Spencer board approves reissued purchase order to restart greenway feasibility study

The Spencer Board of Aldermen on Oct. 8 approved a budget amendment to reissue a purchase order from February 2024 so a consultant can resume work on the EB 58 61 greenway feasibility and visibility study. The amendment was presented by Finance Officer Heather Khan and approved by the board without recorded dissent.

Town staff told the board the reissued purchase order had been voided in the planning process and needed to be carried into the current fiscal year. Heather Khan said the reauthorization will allow the town to begin using initial disbursements of a roughly $3.5 million NCDOT grant tied to the broader greenway project. Khan told the board the original PO dates to February 2024 and that certain pre-visibility tasks prevented the study from proceeding until the PO was reissued.

The motion to approve the budget amendment (identified in the meeting materials as 20 four-one 0.004) was moved and seconded during the meeting; the board then approved the measure by voice vote. Town Manager Peter Francais framed the work as “another step in the planning process to get us closer to a design” for the planned greenway.

The study will feed into future design decisions and aligns with other stormwater and floodplain work staff described earlier in the meeting. No contract dollar amounts for the immediate PO reissuance beyond the prior-year purchase order were presented at the meeting; the board resolved to move forward with the study and to use the grant funds allocated to the project.

Next steps: staff will reissue the purchase order, the consultant will resume visibility and feasibility tasks, and the town will incorporate study deliverables into future design and funding discussions.