Voters weigh in on $75 million bond for improvements in Gaston County

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A bond package worth tens of millions of dollars is on the ballot for voters in Gaston County, and local leaders say paying the price tag now will prevent a much higher price tag later on.

The total bond package weighs in at about $75 million and it’s largely aimed at fixing many streets and paved areas in the county; $18 million of that total will cover the city’s share for improvements on Interstate 85.

While the bond referendum is low on the ballot, the voter turnout has been high. Many voters in Gastonia told Channel 9 they didn’t actually come for the transportation bond vote.

“Did you know about this before you got here?” Channel 9′s Ken Lemon asked several voters.

“Actually, I did not,” said Tawanda Berry Harris. Her response was echoed by most of the voters we spoke with.

Kimberly Falls told us she voted yes for the $75 million bond after reading the summary on the ballot. She says that the conditions of roads around her home are all she needed to be convinced.

“A lot of them look like they are eroding away,” Falls said. “It looks like it hasn’t changed since I was a little girl in some places.”

The city of Gastonia recently conducted a pavement condition study for 375 streets. As many as 120 of them were deemed “poor,” “very poor,” or “serious.” The bond will widen some of the heavily used intersections, make improvements on I-85, and pay for sidewalks around schools.

The Gaston Business Association says these improvements are needed.

“It does a good job of addressing some of the maintenance issues that if we don’t address today, will exacerbate and become really big problems,” said Patrick Mumford with the Gaston Business Association.

But proponents will have to convince some voters who didn’t know about the bond but came ready to cast a vote to stop inflation. They believe a bond means new taxes.

“With our economy and so much, I don’t think our world needs to have so much additional financial strain on it,” Berry Harris said outside a polling center.

Some voters told Channel 9 they simply voted no, saying it’s a bad time to think about new costs.

The Gastonia Business Association said new roads attract new businesses to help reduce the cost of paying back those bonds.

“Gastonia, and really all of Gaston [County], is preparing for growth, and it’s coming whether people want it or not,” Mumford said.

We asked city officials how much it will cost the average taxpayer to pay back the $75 million bond. They said they won’t know until the property reevaluations are complete.

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