SUMMERFIELD, N.C. — The saga involving a controversial project in Guilford County has a new chapter. The Town of Summerfield said the state is again targeting land for de-annexation at Thursday's meeting.
This would clear the way for the development of the long-debated Villages of Summerfield Farms.
The de-annexation of nearly 1000 acres of land in Summerfield has caused quite the conversation in the small town for the past several years.
That's because a number of Summerfield residents are hesitant to let developer David Couch build apartments and commercial developments on what the council calls, the heart of Summerfield.
"We need to fight off de-annexation. The precedent it would set for all smalls towns across North Carolina is horrendous. If they can take 1000 acres out of the heart of Summerfield, they will take all kinds of acreage out of all these beautiful small towns across North Carolina," Summerfield's Mayor Pro-Tem, Lynne Williams DeVaney said.
The town council called for a special meeting Thursday because just last week, Senator Phil Berger said that he wants to continue pushing forward with the de-annexation of land in Summerfield.
One of the main topics of discussion was about setting up a meeting with Senator Berger, developer Couch and the council. There was a lot of fingers pointing over who should have set up the conversation.
“If we had people in place over the past decade that have been doing more, we wouldn’t be here. We’d be in a much better spot than we are now and for someone [Mayor Tim Sessoms] to come in and tell us, the newly elected council, we just came on in late December, our first regular meeting was January, for someone to act like all the problems are ours, that’s not what a leader does," Summerfield's newly elected Council Member, Jonathan Hamilton said.
"We see that these problems are a long time coming, and I think he [Sessoms] knows we’re going to talk about that and he’s trying to do his best damage control for himself. He’s not looking out for Summerfield, we are looking out for Summerfield and we’re going to do the best we can, that’s why we met here today. There’s a time sensitive issue and we’ve got to fix it as fast as possible."
With mayor Tim Sessoms removed as the attorney liaison on the topic of de-annexation in December. Sessoms said he didn't even know the council wanted to speak with Berger and Couch. He believes at this point, a conversation between the senator, developer and the council won’t do much.
"Well in December, the council effectively removed me from participating in the de-annexation conversation with our attorney’s and with anyone. So, I have participated in any of those conversations since December," Mayor Sessoms said. "They [Berger and Couch] may take a meeting, but I don’t know how impactful that meeting will be when they’re watching the way things are unfolding and you know, how our town manager has been treated, the fact that now our town attorney has resigned. The public trust as well as their trust, I think are all in question at this point."
There was also a decision made today, with a 4 to 1 vote to hire a PR team for the town in the fight against de-annexation. The member against this decision says it may be a waste of money with the time left the PR team would have to campaign against de-annexation with voting on the topic taking place in April. The council will now begin looking for a team to do the job.