First Posted: 3/13/2014

ST. PAULS — The St. Pauls Board of Commissioners voted Thursday night to put out a welcome mat for Walmart, which wants to place a grocery store in town, a move some residents have opposed.

The commissioners in a 5-1 vote approved a conditional-use permit the giant retailer sought to construct the 41,000-square-foot market on Broad Street, between South Wilkinson Drive and Odum Street.

“I approved it because we need it,” Commissioner McClure “Buck” Terry, Jr. said after the meeting. “It will be an asset to St. Pauls and not hurt our downtown businesses.”

Ghee Blain Johnson, Sam McAllister, Sandra Cain and Gerard J. Weindel joined Terry in voting in favor of issuing the permit, while Commissioner Elbert Gibson Jr. was the lone dissenting vote.

Gibson made an earlier motion to deny the request because he said the site plan failed to meet state Department of Transportation’s requirements for adequate turning lanes for truck traffic. That motion failed in a 4 to 2 vote, with Gibson and McAllister voting to deny.

“I was elected to represent those people and not the town,” Gibson said. “That is what I did. I heard what they had to say and I tried to represent their views.”

Some St. Pauls merchants and many residents living near the proposed store have expressed opposition to the Walmart, saying it would cause traffic problems and hurt local businesses.

About 25 people attended Thursday’s meeting, but did not speak because a public hearing on the matter had already been held. But several people were clearly dissatisfied with the vote, with one man wagging his finger at the board as he exited the meeting.

As the meeting continued, several residents gathered outside to share their dismay with the board’s action. No one in the group would speak on the record to a reporter.

Weindel said after the meeting that the board made “a tough decision” but he was satisfied that Walmart had dealt with the main issue — an increase in vehicles cutting through the neighborhood to get to the store.

He said Walmart agreed as part of the conditional-use permit to use removable metal barriers to close off South Wilkerson Street so it is only accessible to emergency vehicles.

“My biggest concern was the traffic,” Weindel said. “They are now going to block off that road and keep the traffic away.”

Under conditons of the permit, Walmart will have to comply with DOT recommendations that the retailer improve Odom Road to meet heavy truck traffic and widen the road to 24 feet from West Broad Street to the southern edge of the site.

Walmart will have to install right-hand and left-hand turn lanes adequate for truck traffic.

The store must also control storm-water runoff from the site so it does not negatively affect surrounding private property or Interstate 95.

Construction could begin in June with plans for the store to be complete near the end of the year.

The St. Pauls Walmart is expected to add about 90 jobs and about $2 million to the town’s tax base. St.Pauls would collect about $12,000 a year in taxes from the store, and Robeson County would collect close to $15,000.

“I was elected to help the town look for ways to grow,” Weindel said. “I hope in the long run, we will all get a pat on the back for this.”

In other business, the commissioners approved a contract to renew auditor services with Thompson, Price, Scott and Adams of Elizabethtown. The town will pay the accounting firm $11,225 for the 2014-2015 fiscal year audit.

Also on Thursday, the board authorized the mayor to execute an intergovernmental agreement between St. Pauls and Robeson County for emergency 911 reimbursements from the state.

Town Administrator J.R. Steigerwald said that the town is owed a reimbursement for operating its own 911 center, but he was not sure how much. He said the reimbursement would depend on how the state configures its budget and the number of 911 calls that can be documented by the town.

Steigerwald said the agreement is needed because any reimbursement would initially go to the county. The money can only be used for 911 equipment.

In other business, the board voted to:

— Deny a request to allow restaurants as a conditional use in the neighborhood business district.

— Amend the wording of the town’s zoning ordinance to allow accessory buildings in the central business zone.

— Amend the zoning ordinance to establish the maximum height of a free-standing sign at 25 feet.

— Declare a foreclosed house at 236 W. Pittman St. as surplus and advertise for sale.