Rocky Mount Today

As we prepare to begin a new year next week, we thought we might recap some notable events and developments of 2022.

A year of completions and new beginnings

Every year recently has seen new projects announced in Wilson, yet 2022 has seen a huge range of new initiatives, thanks to an influx of federal money.

The Wilson City Council (pictured touring the new Foundation YMCA)  learned in early 2022 that the city would receive more than $15 million from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, approved by Congress to assist communities that were impacted by the COVID pandemic. In February Council approved 10 projects that are all infrastructure, redevelopment and/or quality of life-based.

Several of those projects have already begun. Wilson RIDE, our popular new ride-sharing program, was able to expand hours, and improvements are underway to a sewer outfall line along NC 42 West. Plans for the redeveloped Wiggins Mill Park were announced in October with plans to make this a great, multiuse park in the years to come.One of the biggest splashes came in October when Council announced it had reached an agreement to purchase the deteriorating Wilson Mall, long a source of community dissatisfaction. The city is working on a plan to redevelop that property so keep watch in 2023 for more news.The city also announced plans in February to build a new pickleball and tennis complex at Gillette Athletic Complex. That project is being funded by the Wilson County Tourism Development Authority. It should be under construction in 2023.Other projects were finished in 2022. The new parking garage opened in May, followed by the Foundation YMCA in the fall. The third piece of the Pine Nash development, the Centro project that will combine 200-plus apartments with retail space, began construction this year and is rising from the corner of Nash and Pine streets.A new section of the Hominy Creek Greenway was dedicated in November with the first fun run/walk led by the champion Fike High School cross country team. The Recreation Department broke ground also that month for the Miracle Field at Gillette Athletic Complex, which will allow children of all abilities to play baseball.

Council members re-elected; Lentz, Pittman promoted

Wilson City Council elections were finally held in May 2022. The elections were delayed from November 2021 due to the need to redraw City Council districts after the city received data from the 2020 Census. All the districts need to be roughly the same population, which meant major changes to the maps

However, the makeup of the City Council did not change at all. Council members Derrick Creech, Donald Evans, Tom Fyle and Logan Liles all sought re-election and all won their races. They were sworn into office in June 2022 and their terms run until December 2025.

We next will have four races in 2023 -- for mayor and Districts 1, 2 and 4. The filing period will be next summer and the election will be in November.

The city also had a reorganization in June with Rodger Lentz, the chief planning officer, being elevated to assistant city manager. Human Relations Director Dante Pittman was named as an assistant to City Manager Grant Goings and is working on special projects.

Wilson Energy, city departments overcome weather

Weather proved a challenge several times in 2022, but our employees were always prepared. In May, we had sudden, severe thunderstorms that took down nearly 20 utility poles along Forest Hill Road, threw a tree into a 115 kV electric transmission line, disrupted three substations and knocked the power out for more than 14,000 Wilson Energy customers. But a team effort of several departments helped restore the power to nearly all customers by that afternoon.

Hurricane Ian was a looming threat in early October, but the city had spared much beyond some gusty winds and rain. In fact, we were able to send Wilson Energy crews to Danville, Va., where they had much worse damage and more than 14,000 outages.

Then to round out 2022, we had a winter wind storm this past weekend that took power of roughly 12,400 residents including traffic signals across town. Due to Wilson Energy’s stellar reputation in the industry, Duke allows us to make repairs on the transmission side (their equipment) during an emergency situation. The outage would have been hours longer if not for our Wilson Energy crews, who live and work in Wilson and know the system inside and out. It’s the most valuable benefit of being a public power community. 

The one thing we cannot control -- rain. The dry summer meant low water at Lake Wilson, a condition that has only recently improved. Let's hope for more rain in 2023.

2043 plan underway; other news

The city began work this year on its next comprehensive plan, which will help shape Wilson's development for decades. The city held a series of in-person interviews with stakeholders and then public meetings in November.

Residents were also asked to fill out online surveys. All of this will inform the 2043 Comprehensive Plan, which will go before City Council next summer.  The last plan helped create the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park and Wilson RIDE; we can't wait to see what's next.

Wilson Fire/Rescue Services completed its latest round of accreditation in August, once again proving our firefighters meet international standards for excellence.

Gillette Athletic Complex hosted two Tournament of State Champions (8-10 and 9-11), which brought baseball teams from several states, their parents, families and coaches, for Little League competition in July 2022. Wilson Parks & recreation earned rave reviews for the first-class treatment shown the visitors, including welcoming dinners at the Whirligig Park. We will be hosting these events again in 2023 so let's all look forward to having out-of-state visitors and some great Little League baseball.

Original source can be found here.