After 11 Years, NCDOT Roundabout Plan Reaches Snow Hill Board, Which Chooses Its Own Engineer for Utility Work

It took 11 years for a state roundabout project to reach the Snow Hill Board of Commissioners, and when it finally did on Monday night, several members said they were seeing it for the first time.

The plan, NCDOT project R-5943, is fully funded and in design, with construction set for June 2029. It will end Hull Road as a through street and displace Yamco, a sweet potato processor and a high-volume customer of the town’s water and wastewater system. The board was not asked to approve the project. Its only decision was who would engineer the utility work, and commissioners voted to use their own engineer.

The meeting at G. Melvin Oliver Town Hall also included a public comment about a proposed Greene County data center, a vote against buying an advertisement in Greene Living magazine, and a full slate of department reports.

Public Comments: Data Center Questions

Amanda McCoy of Hull Road used her three minutes to ask about the data center proposed for Greene County. She acknowledged the matter falls outside the board’s jurisdiction but said its effects would not stop at town limits.

McCoy asked whether anyone on the board had been formally approached or notified about the proposal, and whether commissioners would be willing to meet with the Greene County Board of Commissioners to discuss how it could affect Snow Hill. Her concerns centered on the water system and the electrical grid, the possibility that costs could be passed on to residents, and the risk to local wetlands. She said she believes the town’s water system is already stressed.

“What will this board do to protect the people it represents if a data center is proposed?” McCoy asked.

Town Attorney Brian Pridgen reminded the board that it does not normally respond during public comment, and that any answers could be routed through the town manager after the meeting.

NCDOT Roundabout Project

Cathrine Hossack, and Michael C. Aman, the project engineer, presented NCDOT’s plans for project R-5943, listed on the agenda as the Kingold Boulevard and MLK intersection. NCDOT’s Board of Transportation describes the project as intersection improvements at US 13 and Hull Road in Snow Hill.

How the Project Began

The project started in 2015 as a request from the regional planning organization (RPO) to address congestion near the West Greene Elementary School and Hull Road. The original scope was an intersection improvement with sidewalks and access management. Its stated purpose draws on the Greene County Comprehensive Transportation Plan and the Snow Hill Comprehensive Plan, both of which call for upgrading Kingold Boulevard. Hossack said NCDOT’s project development team was handed the project last year, after it passed through the RPO and scoring.

Design Changes Since 2019

A 2019 scoping report looked at a dual-lane roundabout designed for traffic projected to 2035. That design drew negative feedback, including from the school superintendent, who felt it would be hard to navigate. Later versions explored a slip lane to relieve school congestion, but NCDOT went back to the drawing board and settled on a single-lane roundabout on NC 903 instead of at Hull Road. Presenters said the current design meets the project’s goals and is the safest option they could deliver. Commissioners noticed that a slide still showed the dual-lane layout, and Aman said it needed to be updated.

What Drivers Will See

Hull Road would end in a cul-de-sac and no longer run through. Drivers could still reach it, but only by way of the roundabout. Typical cross sections include sidewalks and, if the town chooses to support it, a landscaped island.

Commissioner Courtney Harrell asked about the traffic light and the driveways. Presenters said the light would stay, and signal work would be done at other lights so they continue to communicate. Aman said drivers back up from that light toward Goldsboro, and he expects the flow from the roundabout to help, with the signal timing adjusted at that location. Because of where the roundabout sits, Aman said, crews could build about 90 percent of it offline, with only the final tie-ins done under live traffic.

Traffic and Crash Concerns

Commissioners asked how much weight the plan gives to school traffic, since West Greene Elementary is expected to move by 2029. Presenters said many crashes at the intersection are rear-end collisions, while crashes at roundabouts tend to be sideswipes, which are more survivable. They said the morning school peak is real, but afternoon traffic is steady throughout the day and is not driven only by the school. Aman said the team was surprised by how much truck traffic comes off NC 258 toward Hull Road, and Hossack said much of the traffic is people traveling through to Greenville and beyond.

Schedule and Funding

The project is fully funded and classified as committed. Surveys, underground utility surveys, and a field scoping meeting are complete, and design is underway. NCDOT listed an environmental document in 2028, completed right-of-way plans in June 2028, and a construction letting in June 2029. Aman warned against treating those dates as firm. “Something’s going to come up,” he said.

Why Not the School Property?

Harrell asked why NCDOT wouldn't revisit the design and move the roundabout onto school property, since the school is expected to relocate, rather than disturb an existing business.

Aman said the goal was to line up the NC 258 thoroughfare. He said that, from conversations with the county, the county still wants to use the school site for something, possibly commercial or some other activity. Building at the existing intersection, he said, would take longer, cost more, and be a bigger headache for drivers. Hossack added that a T-intersection beside a roundabout offers no real benefit, and said she understood the school property was being eyed for development once the school leaves.

Harrell then asked what would happen if the town said no and whether the project could be taken back and reconsidered. Hossack said reopening the design could cost the project its scoring and its funding.

Yamco Is in the Path

The roundabout will displace Yamco, a business in the middle of the project area. Yamco makes shelf-stable sweet potato puree using a patented microwave process developed with N.C. State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The puree is sold to food makers. The company also distills Covington Gourmet Vodka from sweet potatoes at the same Snow Hill site. Area sweet potato growers, including Bobby Ham, founded the company in 2004, and the state announced 63 jobs there in 2007.

Aman said he had spoken with Ham, who gave NCDOT a time frame for how long he needs to find a new location, which will factor into the schedule. A board member asked where the business would go and noted that it is part of the town’s current tax base.

Town Manager April Vinson said Yamco is a high-volume water and wastewater customer and that property taxes are collected by the county, so she would need to obtain that figure. “That is going to be a huge blow to the town,” Vinson said, adding that the business has to be relocated.

Hossack said the change could open the corridor to new development.

Fast Break and Other Driveways

Presenters said most driveways would remain. NCDOT shortened the median near the eye doctor’s office to allow full turning movements there, and Aman said the change drew positive feedback.

Hossack said NCDOT spoke with the owner of Fast Break, Greene County Commissioner Bobby Taylor, who asked that a second driveway be closed while the main one stays. Aman said NCDOT had been in talks with Taylor and with Ham about the project. Vinson said Taylor had also told town staff he was concerned about losing a left turn into Fast Break under an earlier version of the design.

Utilities: The Decision in Front of the Board

The only item NCDOT asked the board to act on involved utility lines in the project area. Presenters said like-for-like replacements require no town contribution. If the town chooses an upgrade, such as an eight-inch water line replaced with a ten-inch line, it pays only the added cost. Older pipe, such as asbestos or clay, would be replaced with current standards, and NCDOT said it would pay for the town’s engineers to review plans.

Aman described the arrangement as turnkey, with NCDOT designing the work, returning to the town for any changes or betterments, building it, and inspecting it during construction. He said the county has only one line that may conflict with the project, while the town has many underground utilities in the area. Hossack said NCDOT uses a 3D modeling program that contractors rely on and that smaller engineering firms often lack. She noted that water permits through the state Department of Environmental Quality would still apply. “At the end of the day, Snow Hill has approval of it,” Hossack said.

What the Town Can and Cannot Decide

Town Attorney Brian Pridgen clarified that NCDOT was not seeking approval of the project’s location or design, only a decision on whether NCDOT’s engineers or the town’s would handle the utility engineering. A commissioner asked whether that left the town with no say in whether the project happens, and Pridgen said that was his understanding of what was being presented.

Hossack said objecting to the project itself was beyond her role and that an objection would go through the RPO. She warned that objecting could put the project at risk. Aman said this is a committed project, “so this is moving towards construction,” and that a dropped project cannot be reshaped. A replacement would have to be submitted and scored again, and he called that scoring very competitive right now.

“The First Time It’s Been Brought to Us”

Harrell said there was no problem with the roundabout or with NCDOT’s engineers doing the work, but that the board was seeing the project for the first time and the tax and utility revenue at stake was significant. Several other board members also said the project was new to them.

Vinson said the project was first brought to her about two weeks earlier, which is why she asked NCDOT to speak to the board. She said RPO meeting notices had gone to spam after a change in town clerks, which caused staff to miss RPO meetings, and that no NCDOT contact beyond the RPO had reached any board member or staff.

Aman said NCDOT had quite a bit of interaction with the Greene County commissioners, the first officials the team spoke with, and apologized if Snow Hill felt neglected. Hossack acknowledged that Greene County officials had raised issues with the project, and said the RPO has seen the plan and has no issues with it. She encouraged the board to have the RPO report to it regularly, and said the team lives and works in the area. “We want full disclosure and transparency,” she said, and invited the board to request project updates through construction.

NCDOT Utility Construction Request

Commissioners moved that the town use its own engineer to work with NCDOT on the utility work. The motion was seconded and approved. Hossack cautioned that the town’s engineer may need to meet NCDOT’s specifications and said the two sides would confirm that.

Greene Living Magazine

Vinson told the board the town skipped last year’s edition. Two years ago it bought a half-page ad for $605, and the price is now $635. The magazine spotlights people and places across the county, and advertising helps pay for printing and distribution. Board members wondered whether the county commissioners contribute.

County Commissioner Derek Burress told the board he has not heard anything about the county contributing. Mayor Dianne Andrews said she did not think the town needed to invest, and the board moved not to buy an ad.

Police Report

Chief Josh Smith said town limit violations rose in October after Officer Oliver earned his radar certification, and officers wrote 20 state citations. The department handled traffic control for the homecoming parade and for the town’s trunk or treat event, which Smith called a huge success. Cars arrived “headlight to taillight for an hour and a half,” he said, and parking stretched to the wellness center and the football field. Because the crowd was larger than expected, the traffic pattern did not work well, and next year’s event will use one-way entry and exit. Commissioners suggested better signage.

The first incident report of the month was closed by arrest. Reports 89 and 90 remain open, report 91 was closed as unfounded, 92 was closed by arrest, 93 and 94 remain open, and 95 and 96 were closed as unfounded. Mayor Andrews thanked Chief Smith for how he handled a difficult situation earlier in the month

Smith also reminded residents that the department’s annual holiday gift program for children accepts monetary donations only, since the school provides each child’s name, gender, and wish list.

Financial Report

Finance Officer April Williams said the month’s changes were routine and noted an error on the report. The water and sewer cash management trust interest should read $4,028.99, not $28.99, and the ending water and sewer balance should be $1,251,667.08. On projects, the well rehabilitation is nearly complete, with only a generator left. Vinson said the generator is on back order with a lead time of eight to twelve weeks, so the project will likely pause until well into January. The lead line service replacement is close to closing out.

Public Works Report

Vinson presented the report for Public Works Director Travis Warters, who was absent. The water department repaired three leaks in-house. Well number four is expected back online within about a week, and the generator affects only backup power. Inmate labor has returned to the cemetery, where crews are trimming bushes outside the wall and treating wasps and bees. Christmas lights go up this week so the town is ready by December 1, and maintenance crews are still edging curbs and sidewalks and cleaning gutters after Friday’s heavy rain.

Parks and Recreation Report

Toni Waters said last month’s movie night drew about 100 people. The screen initially showed the movie upside down, but staff fixed it and started on time. Concessions brought in about $308, and because the food was donated, the town kept the proceeds. The next movie, Night at the Museum, is Friday, November 20, with gates opening at 6:30 p.m. and the show starting at 7:00 p.m. A Christmas movie is planned for December. Waters is also planning a large event for December of next year and asked commissioners for phone numbers and volunteers.

Manager’s Report

Utility Billing Credits

Vinson said all affected customers have been credited, and the remaining work was expected to take under two months.

Park and Splash Pad

Harrell is coordinating the electrical work at the park. The last step is installing cameras, which will go up after the power box is wired. The walking trail lights are supplied through Duke Energy and run on a photocell, coming on at dusk and off at dawn, and sod is going down on cleared areas. The vendor supplying bench plaques counted 16 benches ordered, while the town’s invoices show 20. He is checking and will reorder if needed, with the remaining plaques expected in about three weeks. Plaques are also planned for the Bowen family at the picnic shelter and for a foundation that contributed to the park.

During movie night, lighting affected the screen, and covers will be placed over some of it. Commissioner Faye Daniels voiced concern that children left the movie area to use the playground, and Vinson said she and Waters had already discussed it. She noted that signs say the town is not responsible and that parents who let children go there assume that responsibility. She encouraged commissioners to attend town events.

Veterans Day

The town’s observance is Wednesday, November 11, at 11:00 a.m. at the Snow Hill Fire Department. Lunch will come from Morris’s Barbecue, and the Senior Center will have a table about a veterans group it is starting.

Comments From the Board

Thanksgiving Meals

Mayor Andrews said Interfaith will help prepare 1,000 Thanksgiving meals, cooked by a church group and packaged by volunteers, for seniors, shut-ins, and others who might not otherwise have a hot meal. Pickup is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and she asked anyone interested in volunteering to contact her.

Laundry Service and Legal Aid

Commissioner Daniels announced a laundry service on the third Monday of each month from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. at a local laundromat for low and moderate income families, and asked for volunteers. Vinson asked for a flyer to display in the Town Hall lobby. Another commissioner announced a Legal Aid of North Carolina event for seniors on Friday, November 13, at 10:00 a.m. at a local Baptist church.

Closed Session

The agenda listed a closed session on economic development.