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County manager reports progress on North Turnpike waterline, broadband grants and local projects
Summary
County Manager April Hart reported on the North Turnpike waterline permitting, broadband grant activity, a $134,000 stream rehabilitation grant closeout, and an upcoming incubator building construction; staff were asked to confirm fiber deployment along the project corridor.
County Manager April Hart updated the Scotland County Board of Commissioners March 10 on several infrastructure and economic development projects, including the North Turnpike waterline, broadband grant activity, a stream rehabilitation grant closeout and an incubator building funded by Golden Leaf.
Hart said the county’s engineering firm for the North Turnpike Waterline has requested permits from the North Carolina Division of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and NCDOT. The county has a right‑of‑way encroachment agreement request from the engineers to keep the waterline project moving; project manager Jim Blackwell was identified as the project contact.
Several commissioners asked whether high‑speed fiber already exists in the corridor; Hart said the county has a state broadband grant and that the state has put the related bid out to determine which company will expand service to targeted areas. Commissioners asked staff to confirm whether Focus (the incumbent referenced in county maps) or another provider has active fiber along the North Turnpike route and to consider coordinating broadband deployment with waterline work.
Hart also said the county is closing out the Stream Rehabilitation Assistance Program (STRAP) grant — about $134,000 was awarded to remove debris from ditches and streams to improve flow — and reported the county’s Economic Development Corporation expects to break ground on a third incubator building in late March or by early May (the meeting discussion cited both timing windows). Hart described ongoing workforce and recruitment initiatives, including SkillBridge internships through the Department of Defense, and noted recent de‑escalation training attended by roughly 115 county employees. She also reported on a well‑attended veterans’ stand‑down event hosted by Jamie McGee.
No formal vote on the waterline encroachment agreement was recorded in the meeting transcript; staff asked the board to approve the necessary right‑of‑way agreements so work could continue.
