your courage up. None of us wants this upon us, but those who are forcing their way into our lives are not easily going away. Do what you can to spread awareness of this project. Each of us sending this notice to five of our friends who are near these proposed lines would be helpful.

Rest assured that the hill is now steepening for the proponents of this project.
The easy part was property acquisition. That is now essentially finished. The current Randolph County leadership has spent over $10,000,000 of our money on the project. The North Carolina Railroad has spent around $14,000,000 on the project. And the Greensboro Megasite folks have spent several millions more (we cannot know that number with certainty because they are not saying).
Oh, and for what it's worth, there is still, not yet the first whiff of any interest in this site as a viable spot for anything other than for what it has always been--a pretty nice place to live

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New Commissioners Take Seats on Board December 6, 2016

Last night at the meeting of the Randolph County Board of County Commissioners, new Commissioners Kenny Kidd and Maxton McDowell were sworn in and took their seats on our five person board. As you all know, Mr. Kidd replaced Phil Kemp and Mr. McDowell replaced Arnold Lanier. As you also know, Mr. Kemp and Mr. Lanier joined former Chairman Darrell Frye as supporters of the proposed Greensboro Megasite from the beginning of the effort to make it a reality. They made no secret of that support during the primary season in March, and they were defeated.
Mr. Kidd and Mr. McDowell join David Allen on the Board as members who we believe will listen to community concerns about county land use policies. David Allen was elected Chairman of the Board and will now preside over the Board's agenda and its meetings.

Is There A Delay In Water And Sewer Lines by Greensboro? January 14,2017

Hello Everyone. I hope everyone has come through the snow and cold in good form. Here is the latest news from the City of Greensboro.

Three days ago, a story appeared in "The Triad Business Journal" regarding the proposed water and sewer lines down to Randolph County. The reporter interviewed City Manager, Jim Westmoreland, and he had some interesting news, which raises some important questions.

First, the City's plans to begin laying any pipe seem to have gotten delayed. The TBJ reports that Mr. Westmoreland told the paper that construction "could begin as early as 2018". Now this is different from the "2017" date we have been hearing for some time now.

Second, the TBJ reported that Mr. Westmoreland told them that the construction could begin then (in 2018, that is) "if a major manufacturer decides to set up a plant that could employ thousands of workers". (I am quoting the TBJ here.)

Mr. Westmoreland stated, "If a major client shows up, and they want to create jobs on the megasite project, we would be in a position to theoretically start construction as early as the summer of 2018 with a completion some time in the fall of 2019." So, the projected start date, in theory, as Mr. Westmoreland says, will now be approximately 15, 16 or more months beyond the "spring of 2017" date we were previously given as the start date of the project.

Further news to me is his reference implying that the construction of the line will only occur when "a client" first shows up with plans to occupy the proposed megasite.

But here's the biggest news. The TBJ reported that Mr. Westmoreland said that, "If a business has not committed to the megasite by the summer of 2018, the City of Greensboro will have discussions with other megasite partners on how to make the land near Liberty more marketable to a potential client." (This again is the TBJ paraphrasing Mr. Westmoreland, not directly quoting him.) This is the first time I recall that one of the primary pushers of this project has implied that there is a "Plan B", a fall-back position to occupy when it ultimately becomes apparent that this entire idea is fatally flawed.

The interview further revealed that the estimated cost of the water and sewer line has increased by over 20% from $22.5 million to $28.4 million. Apparently, this is because the plans for the sewer line have changed from the installation of a 12 inch diameter pipe to a 16 inch diameter pipe.

I don't understand why all of this is coming up now. What has changed about the project? The proposed use of the property has been known since the megasite was first proposed years ago. What is new about any of this to anyone who has been doggedly trying to change the nature of our community for over four years? Why is Randolph County, whose citizens have spent 10 million Randolph County dollars, not being told about these changes? Why are we who will bear the burden of having to live with whatever this project holds in store not being informed about these changes? These are questions we have a right to have answered.

Finally, the last bit of news concerns the method by which the City will pay for the water and sewer. This is also new. The TBJ quoted Mr. Westmoreland as saying, "We would raise the money to construct the project when it is needed and pay back those revenue bonds over a 30-year period of time."[emphasis added] This is the first time I have seen it admitted that the City plans to borrow the money to build a line out into an adjoining county, far beyond the boundaries of Greensboro.

In short, there is no water, there is no sewer, there is no gas and there is no electricity. And now it seems that there is really no concrete plan to run the water and sewer! What there is, is a large tract of land owned by three entities, Randolph County, The North Carolina Railroad out of Raleigh, and the Greensboro Randolph Megasite out of Greensboro. Its boundaries enclose woods, fields and some now vacant houses, surrounded by our homes. Except for the vacancies, and the several tear-downs done by the new owners nothing really has changed since 2012 except for our loss of some good neighbors. This project is no more a "megasite" here early in 2017 than it was in mid-2012 when we first got wind that it was about our doors.

Real Reason For the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite Is Revealed. October 12, 2017

"What is the most pressing issue the council will face in 2018? To recruit a major industry for the Randolph County Megasite where the city has made significant water/sewer investment. That industry will have a great impact on business that can be located in East Greensboro and along the 421 corridor."

That quote is from a campaign interview the Greensboro News and Record recently did with Councilwoman Sharon Hightower last week. It was done in an effort to inform Greensboro's voters of the views of city council candidates before the election this week. I could not have stated any more concisely what this project is really about. In the minds of those who run Greensboro, this project has essentially nothing to do with Randolph County, other than the property being across the county line. Here it is, all wrapped into a neat, "East Greensboro, 421 Corridor" package.

There it is again, "the 421 Corridor", running up into eastern Greensboro. There is no mention of Randolph County here, is there? There is also no mention by Ms. Hightower that the "significant water/sewer investment" by the City of Greensboro does not include the construction of any water or sewer lines. These apparently are just as much a phantom as the "site" itself.
Citizens of Randolph County should be asking themselves and their representatives why we have funded and will soon be asked to fund more of this bit of land speculation, when the stated purpose is to benefit Greensboro. I just don't get it.

Greensboro Pursuing Eminent Domain Condemnations in Randolph Count During COVID-19 Pandemic.
May 28, 2020

Does it strike anyone as odd that the City of Greensboro is continuing to pursue lawsuits to take away people's property for the megasite project during the COVID-19 pandemic? For the right to spend thirty or forty million dollars on a water and a sewer line to Randolph County? Well, yes they are, despite the City's admission that it will likely experience substantial revenue shortfalls because of the the effect of the Corona Virus business shutdowns (and the likely economic downturn to follow).

Doesn't Randolph County already have water, in a place called Randleman Lake? And these actions are proceeding in the Courts despite the complete absence of any interest whatever by any business wherever in locating at the site. What is going on here? Do lawyers hired by the City suddenly work for free? Is someone else paying for the City's legal action?

And never mind that an exhaustive and expensive legal proceding during such times as these put property owners at a particular disadvantage. It's hard enough to "fight city hall" when you have a job. It's a whole lot harder when your business has suffered through no fault of your own. What's the poor property owner supposed to do to come up with money to battle a city of nearly 300,000 people in these hard days?

City taxpayers should be asking these questions, as they very well may be facing a number of belt-tightening measures as a result of the coming revenue shortfalls. They should be asking, "Why are we building a water and sewer line into nowhere, to serve no one, down into Randolph County? And couldn't we use the tens of millions of tax dollars to pay for real city services?