During its June 27 meeting, the Cameron Town Council said they must submit a signed contract to construct the Dewberry Barn & Vineyards Event Venue by Aug. 31 to receive a $400,000 federal grant.
On June 15, Cameron was awarded the Rural Transformation Grant Fund under the Community Enhancement for Economic Growth program.
“The state must have looked at this and said, ‘This works,’” Mayor Ginger Bauerband said about initiating the venue plans and grant writing with Triangle J.
The Dewberry Barn & Vineyards Event Venue’s property adjoins Phillips Memorial Park.
Laura Younts said the Park Committee consulted Starworks in Star, North Carolina, for estimates on glass dewberries to replicate the pinecone search activity at the park. Younts shared an estimate of $5,500.
The pinecone search activity promoted Moore County parks, and the town board agreed the dewberry search would promote further interaction.
The board discussed installing streetlights and pole banners, removing old utility poles, seeking additional volunteers for the beautification committee, and declaring the first week of August town cleanup week with Aug. 5 being the entire community cleanup day.
“We will lure more businesses if we look alive,” Town Board Member Joey Frutchey added to his comment about the Town having funds for banners and streetlights.
The board said it would invite Duke Energy to review the installation of streetlights and to ensure they will not interfere with future sidewalk repairs.
Citizens are encouraged to participate in the cleanup by cleaning their property, helping neighbors, and joining the beautification committee. Stop signs, building signs, and storefronts need to be cleaned. Gutters need to be scraped out, and trash needs to be removed. Orange safety vests and trash bags are available at Town Hall.
The state approved the interconnect, which will allow for backup water for the Town in the state of an emergency. The interconnect could serve, if needed, as a water source if something should happen to the Town’s water system, such as a well failure.
The board had previously approved a security monitoring system for Town Hall’s front door and invited Layne Martindale with Vector Security to review further safety measures.
Martindale said the monitoring of each system was $10.50 monthly, and the service plan was $58 monthly. Features include outdoor and indoor cameras, an intercom system, doorbell, panic switch, and monitoring.
The board passed the safety measures, totaling $4,578 for installation.
The Town’s trash service increased from $11 to $12 because of inflation passed on from the provider, GFL Environmental Waste Management.
Matt Casto from the North Carolina Rural Water Association presented the Administrative Personnel Award of the Year to Town Clerk Wendy Cummings Butner for outstanding work.
Feature photo: Matt Casto from the North Carolina Rural Water Association presents the Administrative Personnel Award of the Year to Town Clerk Wendy Cummings Butner for outstanding work.
~Article and photo by Sandhills Sentinel journalist Stephanie M. Sellers; BS Mass Communications and Journalism, MFA Creative Writing.
