By DAVID BORAKS
CorneliusNews.net

Cornelius Commissioners on Monday approved money to create the town’s first police canine patrol in memory, a move that will end reliance on other area departments when dogs are needed in an investigation. The board also gave the go-ahead for the next phase of design enhancements for the planned new interchange at I-77 Exit 28. And it approved new traffic restrictions on Bailey Springs Drive near W.A. Hough High School, in response to neighbors’ concerns about chaos as parents drop off students every morning.

The actions came at the board’s regular meeting Monday at Town Hall. The board also put off discussion of a new false-alarm ordinance, saying it wanted to give residents and businesses a chance to comment on the proposal. The new policy, proposed by police chief Bence Hoyle last month, is aimed at reducing time-consuming false alarms. It would require security-alarms to be registered and calls for fines for homes or businesses with repeat false alarms. Read the full story

Contractors for the N.C. Department are wrapping up this summer’s repaving project on N.C. 115 through town, including replacement of storm drain grates on the roadside. Workers have been out several nights this week, completing paving around the new grates. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
CorneliusNews.net

Blythe Construction began work on town streets this week as part of the town’s 2012 street repaving and repair program.

Workers have been marking pavement and patching streets over the past week or so. A crew was out on Tryon Street, off Washam Potts Road, on Thursday, beginning patching and repairs in advance of the repaving.

The Town Board on Aug. 20 approved a contract with the Charlotte company worth up to $450,000 to repave at least 17 streets on the city’s priority list. Blythe’s bid on the initial list of streets was about $345,000, beating out three other companies. Town staff said they hope the additional money can be used to pave a few more roads.

The contract says the work is to be completed by Nov. 15, but town project manager Tyler Beardsley said most of the work is expected to be finished by the end of September, weather-permitting. Patching should be done this week or early next week, then milling and repaving would begin. The town plans to alert residents of affected streets next week.

Tryon Street is a side street and was closed on for the repair work Thursday. But Mr. Beardsley said most streets won’t close, and should have one-lane open, during the project.

Cornelius Fiscal 2012-13 street paving list

Tryon Street from Washam Potts Road to Danesway Lane
Conistan Place from Danesway Lane to Heartland Street
Coachmans Trace from Carriage Court to Squires Way
John Hawks Road from Treetop Lane to Footman Place
Knox Road from Nautique Boulevard to Harken Drive
McCall Street from Church Street to North Main Street
Green Dolphin Lane from Yawl to end
Henderson Road from West Catawba to end
Meta Road from Jetton Road to circle
Double Eagle Road from Meta Road to circle
Invergordon Lane from Double Eagle to circle
Halyard Point from Double Eagle to circle
Scottscraig Lane from Meta Road to circle
Natalie Road from Meta Road to cul-de-sac
Sunny Point Court from cul-de-sac to Natalie Road
Church Street from Catawba Ave to Washam Street
Knox Road from Harken Drive to Torrence Chapel

May be added:
Floral Lane from Willow Pond Road to end.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Download a copy of the town contract with Blythe, the list of streets to be paved (see also below), and a summary of bids received on the Town Website.

Chart showing tentative order of street repairs and repaving. (This list is subject to change for weather and other delays), CLICK HERE»

HAVE NEWS OR QUESTIONS?

Email editor@corneliusnews.net

Workers replacing a sewer line on Church Street Tuesday cut a gas line just behind Cornelius Presbyterian Church, bringing a quick response from Cornelius firefighters and gas company PSNC. Read the full story

Contractors for Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities have begun installing a new sewer line from the Washam Street pumping station on Lake Cornelius in a project that should be complete by September. Read the full story

Updated 10:40 a.m. A pump failed at the Lee Dukes water treatment plant in Huntersville Thursday morning, knocking out service or reducing water pressure in some areas, Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities said.

Residents began seeing problems before 7 a.m. As of 8:49 a.m., the pump had been repaired and water pressure “should be returing to normal,” CMU spokeswoman Karen Whichard said. The plant is off N.C. 73 in Huntersville, at 7980 Babe Stillwell Road, and serves Davidson, Huntersville and Cornelius.

Residents in Cornelius and Davidson reported problems earlier Thursday morning. Areas affected included neighborhoods off and along North and South Main Street, Griffith Street, Concord Road (including the St. Alban’s and McConnell neighborhoods),  N.C. 115 in Cornelius, and in the Antiquity Cornelius neighborhood off South Street, according to residents who contacted CorneliusNews.net. Davidson College also saw low pressure, CMU said.

CMU did not say how widespread the water outage was.

Ms. Whichard said CMU crews will be flushing hydrants Thursday in the area, a standard procedure when a pressure drop occurs,

8:27 a.m.
Water problems reported around town Thurs. morning

Residents around Davidson and in the Antiquity neighborhood of Cornelius are reporting their water is out or they have low water pressure. Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities is investigating the complaints, and county operators are telling residents that there are water main breaks in our area.

At just after 8 a.m., a Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities spokeswoman said she had not heard any reports of water main breaks. We’re hoping to hear back from her shortly.

We’ve put the word out via email, telephone and our Facebook page to find out where the problem is. So far, readers on South Street, Walnut Street, off South Street in Antiquity Cornelius, in Spinnaker Point (off I-77 exit 30) and on North Main Street all are reporting they are without water or have very low pressure.

We’ll post more information when we get it. If you’re seeing problems, post a comment below or email me editor@davidsonnews.net.

In an effort to increase operational efficiency, starting July 23 Republic Services will change the trash, recycling and yard waste pick up days for some Cornelius homes and businesses. The company will continue to collect garbage  one day per week, and to collect recycling every other week – the only change will be a more even distribution in the number of addresses serviced by Republic each day (as it is now, Republic services significantly more homes on some days than on others, according to town officials). Read the full story

The July 4th holiday is upon us. Hope you’ve got something fun planned. Government offices, banks, and post offices all will be closed for the day Trash collection and recycling are on a regular schedule in Davidson and Cornelius. Read the full story