A series of land deals years in the making between the City of New Bern and Weyerhaeuser could help bring substantial growth to the city’s electric and water systems.
During their July 25 meeting, the New Bern Board of Aldermen adopted a resolution authorizing Mayor Jeffrey Odham to execute a real estate purchase and sale agreement for six acres of land from Weyerhaeuser at a cost of $15,000 per acre, for a total purchase price of $90,000.
The land, which is located off of County Line Road, was acquired for the construction of a new electric substation and interconnect to the bulk electric system.
According to Charlie Bauschard, director of Public Utilities, the project will provide modernized system upgrades that will improve the electric grid resiliency and the rerouting of power to distressed areas. It will also ensure continued economic growth by providing capacity for future loads and deliver the ability to reroute power safely to perform system inspections, testing and maintenance.
He said the project is consistent with the Electric System Long Range Study that was completed in 2019 and the Electric System Capacity Improvement Project that was established in May of 2021.
According to Bauschard, the city has been trying to develop the project for the last four years.
“This is a big stepping stone for us to develop that property so that we can continue to build that substation,” he said. “It will allow us to add load to the electric system.”
The board also approved a resolution authorizing Odham to execute a letter of agreement with Weyerhaeuser for easement rights to the property. Bauschard said the easements are necessary to connect the new substation to the Duke transmission system as well as provide new interconnects to the electric distribution system.
The needed easements total 22.983 acres at a cost of $9,798.55 per acre, for a full purchase price of $225,200.
According to the city, the money for the land purchase and easements will come from the electric project funds.
In response to a question from Alderman Barbara Best, Bauschard said Weyerhaeuser would not agree to give the easements to the city at no cost even though the city is purchasing the land.
“You would think they would be willing to give us an easement,” Best commented.
A second land deal in the works between New Bern and Weyerhaeuser could also help secure property for the city’s future water system development.
On August 8 the Board of Aldermen adopted a resolution authorizing the publication of notice of intent for the exchange of 0.23 acres owned by the city along the northern side of US 70 in exchange for 0.66 acres of property owned by Weyerhaeuser Company on the southern side of the highway.
Weyerhaeuser requested the transfer to accommodate plans for the West New Bern development.
The city-owned property was purchased from Weyerhaeuser in 2007 along with nine other parcels and is part of a water well site. The city can use the property on the southern side of Highway 70 for future water system improvements, according to information provided in the meeting’s agenda packet.
During the August 3 meeting of the New Bern Planning and Zoning Board, Cliff Parson of Ward and Smith said Weyerhaeuser and the City of New Bern had been in discussions about the property transfer “for a while.”
Parson said he expected the property agreement to be on the agenda for approval at the Board of Aldermen’s August 222 meeting and that new maps of the properties in question would be presented to the Planning and Zoning Board on September 5.
By Todd Wetherington, co-editor. Send an email with questions or comments.