The Moore County Summit, “Issues for Growing Communities,” will be held from 8 to 11 a.m. Organizers asking community leaders to be a part of the summit to create a vision and collective responsibility for Moore County and to agree on critical issues that should be addressed jointly.
Phillip Boyles of Boyles and Associates will facilitate the event. The Pinehurst Civic Group and The Pilot are sponsoring the summit.
BUILDING BOOMS – The number of permits issued for residences in Moore County has grown by almost 20 percent between 2004 and 2005.
Values have climbed by almost 35 percent.
County Planning Director Andrea Surratt called attention to this growth when she presented the Code Enforcement Division’s October report to the Moore County Planning Board earlier this month.
“We’re in double digits in every category,” she said.
The report shows that the county issued 72 building permits in October, bringing the total for the year to 600. That’s 15.2 percent more than the 521 permits issued for the same period in 2004.
But the category showing the greatest growth is in residential building, traditionally a leader in Moore County. In October the county issued 37 permits for residences, bringing the year’s total to 340, a 19.7 percent increase over the 284 issued through October last year.
The county also issued 33 permits for alterations and additions and two for commercial buildings.
VALUES — Estimated value of the 72 building projects was $8.7 million-plus. Total for the year through October exceeds $82.1 million, a 26.5 percent increase.
For residences alone, values were estimated at $7.6 million in October, bringing that total to $65.3 million for the year, or a 34.7 percent increase.
Permits in other categories also continued to grow with a 6 percent increase in electrical permits. Decreases were reflected in such areas as change of service, commercial and manufactured housing.
Moore County issues building permits and provides inspection services for all unincorporated areas of the county and for seven municipalities. Southern Pines, Pinehurst, Aberdeen and Pinebluff handle inspections within their municipal boundaries and for their extraterritorial jurisdictions.
FARM-CITY — Moore County will not observe Farm-City Week this year, but everyone can expect the observance to return next year, perhaps with a new appearance.
Linda Gore, 4-H agent with the Moore County Cooperative Extension Service, says the Farm-City Week Committee decided to call off the awards banquet this year and to turn attention and energy to a celebration in 2006.
Factors entering into the decision included personnel changes in the Extension office and the Chamber of Commerce, sponsors of the annual celebration that focuses on the relationship between rural and urban residents and their interests.
Gore directed the Extension Service’s part of the observance last year, when the Moore County Extension office was without a director and she was serving as interim director. A new director went to work a few weeks ago, but personnel in the Chamber office have left their positions, changes that encouraged the committee to call off this year’s event.
Farm-City Week is usually proclaimed for the week of Thanksgiving.
The climax in Moore County has come with a banquet featuring country food, entertainment, a speaker, presentation of awards and distribution of door prizes, ranging from boxes of collards and sweet potatoes to golfing opportunities.
TARPO — Triangle Area Rural Planning Organization’s Technical Coordinating Committee will meet Dec. 7 from 10:30 a.m. until 12 noon in the West End Conference Room in the Sanford Municipal Building.
The location is at 225 East Weatherspoon St. in Sanford. The committee will discuss rural transportation planning issues including fiscal year 2006 bicycle and pedestrian planning grant applications, comprehensive transportation plan updates, and rural agriculture signage and safety. A presentation will also be made on strategic highway corridor land use guidelines for U.S. 64 and N.C. 49.
TARPO is authorized to conduct rural transportation planning for Chatham, Lee, Moore and Orange counties and to advise the North Carolina Department of Transportation on rural transportation policies and programs.
Triangle J Council of Governments is the umbrella organization for TARPO.
ROAD CLOSING — The town of Southern Pines will conduct a sanitary sewer line repair in the 100 block of West New York Avenue between Broad and Bennett Streets on Sunday, Nov. 20.
The work will be completed by Monday, Nov. 21, at 11 a.m., according to a release from the town’s Public Works Department.
The 100 block of West New York Avenue will be closed to all traffic from 8 a.m. Sunday until 11 a.m. Monday. This project is to be done on the weekend to lessen the impact on traffic, businesses and pedestrians. Anyone needing more information can call the town at 692-2937.
Florence Gilkeson can be reached at 947-4962 or by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.
