Free wireless Internet service is coming to downtown Lenoir, courtesy of online search and applications leader Google.
During Tuesday night's Lenoir City Council meeting at the City-County Chambers, a $110,348 grant from Google was approved, paving the way for the development of WiFi online access. The service will be operated by the city, and the agreement with Google runs for three years.
"It will be a nice attraction to our downtown area," Lenoir City Manager Lane Bailey said. "Hopefully the travelling public and local people can enjoy that."
Bailey added that having wireless service should enhance the ability to market Lenoir and its downtown.
Meanwhile, the council approved pursuit of a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant of up to $1.5 million to build a new fire department substation to service the Lower Creek/Wilkesboro Boulevard area. The grant is part of the federal stimulus approved by Congress earlier this year and requires a 5 percent match on the part of the city.
"This will improve the response time in the areas that it will serve," said Bailey, adding the substation will not require additional personnel. "We've identified a couple of potential sites."
In another construction update, Bailey said bids were opened Tuesday for the Veterans Memorial project in downtown. Bailey said the bids "are a little better than anticipated" and indicated a bid award is planned for Tuesday's Committee of the Whole meeting.
Lenoir continues to sell brick pavers to honor any member of the military for $100, though Bailey said the price will increase at some point. Pavers can be purchased at City Hall, and a deadline will be established for those seeking to have the pavers in place when the memorial is dedicated. Bailey said he hopes construction of the memorial will begin in the summer and is eyeing a dedication service by Veterans Day. Approximately 300 pavers have been sold thus far.
Also, the council accepted a $14,080 payment from Caldwell County Pathways Chairman Tony Deal to assist the city with matching funds for the Lenoir Greenway.
"A lot of Caldwell County citizens are using the greenway," Deal said. "And we also have people from Boone and Morganton. It's great to have a city committed to quality of life issues."
In other business, the council:
--Approved an amendment to the Caldwell County Sales Tax Reinvestment Agreement that extends the accord to June 2013. Lenoir's annual contribution level is $5,000.
--Approved a new Floodplain Damage Prevention Ordinance to reflect revised FEMA flood insurance maps in Caldwell County.
--Appointed Richard Hedrick to the Board of Adjustments and Cliff Swanson as the student representative on the Recreation Advisory Board. Also, Susie Hutchens was re-appointed to the ABC Board. To see more of the News-Topic or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newstopic.net/. Copyright (c) 2009, News-Topic, Lenoir, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, News-Topic, Lenoir, N.C.