Plan Unveiled For County Government Campus
By The Smithfield Weekly Sun
SMITHFIELD – The Johnston County Board of Commissioners this week received the architects’ Master Plan for a completely new complex of buildings to house most departments of County Government. They liked what they saw.
“Fantastic!” exclaimed Patrick Harris, the board’s vice chairman. “It’s not over the top but something I think our citizens will be proud of for years to come.”
How many years it will take to carry out the plan remains to be seen. If all the facilities were constructed and equipped immediately, the estimated total cost would exceed $347 million. The first priority – a new home for the county’s Department of Social Services – would cost $97.3 million at today’s prices, the architects estimate.
Second on the list of priorities is a new home for the Johnston County Health Department. That would cost $65.7 million. An administration building mostly for departments presently housed in the Courthouse would cost more than $51 million. New offices in a separate building for Inspections, Planning, and Utilities would run close to $50 million at today’s prices. The architects estimate construction bids could rise 3.5% annually over the next decade.
The proposed campus would be built on acreage the county has purchased on the south side of US 70 Business east of Smithfield – across from the new Public Safety and Detention centers on the north side of that highway.
How the project will be financed is yet to be worked out with concurrence from the state’s Local Government Commission and the county’s financial advisors with Richmond-based Davenport & Company.
Meanwhile, Moseley Architects – contracted to develop the plan brought to commissioners Tuesday evening – will come back next month with proposals for site and infrastructure work (required before any construction can begin) and a contract for designing the Social Services building.
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26 Comments
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Sounds like another tax hike on the way.
I was thinking the same thing. Whats wrong with buildings they already are in? Nothing just another reason to rob I mean raise our taxes even more
The dss is in the (old 60 years at least former hospital…before the current one now was built)..workers have basically ran out of room ..Waiting room is so small..
Now we know why they are raising our property taxes… so they can all have shiny new buildings while we struggle to pay our bills!
Taxes rising & water taps now 10K…No end in sight
This is the final nail in the coffin for downtown Smithfield
ABSOLUTELY !!!!…Downtown Smithfield businessess are struggling as it is…this will be a death knoll ……I hope I’m retired by the time this monkey business is built….
Wow, can’t wait. It’s rural redlining and the powers are spending the he’ll out of our money. My question: who owned that 100 acres?
Most likely a farmer or the children…They just don’t want to mess with it..
Wait till you get those property tax bills getting ready to be mailed out around august 1
How the project will be financed is yet to be worked out with concurrence from the state’s Local Government Commission, ….we know how it will be financed, on the taxpayers back.
Nothing busy the best on somebody else’s money
So more Buildings are going to be empty and falling down. Looks to me like they would be looking for ways to bring people to Smithfield, than build new buildings.🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
I fully expect this to come in under budget and on time….lol
Those property taxes got the crooked politicians finding ways to spend it. It took 10 years to get the road near the outlets paved but we all of a sudden have plans for 400 million in new buildings?!
How in the you-know-what this money is gonna come from other than tax hikes on people here in Johnston County. Counties like Wake & Charlotte Merklingberg (I know I spelled it wrong) where those areas are way greater populated compared to the size than Johnston. Everyone is already penny pinching and trying to save money and survive on what money we got in our pocket and checking accounts and we sure “h” can’t spend anymore than what we have. They should look into what we have already in the budget and tackle the most of the most important things first. We all know that the county is growing, just not that fast; just sit back and wait at least maybe I would say 8 to 10 years at least to see how the county will look. It’s our tax money they’re spending not their personal money.
VOTE NO!!!!! Or else, VOTE THEM OUT NEXT ELECTION!!
Property taxes have doubled a lot of places in the county. Tying into a water line is over 5000 dollars. We keep building these new buildings and schools like money is not an issue. The leadership of Johnston County is an utter joke. Maybe one day we will be in the hands of county leaders with a brain that is at least the size of a pea.
Can everyone agree that the government in JC only has their own interests in mind? They don’t care if you’re capable of living here because they know that if you leave, someone else who is capable will take your place. These politicians and the corporations that are pushing them don’t live like the common people and don’t have to worry about the things that the common people worry about. They don’t care if you lose everything and they don’t care if you’re struggling to keep your property because they want it. Vote these people out 100%. No more democrats and republicans just common people. Let’s set an example and make a change or its all of us on the chopping blocks.
100 per cent right.
100 per cent right.
I also want to know if there was any farmland used in this project and agree with most comments. But as i read this, there must be a bigger and deeper story for our county to need such a huge social services and county health department that those two take up over half the project space. And coming on the heels of a huge sheriff’s department and prison. Does the majority of our county population have no personal responsibility? Makes you wonder.
This is long overdue. I’ve heard stories of how run down those buildings are and infested with fleas & who knows what else. With the recent tax hike do the increased market values should certainly give them the revenue to do it.
Personally, I would like to see downtown become a community gathering place with shops, and restaurants that support our local agriculture.
Johnston County has already urbanized the entire county with their sprawling low density messes at the expense of the 13 other municipalities. Decentralize county services is just another power play to destroy any competition that may still remain.
What low density messes? What competition?…There’s nothing here. There are so many wide open market shares downtown. I’m not trying to be confrontational. Just trying to understand.