BY DEBBIE PAGE

The Troutman Town Council, Town Manager Ron Wyatt and Town Attorney Jason Ralston are continuing researching the language and legal requirements of a proposed residential development moratorium after a short update on Thursday night.

Wyatt said more time was needed to discuss the complexities involved, including clearly defining the problem, proposed solutions, and progress logging process to determine when the problem is resolved.

“It’s difficult to control what’s out of our control,” Wyatt said of Statesville’s current unwillingness to increase sewer capacity and Mooresville’s inability to increase Troutman’s sewer capacity limit until its sewer plant expansion construction is complete.

“We hope to have the legal language complete next month if a solution is not reached.”

The council authorized Wyatt and Ralston to continue fact-finding and discussions with both municipalities over the next month.

In North Carolina, General Statute 160D-107(d) requires a local government to be clear about a moratorium’s necessity and to detail how and when the issues are expected to be resolved.

A development moratorium must include:

♦ A clear statement of the problems requiring the moratorium, other alternatives considered, and why those alternative are not feasible.

♦ What development approvals are subject to the moratorium and how a moratorium will relieve the conditions requiring the moratorium.

♦ A termination date and explanation of its duration as reasonably necessary to address the deficiencies.

♦ A detailed schedule of action by the local government during the development cessation period to address and solve the issues that led to the moratorium.

♦ The moratorium must carefully estimate the time needed to resolve the condition prompting the it. The statute states that the “duration of any moratorium shall be reasonable in light of the specific conditions that warrant imposition of the moratorium and may not exceed the period of time necessary to correct, modify, or resolve such conditions.”

♦ A moratorium may be extended if the local government is progressing on solving the problems and can document the reasons for an extension.

RECOGNITIONS

Citizen of the Year

Ana Johnson, owner of Burritos and Ribs, was honored as the 2025 Troutman Citizen of the Year. A large contingent of family and friends gave her a standing ovation as she received the recognition.

Johnson was nominated for by Rhonda Nau “for her unwavering support and kindness to the citizens, staff, and community at large.”

“She consistently looks for ways to help others — whether it’s bringing meals to our first responders to show appreciation or opening doors at her restaurant, free of charge, to anyone in the community that needs a free meal at holiday times.”

“Ana often works in partnership with local nonprofits, the town, other business owners, and Iredell-Statesville Schools. This shows her desire to collaborate and work with others for the good of our community.”

“Ana’s hard work and kindness towards others shows in everything she does, and she is most deserving of this award.”

Johnson’s daughter Pia thanked the council for honoring her mother.

Organization of the Year

The council honored the Troutman Ruritan Club as the 2025 Organization of the Year. Club President Mariah Johnson thanked the council for the award, saying that the club was excited to be involved in helping the community.

Mayor Teross Young said the club had jumped in “hands and feet first. You are doing a great job serving the community. Your efforts have not been unnoticed.”

My Sister’s House Director Brittany Campbell nominated the organization, saying the club has “been a great help to our domestic violence shelter.”

The club completed one complete room transformation, replacing everything in the bathroom, including the shower, toilet, and flooring. The club also redecorated a second room last fall.

Members redecorated the shelter’s playroom and cleaned, sorted, and organized the many donated items in the facility’s storage buildings to help residents find needed items more easily. At Christmas, the club provided gifts for the children and their mothers and wrapped them as well.

“This group has been a blessing to us and continues to check in to see if we are in need of anything,” Campbell said. “The Ruritan group deserves the award because they put their community first. They make sure every need has been met, and if there is anything they can do, they do it without question.”

The 40-member club’s recent large project served LIFESPAN, an organization that has provided education, employment, and enrichment for individuals with developmental disabilities since 1973.

The organization’s nature path, located behind the Lifespan building, is often used during therapy sessions, but some clients lack the ability to walk the entire path without resting. Because the path’s benches became unusable, some could no longer participate in therapy walks as part of their treatment.

Troutman Ruritan cleaned, repaired, stained, and reinstalled 12 benches on solid foundations. Club members also cleared away brush and overgrowth around the approximately quarter mile path area, repaired and replanted landscape plots, planted a memorial garden, created a community garden, mulched, and completed other tasks to make the nature walk site beautiful and usable.

The nature walk is open to the community, and the club will continue improvement projects at Lifespan in the coming months.

After the Hurricane Helene disaster in Western North Carolina on September 27, 2024, the club immediately started donation collections for the many who lost so much, sending 16 large truck and trailer loads to several devastated areas.

The club has continued to assist Western NC communities, serving three free chicken dinners since January in several mountain locations that fed thousands of community members and volunteers, with the latest one scheduled for May 17.

In January, Troutman Ruritan secured a $10,000 Project Focus grant from Ruritan National for a Western North Carolina nominee to help pay for a new HVAC system for her severely flood-damaged home.

Other club activities included partnering with the Troutman Parks and Recreation Department to sponsor a three-month community Run/Walk Club and participating in the town’s Adopt A Street program to help keep the community clean.

The club also recently secured its 501(c)(3) status to assist fundraising efforts for future projects.

The organization’s first large community fundraiser, The Makers, Music, Market Craft Show, will be Saturday, June 21, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Troutman’s ESC Park. The event features unique art and hand-crafted items from over 90 vendors, music, food, raffles for handmade quilts and other items, and children’s activities.

All proceeds will go back into projects serving the Troutman community and those in need.

To learn more about Troutman Ruritan, visit the club’s website at https://www.troutmanruritanclub.org/ and Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/troutmanruritan.

Employee of the Month

Maureen Purcell, who has managed the Passport Office for the past 18 months, was recognized as the Town of Troutman April Employee of the Month. Wyatt praised her willingness to work nights and weekends to accommodate the schedules of patrons.

Purcell’s efficiency, frugality, and hard work has allowed the Passport Office to earn a $170,000 profit since opening two years ago. 

“She is extremely efficient and saves the office money. We are lucky to have her in our passport program.”

Mental Health Awareness Month

Mayor Young also proclaimed May as Mental Health Awareness Month In Troutman. Young noted that mental health includes people’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being and affects how they handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.

The proclamation stated that mental health disorders commonly begin during adolescence, with many young people reporting having serious mental health disorders. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for individuals ages 10 to 34 in the United States.

A lack of mental health awareness can lead to devastating impacts on the well-being of individuals and society, so evidence-based mental and behavioral health training programs are important to teach adults how to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use issues in youth and also provide adults with the skills to help them when they may be facing a mental health crisis.

Be Well Iredell, a coalition of community partners and helping agencies, is working to provide evidence-based mental health and suicide prevention programs to the community at no cost to teach both youths and adults about mental health, resilience, and suicide prevention. These programs help provide the tools for people to help themselves or someone they know facing a mental health issue.

Young said that the Town of Troutman is committed to reducing the stigma surrounding seeking mental healthcare and will work to promote solutions to the mental health struggles of its residents.

He noted that it’s time to shed light on mental illness and the need for long-term improvements to the mental healthcare system to fill the need for increased access to care so that no one feels alone.

OTHER BUSINESS

In other business, the council:

♦ Set a public hearing date of June 12 for the FY 2025-2026 proposed budget. Hard copies of the proposed budget are available at Town Hall, and it will soon be posted on the town’s website.

♦ Tabled consideration of annexation of approximately 151 acres on Clontz Hill Road until the June meeting at the request of the owners and developer.

♦ Passed a UDO text amendment to allow mini-warehouse/self-storage within the one-mile requirement for mini-warehouses in the Highway Business (HB) Zoning District if they are part of a mixed-use development facing a different road frontage.

♦ Passed a UDO text amendment to amend the requirements to forbid front yard parking in residentially zoned districts except in driveways and any attached hard surfaces to the driveway. It also limits driveway width to 22 feet.

♦ Approved amendments to the Town of Troutman Schedule of Fees, adding a $50 nonpayment fee for water and sewer bills and increasing combined water and sewer fees for taps, meter and availability as well as made amendments to the water and sewer policy reflecting these changes.

♦ Approved the town audit contract with Thompson, Price, Scott & Adams for fiscal year 2025- 2026 at a maximum cost of $29,500.

♦ Approved the establishment of the 2022 Wastewater Capacity Improvements Capital Project Fund, the 2022 Sewer Collection Rehabilitation Project Fund, the Clay Pipe Sewer System Inventory And Assessment Capital Project Fund, and the 2022 Water System Asset Inventory And Assessment Capital Project Fund to allow acceptance of state grant funds and loans to complete these projects.

♦ Annexed and zoned .76 acres at 875 Old Mountain Road to suburban residential in order for the resident to receive town water service.

♦ Accepted Sutter’s Mill Drive, Caprine Court, and Parkmont Drive as town-maintained streets.

♦ Re-appointed Tamera Hatley as an inside voting member (term expires 5/9/25) and requested that Helen Byers be reappointed as an ETJ voting member (term expires June 18, 2025) by the Iredell County Commissioners for the Town of Troutman Board of Adjustment.

♦ Approved employee participation in the North Carolina Health Insurance Pool.

♦ Set the date to consider annexation of 0.8 acres at 513 Stillwater Road for June 12.