On Thursday, Jan. 7, Summerfield developer David Couch spoke before the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and got what he requested.
A delegation will meet and explore the county’s possible participation in the Summerfield Farms Village project – which would bring hundreds of new homes to Summerfield.
The commissioners voted unanimously to form a delegation to meet with representatives of the project, and those from the Town of Summerfield and the City of Greensboro.
If the commissioners decide in the end to give Couch what he’s requesting, the county would form a special tax district that would help fund water and sewer infrastructure until it is paid for. Couch said the county would not be out of pocket any money, and, in the end, would benefit from the tax revenue from the increased property values.
Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston noted that “The devil will be in the details,” a point to which Couch agreed.
For years, Summerfield residents have been in a battle over the best course for development in that town. There has been a good deal of opposition in the town to the proposed development, but there are also a lot of proponents, including most of the Town Council members and Summerfield Mayor BJ Barnes.
Couch addressed the commissioners in a Thursday afternoon work session in the Blue Room of the Old Guilford County Court House in downtown Greensboro. He said that merely beginning talks was a “very small ask” of the county and the commissioners apparently agreed. He said that, according to the plans he’s drawn up, neither Summerfield residents, City of Greensboro residents nor anyone else who lived outside of the Summerfield Farms Village development would bear any of the costs.
“I humbly ask for this small initial step,” Couch said.
The difficulty is with transparency. Millions of dollars must be spent on the initial Water and sewer lines — WHO WILL PAY FOR THE INTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE. The developer apparently stated ” neither Summerfield residents, City of Greensboro residents nor anyone else who lived outside of the Summerfield Farms Village development would bear any of the costs.
How is that possible? The developer is not paying for the water and sewer infrastructure. Water and sewer lines do not magically build themselves. Many, many citizens have spent MONTHS asking for an answer, but the developer, the County and the City of Greensboro simply will NOT tell the public how the millions in infrastructure is being paid for.
If its a Bond — will it be on the ballot? If its a special fund, what fund and where did the fund money come from? If its a loan, is the County or City funding the loan and how? For all of these, if the development presumably takes years to build out, how long will it take for the “special tax district” to pay back the funds?
The meetings are being held with ONLY members of leaders Guilford County, Greensboro, Summerfield and the developer (a private citizen). The public is not involved. It is fair for the public to ask the question of how this gets funded. And we deserve an answer so that we can fully understand all implications. Thanks.
It has already cost us $29,000 of the money we pay to summerfield in taxes. They oK’ed the feasibility study and estimated cost to see how much it will cost to bring city water to Summerfield. Consultants and engineers. In my option its just the beginning of the costs. I live in Summerfield and am very happy with my well and septic. I personally dont want city water.
I thought you said “kick a Summerfield developer”.