North Carolina is the place to be

From the majestic mountains to beautiful Beaches.

North Carolina has something for everyone. With the tallest mountains on the east coast and beautiful beaches to boot it's no wonder that for the second straight year Americans are moving to North Carolina at a higher rate than any other state in the country according to a study by by United Van Lines. It is estimated that North carolina will be come the 7th most populous state in the next 10 years. This might be good for businesses, and even politicians, however I hate to see NC lose it's rual touch.

New Bern is attracting more than it's fair share of those who are relocating to NC. When retiree's first started moving to New Bern back in the late 1970's the vast majority were coming from New York or New Jersey. By the 1990's we were starting to see more folks moving here from around the Washington DC area. Today believe it or not, many are moving here from Flordia and California. Seems like the property taxes and cost of living have become so high in those areas folks are looking for a state with more reasonable taxes. Lets hope they stay that way.

I guess growth is ok but at the same time I hope we do not experience it to the extent that we lose our southern charm. Let's hope Eastern NC retains it small town flavor for many years to come. To learn more about New Bern go to www.newbern-nc.info.

Shall we zone?

At present, with the exception of airport zoning, Craven County does not have any zoning in place at this time. Over the years this has led to a hodgepodge of single family homes, multi family homes, trailer parks, and businesses all within the same areas. In addition, in Township 7 commercial development along service roads that were not designed for heavy volumes of traffic has led to serious traffic flow problems at the major intersections.
Tuesday night the Craven County Planning Department held a public information meeting to discuss what zoning can and can't do to help ensure balanced and stable growth in Township 7 and Township 6. The meeting was well attended, and feedback was mostly positive. Although there was initially some confusion about the City of New Bern's extraterritorial jurisdiction authority and ability to forcible annex I feel we all came away from the meeting having learned something.
Craven County was not so many years ago considered a rural area. When you were heading south from downtown New Bern on HWY 17, Simmons Street was the boundary for the city limits. Beyond that were small farms on Trent Road and as you crossed Racetrack Road you again saw mostly family farms. Across the Trent River with the exception of Old Cherry Point Road you found family farms and large tree farms. Now these areas are developing at a very rapid pace.
Several months ago at one of our regular scheduled meetings I asked my fellow County Commissioners to support me in asking the County Manager to hold a series of public information meetings to get input from the citizens and see how they feel about zoning in Township 6 and Township 7. I feel it is something we need and I hope the majority of the citizens feel the same.

New Bern High School Football Team is recognized

Today the 2007 4-a state football champions were honored with a parade and a pep rally. The parade began at the Police station on George Street and ended at Union Point where proclamations from Mayor Tom Bayliss and County Commissioner Renee Sisk were read and presented to the team. State Senator Jean Preston read and presented a letter of congratulations from the North Carolina State Senate. After the presentations a pep rally was held and the NBHS cheerleaders and the NBHS band put on a wonderful show. We wish the players the best as they move forward with their lives and hope they all continue futhering their education.