The Town Council voted 4-1 Aug. 4 to condemn seven tracts of land along Bass Lake Road in order to begin the process of attaining them by eminent domain.

Condemning the area will allow the Town to put in an eight-foot sidewalk from the Bass Lake Park area to the shops at the Crossing where Bass Lake Road meets Holly Springs Road. Town Attorney John Schifano said negotiations went smoothly with 40 of the 47 property owners affected by the installation of the sidewalk.

Those seven remaining property owners, each living in the Mills Lake subdivision, chose to opt out of the voluntary purchases. Schifano said the sidewalk would be in the back yards of the Mills Lake property owners in question. The litigation costs of condemning those tracts of land for the sidewalk easement will cost the Town between $2 and 3,000 for each parcel, Schifano said. This will most likely cost between $14 and $21,000 extra.

Schifano would like to meet with property owners again to keep them updated on the process. Councilman Chet VanFossen said he doesn’t think it is in the town’s best interest to condemn the properties now for the sidewalk if another easement will be needed in the future to widen Bass Lake Road. He said it should be done all at one time instead of building the sidewalk now and tearing it up later for the road expansion.

“This is not something in the near future, though,” Councilman Tim Sack said.

VanFossen said he understands that the sidewalk is needed, but he thinks it would be wasteful spending to pump nearly $750,000 into a project that may need to be redone in the next two decades.

“I’m just saying we are spending one heck of a lot of money that could come out in 10 or 15 years,” he said.

VanFossen was the only Council member to vote against the condemning of the tracts of land for the sidewalk easement project. Bids for signage sent back

The Council tabled a decision to award a bid for decorative signage in the Holly Springs Business Park after each bidder missed the mark.

The Town received three bids for the signage, according to Economic Development Director Jenny Mizelle. The bidders included The Sign Shop, GraphiCal Creations and Rodney’s Sign Company. However, one bid came in after the July 27 deadline and the paperwork for all three bids were incomplete. Sack noticed the disparity between each of the bids, which ranged from $13,820 and $80,869.80. Mizelle said the disparities might be due to the lack of clarity given in the request for quotes. “This is not appropriate,” Mayor Dick Sears said of the bids.

Sears suggested the Council table the item until the next meeting.

Councilman Vinnie DeBennedetto said since no funds had been found for the project, the money would come from the Town’s reserves. He agreed with Sears that tabling the item would be a good idea because Town Manager Carl Dean would have the opportunity to find another way to pay for the project within the existing budget.

Mizelle said the Town hopes to incorporate signage improvements before the upcoming Novartis ribbon cutting on Nov. 24. The Council approved a plan for improvements to the business park in its June 2 meeting. Plans for a hospital in Holly Springs not dead

Sack said he and Mizelle submitted a petition to the state for beds in Wake County. The petition asks the state to reconfigure the formula used to determine the number of beds needed from 0.02 percent per patient to 0.42 percent due to the large growth in recent years.

Sack said this would show a need for 42 additional beds in Wake County, which constitutes a new hospital.

Sears said the people in Southern Wake County are still underserved. He assured those present for the meeting the Council would work hard to fight for a hospital close by.

“We will continue this process,” he said. “It will be a top priority. It will continue to be a top priority.” DeBennedetto said he would like the Council to seek support for the prospect of a hospital from neighboring towns like Fuquay-Varina and Garner.

“We’ve done that once before and we’ll do it again,” Sears said. “I think we should pursue that.” Dickson criticizes Bird Dawg’s comments

Councilman Hank Dickson said he read an article in the July 30 edition of the Holly Springs Sun about David “Bird Dawg” Austin’s campaign for Holly Springs Mayor.

Dickson quoted Austin saying the Council spends wastefully and is corrupted by special interests. Dickson said that while individuals on the Council don’t always agree on finances, the Council as a whole doesn’t spend wastefully.

“We have not had a habit, or exhibited a habit, of wasteful spending,” Dickson said. “I don’t think we as a body here have been unduly influenced by any special interests or special interest groups.” Dickson was bothered by the quote and felt it was uncalled for. He wanted it put on record that he had a problem with Austin’s comment.

“I know people are vying for votes this time of year, but this type of inaccuracy and exaggeration – there’s no call for it at this time of year,” he said. “I would really like for this sort of thing just to stop.” “My point has always been if you have a problem with any one of us or the town staff or whatever, for God’s sake be specific,” Sears said. “Give us the specific reason why you have the problem and we’ll look into it, but the generalities are tough.”

VanFossen said he wrote it off as a candidate that doesn’t have an insight into how the Council works.