news-record.com

The town’s planned capital projects and bringing new businesses to town are hot topics for the candidates running for the Board of Aldermen.

Gibsonville residents will vote Tuesday to fill two open seats on the board.

Four candidates are competing for the seats: newcomers Alton “Ted” Barber Jr. and Neil Bromilow and incumbents Ken Pleasants and Veronica Revels.

The name of a fifth person, Robert H. “Bob” Martin, also will appear on the ballot. Martin dropped out of the race after the ballots were printed.

The town has three projects in the design phase: a new public works building, renovations to create new parks and recreation space and a gym. Town Manager Ben Baxley estimates that property taxes would need to go up 4 or 5 cents per $100 tax value — $60 to $75 a year for the owner of a $150,000 house — to fund all three.

Bromilow and Revels said they oppose a recreation building if taxes are increased to pay for it. Barber said the town should make a decision after the bids come in.

Bromilow said the public works project is too expensive and should be scaled back or cance led, and Revels said she wouldn’t support the project if taxes are increased for it.

As for the health of the town’s economy, Barber said the town needs to focus on bringing a grocery store back into town, especially because elderly residents are having difficulty getting to a store outside of town.

Bromilow said Gibsonville should be more active in advertising the benefits of bringing businesses to town. “We have empty warehouses and factory facilities that could be active, plus building sites in the downtown area that could easily be institutional or housing areas, which would create more jobs here,” Bromilow said.

Pleasants said he is “always willing to take on any situation” and wants to serve a third term as alderman “to help maintain the growth of the town and make sure all citizens are treated fairly.”

Revels said she wants to continue the work she began in her first term and would bring common sense and finance skills to the job.
Barber said he’s a skilled listener and investigator and wants to be the “voice of the unheard in the community.”

Bromilow said he wants to create plans for the growth the town faces and find funding strategies for additional services. “My motto is 'if you don’t have the money, then don’t spend any,’ ” he said.

Contact Jamie Kennedy Jones at 449-4610 or jamie. kennedy@news-record.com.