The June 21 letter signed by nine local officials asks for a delay in the contract with Cintra. Click to download the letter.

Updated Wednesday, 10am
By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net/CorneliusNews.net

Nine town commissioners from Cornelius, Huntersville and Davidson have sent a letter to state officials seeking postponement of the NC Department of Transportation’s planned signing of a preliminary deal by month’s end to widen I-77 using toll lanes. The request follows the DOT’s release of information about potentially high rates in the planned toll lanes. 

The elected officials – four from Cornelius and three from Huntersville and two from Davidson – are calling on the DOT to delay signing the preliminary contract with Spanish construction firm Cintra Infraestructures – the only company to submit a final bid on the project.

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Jim Garges speaks to CNBC about the Ramsey Creek Park beach plans.

Building a beach, even the small half-acre public beach proposed for Ramsey Creek Park, is no small undertaking. Mecklenburg County Parks and Rec director, Jim Garges, took the opportunity of the Focus Friday meeting this week to explain some of the regulatory hurdles that need to be jumped before the long-awaited public beach can open, as well as the benefits a public beach could bring to local businesses.

Garges stated that the County is sticking to its earlier prediction that the project will be be complete by 2016, although he estimated that construction should begin as early as the end of this year.

Turning Ramsey Creek Park’s grassy shoreline into a beach will be a complicated process, requiring a scan of the lake bottom to identify potential underwater hazards, as well as erecting a rock structure around the perimeter of the swimming area to act as a “breaker system,” preventing the sand from being washed out into the lake.

Mayor Chuck Travis, who also spoke at the meeting, scoffed at the cautious estimate that the beach will not be completed until 2016. “We have to push through and make sure this thing happens,” he said. “This cannot slow down any longer.”

Travis said that the benefits of a public beach at Ramsey Creek Park would not be limited to the immediate area, but as part of a master plan of lake-front development it could benefit the entire region. This plan would involve encouraging development of lake properties through tax incentives, favorable zoning, and an expedited review process that keeps investments from getting bogged down.

Travis also recognized, however, that the beach construction could pose problems. An estimated 200 visitors would flock to the beach every day, potentially backing up traffic on Nantz Road. Residents have already expressed concern about traffic backing up on the small two-lane road.

Mayor Chuck Travis discussed the benefits of the project to the town: “We have to push through and make sure this thing happens,” he said. “This cannot slow down any longer.”

Some at the meeting wondered if the Ramsey Park beach’s small size other locations like Jetton Park have features that make them less than ideal for lake construction. Garges pointed out that Duke Energy is working on developing beaches on the opposite side of the lake.

Visit Lake Norman director, Sally Ashworth, emphasized  that Lake Norman is an under-used resource. Cornelius has the longest shore-front in the entire state, she said, but the city and county have thus far failed to take advantage of it. “Not a day goes by that we do not receive a phone call asking ‘where can we swim on Lake Norman?’ and ‘where’s a hotel on the lake?’” she said.

For now, the answer is “nowhere,” but that may not be the case for long.

Work was halted last August on the boardwalk next to the pond in Roosevelt Wilson Park because Davidson lacked a federal permit for the job. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Davidson has chosen a contractor to rebuild the boardwalk at Roosevelt Wilson Park along Griffith Street, but town officials are still awaiting for federal approval and it remains unclear when the work will begin. Read the full story

New lanes are expected to open Wednesday night on I-85 in Concord, as part of the N.C. Department of Transportation’s $125.2 million widening project. The expansion creates four lanes in both directions between George Liles Parkway (Exit 54) and N.C. 73 (Exit 55). Read the full story

The Town of Mooresville Wednesday morning lifted a “boil water” advisory that had been issued after a water main break Monday. In a statement posted after 11am, the town said its Water Treatment Plant Laboratory had confirmed through new water sampling and tests that the town-owned water system contains no harmful bacteria. Read the full story

Town officials hope to resume work this summer on the project, which was halted because of a lack of a federal permit. The board walk runs along Griffith Street. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

It could be this summer before work resumes on a $76,000 replacement for the boardwalk along Griffith Street at Roosevelt Wilson Park. The project was halted last August because the town failed to get a a required permits. After months of waiting, the town’s public works chief said Tuesday he hopes to have all the necessary permits within 4 to 6 weeks. Read the full story

Mayor John Woods talked to about 50 people at Friday’s ceremony at the Roosevelt Wilson Memorial Tree Garden (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Jan Blodgett (left) and Rachel Jeffreys stopped to admire a newly planted Okame Cherry in honor of Jeffreys’ late husband, Christian Hamilton. Other trees honored young and old departed residents. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Davidson Mayor John Woods opened an Arbor Day ceremony at Roosevelt Wilson Park Friday by recalling trees from the past at what was then called the Village Grove, on Main Street.  Huge oaks filled the site, but in a single night they were gone.

“If any of you were here that September night (in 1989) when Hurricane Hugo roared through here and ravaged our area and the greater community, with thousands of trees destroyed, that was the day the Grove became the Village Green,” he said.

“That area was surrounded by huge oak trees. I don’t mean that puny oak tree over by the library – that’s only about 25 years old. I mean hundred-year-old oaks, and all but one of them was destroyed. It was just a major, major loss for our community,” he said. Read the full story

Want to find out more about what Davidson Parks & Recreation has to offer this spring and summer? The department plans its second Instructor Showcase this Saturday morning, March 8, at Town Hall, where you can meet class and summer camp instructors and ask questions about the offerings. Meanwhile, the town is offering citizens a chance to donate trees in honor of loved ones for planting at Roosevelt Wilson Park on Arbor Day, March 21. Deadline Friday. And town officials plan to include an increase in the town storm water fee in the budget for next year.

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