Cornelius commissioners will start Monday night’s Town Board meeting with a changing of the guard as Mayor Jeff Tarte resigns to join the state Senate, and Lynette Rinker becomes interim mayor. The meeting also is expected to include a vote on a proposed 88-unit residential project off Bailey Road and more discussion of I-77 toll lanes.

The meeting begins at 7pm in the Town Board meeting room at Town Hall, 21445 Catawba Ave.

The board also will hold its usual 8am agenda preview meeting at the Acropolis Restaurant, 20659 Catawba Ave., and a 6pm “pre-meeting,” where commissioners and Planning Board members will will get a review of the town’s quasi-judicial and legislative process for rezonings.

BAILEY FOREST

The board is expected to hold a public hearing and then vote on a request by developer Bluestream Partners LLC to rezone 62 acres to allow 22 lots with up to 88 residential units.

The Planning Board voted 7-0 to recommend denial of the rezoning, and the town planning staff also has recommended denial. In an analysis of the project, the planning staff says the project is not in keeping with the town’s Cornelius East Vision Plan, which calls for the area to remain rural, with single family detached housing.

Read more and find related documents on the town website. See also our related Real Estate page article, “88-unit Bailey Forest project up for a vote Monday.”

I-77 HOT LANES

Commissioners also are expected to discuss the state’s proposal for high-occupancy toll lanes on I-77 north of Charlotte.

Commissioner Dave Gilroy has been pushing the board to make a public statement urging state officials to consider alternatives to tolls as a way to pay for widening the congested stretch of I-77 from Charlotte north to Iredell County.

On Thursday, the town-board-appointed Cornelius Transportation Advisory Board voted unanimously for a resolution opposing toll lanes and supporting Mr. Gilroy’s call for a study of alternatives.

Mr. Gilroy previously had offered a motion at the Town Board that would have called on the Lake Norman Transportation Commission and state officials to look at other ways of widening the road.

MAYORAL CHANGE

Mayor Tarte, who was elected to the 41st District State Senate seat in November, will formally step down at the meeting, and be sworn in as a senator by federal district judge Frank Whitney. He then will swear in Ms. Rinker as the new mayor. The board also will have to choose a new mayor pro-rem, to replace Commissioner Rinker.

Commissioners voted unanimously last month to appoint Commissioner Rinker to finish Mayor Tarte’s term. Still undecided is how the board might fill her now-vacant board seat.

RELATED LINKS

See the full agenda for Monday’s meeting on the town website.

Lynette Rinker

By DAVID BORAKS
CorneliusNews.net

In a unanimous vote Monday night, Cornelius commissioners picked Mayor Pro-Tem Lynette Rinker to replace Mayor Jeff Tarte after he steps down in January to join the state Senate.

The vote wasn’t a surprise but it came with a dose of uncertainty: Who, if anyone will replace Ms. Rinker as commissioner? The board named no candidates for her replacement and took no action Monday.

Ms. Rinker, 55, was the top vote-getter in the past two commissioners’ elections. She told her colleagues on Dec. 3 she was interested in the job. Commissioners agreed, but since then have been discussing how to fill her seat.

Commissioner Dave Gilroy made the motion to pick Ms. Rinker, saying her choice is “a no brainer.”

“Lynette is the perfect candidate to fulfill this role. She’s got the experience, the knowledge, the commitment, the capacity, really the full list,” Mr. Gilroy said.

Commissioners then voted 5-0 to appoint Ms. Rinker to fill the remainder of Mayor Tarte’s term, which expires a year from now. (As a commissioner Ms. Rinker was able to vote for herself.)

JANUARY HAND-OFF

Mayor Tarte, who was elected to the 41st District State Senate seat in November, will formally step down at the board’s Jan. 7 meeting, and be sworn in as a senator by federal district judge Frank Whitney. He then will swear in Ms. Rinker.

After the vote, Commissioner John Bradford asked his colleagues to push for a unanimous vote on whoever replaces Ms. Rinker, saying that would be most democratic. “This is someone we’re going to have to work with the next 10 months or a year,” he said.

Commissioner Chuck Travis asked the town manager if the commissioner vacancy had been advertised, and how many candidates had expressed interest. The town manager said one unnamed candidate has come forward so far. Commissioners say they also are recruiting for the seat themselves.

One idea that has surfaced is to appoint a previous elected official. During Monday’s discussion, resident Alwyn Smith, a frequent speaker at Town Board meetings, mentioned the possibility of appointing former Commissioner and Smithville resident Thurman Ross. Mr. Ross was the sixth vote-getter in the five-seat election in Nov. 2011.

“In going around public places like the library, post office, supermarket I’ve talked to several people regarding the seat that will become available, and the consensus was that we’ve lost a lot of experience losing Jim Bensman and Thurman Ross, and the consensus was to bring back Thurman Ross for that seat,” Mr. Smith said.

[Former commissioner Bensman did not seek re-election in 2011, and said he and his wife were moving to Colorado.]

Commissioners agreed to continue discussions among themselves and seek a successor, possibly for appointment in January.

MAYOR-DESIGNATE RINKER

A resident of the Willow Pond neighborhood, Ms. Rinker has lived in Cornelius 17 years and served on the Town Board since 2009. She served previously on the planning board and other town committees. She has been a dedicated public servant, studying issues closely and becoming a sort of board expert on the texts of town ordinances.

Ms. Rinker has a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with concentrations in business and history from the University of South Carolina.

She is married to Mark Rinker, and they have three children: daughters Casey and Tori and son, David.

The meeting begins at 7pm at Town Hall, 21445 Catawba Ave. A pre-meeting at 6pm will continue an ongoing review and update of town ordinances, this week looking at sections governing town officials, boards and town policies as well as business regulations.

The board has canceled its usual 8am agenda review meeting Monday.

PICKING A MAYOR

The board by next month must pick a successor for Mayor Tarte, who was elected Nov. 6 to the 41st state Senate district seat. He’ll head to Raleigh in January, and has said he expects to formally hand over the mayor’s gavel to his successor at the Jan. 7 Town Board meeting.

Three of the five commissioners must agree on the appointment of an interim mayor. By precedent, Commissioner Lynette Rinker is at the top of the list, as the current mayor pro tem and the highest vote-getter in the last election. In theory, the board also could consider another commissioner, or another citizen, such as someone who has served on the board previously.

If commissioners pick one of their own, they’ll need to fill that vacant board seat, though they also could choose to leave that vacant until the next election, in November 2013.

CONTRACTS UP FOR VOTES

Commissioners will be asked to vote on a new three-year fire services agreement with the volunteer fire department, which has been under negotiation over the past couple of months. The new agreement

And they’ll vote on a contract that would pay consultant Don Harrow $5,000 a month as the town’s first economic development consultant. He would work at least 25 hours a week, helping the town plot economic development strategy, recruit new businesses and develop a database and manage relationships with existing businesses.

An outline of his duties also calls for him to create a Small Business/Entrepreneur Resource Center in town, and to help create a Cornelius Economic Development Advisory Council.

Monday night’s agenda also includes a resolution that would begin the process of annexing the Legacy Cornelius apartments under construction off Westmoreland Road, by setting a public hearing on Dec. 17.

WANT TO GO?

Cornelius Town Board meets Monday, Dec. 3, at 7pm, at Cornelius Town Hall, 21445 Catawba Ave., Cornelius. See the agenda on corneliuspublic.novusagenda.com. Also: 6pm “pre-meeting” Town Hall Room 204. (The usual 8am agenda preview is canceled)

Mecklenburg County favored Barack Obama for re-election over challenger Mitt Romney, 61 percent to 38 percent, though Mr. Romney held the edge statewide, winning North Carolina 50.45 to 48.29 percent.

The county also narrowly favored former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory for governor, giving him a 49.41 percent to 48.83 percent margin over Democrat Walter Dalton. Mr. McCrory won statewide with 54.68 percent to Mr. Dalton’s 43.16 percent.

The area’s two statehouse representatives, both Republicans, were unopposed for election. House Speaker and state Rep. Thom Tillis returns in the 98th House district, while Jeff Tarte, who won a Republican primary, was elected to the newly configured 41st state Senate District seat. He’ll be stepping down as Cornelius Mayor in January and heading to Raleigh.

In other area races, Republican Charles Jeter, currently a Huntersville commissioner, beat Democrat Robin Bradford for the new 92nd House District seat, 51.36 percent to 48.64 percent, according to unofficial returns.

Turnout in Mecklenburg County was 66.5 percent, a fairly high number typical of presidential election years.

VOTER TURNOUT BY PRECINCT DAVIDSON/CORNELIUS

127 – Hopewell Baptist Church – 2,841 ballots, 3,929 registered voters, 72.31%
206 – Davidson Town Hall – 3,564 ballots, 5,903 registered voters, 60.38%
202 – Cornelius Town Hall – 4,595 ballots, 7,255 registered voters, 63.34%
208 – Bethel Presbyterian Church – 3,172 ballots, 4,770 registered voters, 66.50%
240 – Community in Christ Lutheran Church – 3,481 ballots, 5,593 registered voters, 62.24%
242 – Jetton Park – 2,021 ballots, 2,964 registered voters, 68.18%

RELATED COVERAGE

See more on our Election 2012 page.

Nov. 7, 2012, WFAE.org, “McCrory elected NC governor”

Nov. 7, 2012, WFAE.org, “Obama loss in NC a blow to local Democrats.” – WFAE’s Julie Rose reports on the close race.

Voters lined up outside Cornelius Town Hall before the polls opened at 6:30am Tuesday. (James Sanders photo)

Michael Sheehan (right) was the first in line to vote at Cornelius Town Hall. (James Sanders photo)

It was still dark, but 91 people were waiting in line when the doors opened at the Cornelius Town Hall for voting on Election Day Tuesday.

Michael Sheehan was the first person in line, arriving at 5:45am. Asked why he was up early, he said: “Gotta get out, get your opinion heard, make sure we make the right decision.”

It took about 55 people for the first hundred voters as the Town Hall precinct to make their way through the line.

The polls are open until 7:30pm Tuesday.