Spencer board adds Stanback Forest contract and Brownfields grant to regular meeting agenda

The Town of Spencer Board of Aldermen on Nov. 13 previewed two grant-related items it will consider at its Nov. 19 regular meeting: authorization for the town manager to execute a contract with the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources tied to the Stanback Forest Center project, and a proposed ordinance to accept a Brownfields site-assessment grant from the North Carolina Railroad Company for the former North Carolina Finishing Company site.

Presiding Speaker said the Stanback Forest Center item will be presented by "Joe" at the regular meeting and recommended it remain on the agenda. The same speaker identified Ordinance 25-11006 as the vehicle to accept the Brownfields grant. An unidentified staff speaker clarified that the board previously authorized acceptance of the Brownfields award in April but that a formal budget amendment and subrecipient agreement language remain under development.

The unidentified staff speaker also told the board that, in total, the town has secured roughly $850,000 in grants for finishing-company sites, and that the Brownfields item may be delayed to December if paperwork is not completed for the Nov. 19 meeting.

No formal vote on either grant item occurred at the pre-agenda session; both items were scheduled for consideration at the upcoming regular meeting. The board did not provide additional detail about the subrecipient agreement or final budget amendment language during the pre-agenda discussion.