DOBBINS HEIGHTS — Long-awaited repairs to the town’s basketball court should be happening soon.
Town council members voted Thursday to award a $64,600 bid contract to Breyer and Son Asphalt Paving Co. for the repaving and striping of the basketball and tennis courts.
Councilman Tyré Holloway motioned to accept the bid from the Harrisburg company because of the price.
“The scope of the work will be the same, but the cost is $40,000 cheaper,” he said.
The other choice was Hudson Paving out of Rockingham, which bid in two sections totaling more than $100,000.
The council also approved a budget amendment, transferring $120,000 to the parks and recreation budget to cover the cost of the repairs. The funding comes from a six-year loan the town took out with PNC Bank at 2.54 percent interest.
Last summer, Mayor Antonio Blue came under fire when the town closed the basketball court due to dangerous cracks that could have opened the town to a lawsuit if someone had been injured.
“Dobbins Heights is not going to be sued over a basketball court,” Blue said last year. “It’s not gonna happen on my watch…If it’s going to be done, it’s going to be done right.”
The costs to replace or even repair the court exceeded the town’s $25,000 parks and rec budget.
Blue said the upcoming fix should have a 15-year lifespan.
Any leftover funds will be used to buy more equipment and make other renovations to the park, he added.
As the new community center begins to bustle — with an afterschool program, nutritional program and bookings by agencies across the county — the council voted to rent the building to Tyhronda Leak for her fourth annual women’s empowerment breakfast from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 24.
HYDRANT HARANGUE
Hamlet Fire Chief David Knight said his department will start cutting around the town’s fire hydrants next week and will eventually repaint them.
The Hamlet Fire Department, which covers Dobbins Heights and the rural Marks Creek districts, spent time locating and plotting all the hydrants around the town.
“There is a lot of debris around them,” he said. “Some were hard to find.” He added that firemen located two that weren’t indicated on a GIS map.
According to Knight, there has to be a 3-foot clearance around each hydrant, and the town and department will have work with some homeowners who have mailboxes next to them.
The town of Dobbins Heights pays the city of Hamlet $24,000 per year for fire coverage, but that fee will be increasing.
ROAD REQUEST
After Dominque Boyd from the N.C. Department of Transportation gave an overview of the county’s Comprehensive Transportation Plan, the mayor asked about having Earle Franklin Drive placed under DOT supervision.
“If (N.C.) 177 goes down, Earle Franklin becomes a primary thoroughfare,” Blue said. “That’s something that needs to be looked into.”
Councilwoman-elect Barbara Young added that not just regular vehicles, but 18-wheelers from the nearby industrial park would be coming through. It was also mentioned that there are a few truckers who live in Dobbins Heights.
Although that isn’t part of the transportation plan, Boyd said he would get the request to the right person.
Reach reporter William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_toler.