LUMBERTON — The four individuals sworn in for new terms on Lumberton City Council Wednesday are all veterans of the Council who had experienced the fanfare of an inauguration before. If anything, though, that experience made each of the four even more grateful for the chance to serve on the board for four more years.

Melissa Robinson, John Carroll, John Cantey and Owen Thomas were each sworn in at the start of Wednesday’s monthly meeting at City Hall; each was reelected in May, an election which was postponed from 2021 as the result of redistricting delays while waiting for the 2020 U.S. Census to be completed. As a result of that redistricting, some Council members are now representing new constituents. This includes Carroll, who has been on Council since 2019 and represents Precinct 3, which includes parts of East Lumberton and, for the first time, some of Highland Park. Carroll was unopposed in May.

“I appreciate every one of you for your confidence in me,” Carroll said. “I know since the Census there’s been a lot of changes; we’re kind of growing to learn to know one another, and I appreciate that you have taken a chance on me and given me a chance to serve you in the respects of Precinct 3, and I have a high honor for this position that I hold, and I make myself available to each and every one of you.”

Cantey began his fifth term on the Council, a tenure dating back to 2005; he is the longest-serving active member, representing South Lumberton’s Precinct 5. Cantey defeated Rhandi Cooper and Darryl Genus in May’s election.

“As I approach my 18th year of service on Council, I’ve seen this city at its lowest, and best of times,” Cantey said. “I’ve watched it foster in places and (be) stagnant in others. These experiences have given me a different perspective on taken the oath of office in 2022. … This board has great potential, and together we can achieve major heights for this city and its citizens, and work harder for our staff and employees. These are the reasons that we are elected and reelected.”

Robinson and Thomas were also reelected for second terms; Robinson, who represents Precinct 2 in North Lumberton, began serving on the Council in 2019 and Thomas, whose Precinct 8 encompasses parts of North Lumberton and Tanglewood, has served since 2018. Both were unopposed in May’s election.

“One thing I’ve learned in the last 4 1/2 years on this job is it comes down to communication, between the citizens — and I try to represent all citizens when they call on me, but especially Precinct 8 — and when they call I get the message over to staff,” Thomas said. “To the citizens, especially Precinct 8, I appreciate you having confidence in me. I will continue to serve to the best of my ability, and I look forward to making this city a place we can all be proud of.”

“I would like to thank the present Council for their guidance, openness and willingness to work together for all citizens. I’m inspired to continue working with the Council, gaining more knowledge on how to move the city forward as a whole,” Robinson said. “I continue to ask for your prayers and support to be attentive, responsive and accountable to all citizens to Precinct 2, and the city as a whole.”

Karen Higley, who represents Precinct 4, was named as the Council’s Mayor Pro Tem; this designation goes each term to the longest-tenured member who has not yet held the role, and in the event of a tie for length of service, rotates among those precincts.

“This is a big honor,” Higley said. “I love my precinct, I love my city, and this is such an honor and a privilege.”

Council approves rezoning for nine-figure industrial investment

As Council held its regular monthly meeting after swearing in its reelected members, it approved a rezoning request for Edgewater Industrial, LLC for the development of a Class A Industrial Park.

Land on Sanchez Drive, located in an extraterrestrial jurisdiction area near Interstate 74 south of Lumberton, was unanimously rezoned from agriculture to M-2 manufacturing. The developer, Edgewater Industrial, LLC, plans to create a development with close to 2 million square feet of speculative industrial space over a five- to 10-year time frame; this would be the largest development on the Interstate 95 corridor throughout the Carolinas, according to Edgewater CFO Mike Massaro, who presented to Council.

“Lumberton has never had speculative industry like this before,” Massaro said. “But the product on the ground will attract the type of users Lumberton would be proud to call home.”

The buildings alone will bring an investment of between $150- and $200 million to Lumberton, Massaro said. The buildings will be designed with as much flexibility as possible.

Edgewater is committed to building a minimum of 300,000 square feet of office space as soon as possible, Massaro said, even without a tenant. He stated there are several businesses in 100,000 to 200,000 square-foot facilities who are looking to expand, but currently have nowhere to go; the United States, he said, currently has an 800-million-square-foot shortage . The same is true for other businesses looking to relocate to the area.

“A large majority of companies that visit Lumberton and are looking to locate a facility (here) are looking for existing buildings,” City Manager Wayne Horne said. “We don’t have any existing buildings at this point in time. We see this project as complementing what we’re doing at the I-95/I-74 Industrial Park. … This is going to be a win-win situation for this developer and also for the city and the county.”

Edgewater is working “hand in hand” with the developers at the nearby I-95/I-74 Industrial Park, Massaro said, even stating they would be using the same general contractor.

Highland Park rezoning denied after opposition

After a lengthy discussion, with three people speaking in opposition to the request, a rezoning request was unanimously denied by Council.

The request was made by Mike Townsend, who asked for property at the corner of Ludgate and Farringdom streets in the Highland Park community to be rezoned from B-3 office residential to B-4 general commercial.

Townsend stated that the request was to conform with other neighboring properties, which are zoned as B-4; while he mentioned he is a commercial investor with 51 properties for lease in Lumberton, he did not state specific plans for the property in question.

Properties zoned as B-3 are required to be used for certain kinds of businesses, many of which are low-intensity operations and do not have an adverse effect on traffic flow; statutes allow more freedom for what B-4 properties can be used for.

In addition to the comments in opposition during the meeting, a petition with 256 signatures against the rezoning was presented to Council.

Cheryl Lawson Page, a 23-year resident of Highland Park, said that 95% of residents approached about signing the petition were eager to do so, and that some even reached out before the petition organizers were able to reach them.

“Please be mindful of the consequences and the repercussions to our Highland and Professional Park community, and for the city of Lumberton — and most importantly, the precedent set for other neighborhoods moving forward,” she told Council.

Councilman Leroy Rising, in whose Precinct 1 the property resides, made the motion to deny the request, which was consistent with a 4-3 vote in opposition by the city’s Planning Board. In making the motion Rising stated that the B-3 zoning does allow for a Special Use Permit if needed, meaning that Townsend or any future landowner could do so if a desired use was not within the B-3 zoning.

Other business

In other business, Council:

— Honored recent retirees John Paul Ivey and Larry Thompson. Ivey served the city 31 years and retired as fire chief; Thompson, a 20-year employee, was a crew chief in the Parks & Recreation Department.

— Approved a Special Use Permit for Southern Professional Counseling Services to relocate to 400 Lindsay Drive, from its existing office at 711 North Cedar Street.

— Approved a rezoning request for two parcels on East Elizabethtown Road to be used by Ample Storage for a storage facility.

— Approved a request by city staff to officially close an abandoned portion of road near the corner of North Roberts Avenue and Mimosa Street; the abandoned section was, at least conceptually, originally a section of Hardin Road, City Attorney Holt Moore said.

— Approved for two Housing Mitigation Grant Program reconstruction projects to move forward; a house on Swann Drive and a house on Lovette Road will both be demolished and rebuilt by Finesse Builders, both costing $150,000 to be paid with HMGP funds.

— Approved a $23,000 match for funding to aid in the Lumberton Regional Airport to build a new fuel farm.

— Approved the following Electric Utilities Department projects: the reinhibiting of a substation transformer, awarded to SD Myers at $25,534; and a fencing reconfiguration at the Electric Utilities Complex, awarded to Seegars at $28,974, to be paid for with budgeted funds.

— Approved the following Public Works projects: replacement of a 90-horsepower Flyght pump at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, awarded to Xylem Water Solutions for $93,695.84; an application for grant funding to replace three culverts, which will cost an estimated $1.2 million, which Public Works Director Rob Armstrong hopes will be paid for entirely with grant funds; awarding of administrative services to The Wooten Company for no more than $9,500 for culvert replacement on Linkhaw Road. Council also approved a resolution to apply for a grant to fund process improvements at the water treatment plant; this was originally to be approximately a $1.8 million application, but new information suggests the cost will be approximately $3.8 million, Armstrong said; he remains confident the project will “score very well as a grant.”

— Ratified the following in previously-approved Community Revitalization Funds: $150 to help defray the cost of a luncheon for Lumberton’s Dixie Softball team which advanced to the World Series; and $450 to K&L Veterans Affairs for the annual standoff program.

— Approved the following in Community Revitalization Funds: $1,000 for the Robeson County Humane Society’s Bark at the Moon event; $500 for a back-to-school event at Greater Chrysolite Church; $200 for a back-to-school event at United Pentacostal Holy Church; $200 for a back-to-school event at New Beginnings Church; $800 for the Golden Leaf Lodge No. 124; $550 for the inaugural Cheer XCel Open golf tournament; and $300 each for beautification efforts by the Mayfair and Mayfair North homeowners associations.