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Winston-Salem City Council To Vote On Five Bond Orders For November Ballot

Fire Station 8 on Reynolda Road in Winston-Salem. The station was financed with $2.58 million that voters approved in the November 2014 bond referendum. KERI BROWN/WFDD

The Winston-Salem City Council will hold a public hearing Monday to discuss several bond proposals for the November ballot. The money would fund continuations of many projects that have already been started.

The proposed 2018 bond package totals $122 million and focuses on five areas: economic development, housing, public safety facilities, parks and recreation, and streets and sidewalks.

Street paving is a major point on the list. There's also proposed neighborhood revitalization in the East Ward and redevelopment along Liberty Street. And assistant city manager Ben Rowe says municipal services would get an upgrade, as well.

“One of the major investments that would be funded through the bond referendum would be a new public safety communication system," Rowe says. "The current radio system is beyond its useful life, and so we are at a point where we need to invest and upgrade. We would be partnering with the county because it is a city-county system. 

The money would also help fund a new fire station on the south end of the city to address some coverage issues there and replace Fire Station No. 3, which is located on Liberty Street.

Rowe says the measures would continue efforts from the 2014 bond referendum that included improvements at several local parks.

“Certainly, with the city growing over time and the demands that are being put on the infrastructure, it's important to address those critical needs. But [there's] also just the recognition that we need to make investments in facilities that improve the quality of life for all residents," he says. "We have seen the impact [of bond money] on projects like the Quarry Park, Winston Lake and Hanes Park. It's part of the drive to not only maintain what we have, but also continue to be the type of community that residents respect and are willing to support.”

If approved by voters in the fall, the bonds would be funded by a 4 cent increase in the city's property tax rate. That means a person who has a home valued at $150,000 could expect to pay around $60 more a year.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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