By Debra Hawkins

Novmber 16, 2007 | SMITHFIELD -- A new stop sign at 200 East and 400 North was approved by the City Council Wednesday, changing the intersection from a two-way stop to a four-way stop.

Changing the intersection from a two-way to a four-way stop was proposed because of the increased traffic on the road due to more housing developments.

James Gass, city manager, said he thinks the stop sign needed to be put in, not to slow people down, although he said he feels they are going too fast, but the bigger problem is protecting the children that are picked up and dropped off by school buses in that area.

Johnny McCoy, Smithfield chief of police, said he feels the children are in danger and need to be protected.

"The city needs to have some type of traffic control device to protect those children. It is a safety issue," McCoy said.

The city also held a public hearing regarding the city's pending application for a loan by the Community Impact Board, a board that provides cities with low interest loans to build up the infrastructure. The loan which was sought was to build a new building that would house the city offices and a new library.

The city sought the loan when the bonds that were originally going to pay for the building were voted down, Chad Downs, city mayor, said.

"The public spoke and said we don't want to borrow money to build the library," Downs said. "It would be wise to wait and see what this type of loan can do for the city. Just because we applied for it doesn't mean we have to activate it."

While discussing the possible loan, the location of where the new building would be built came up. Jeanne Layne, a Smithfield resident, said she doesn't agree with the building of the new library because she does not like the location the city has selected.

"We need to keep our historical landmarks," Layne said. "Damn it, those people fought for us, the armory is important."

Gass said if the people of Smithfield want to save the armory from being replaced with a new library, they will have to pay for it.

"It would cost $83,000 to remove all of the asbestos from the building," Gass said. "In order to save the armory, the public would have to pay for that."

Councilman Dennis Watkins said the city has to make a decision soon because the building is not up to code and needs to be dealt with.

"The problem child is that we are already on the good graces of the state right now because it is not compliant," Watkins said. "We are in a desperate need. It's my silly little dream to have a 1,000 people show up and give us wisdom and direction as to what to do."

In other business:
-- The city discussed having the police chief report monthly on gang activity.
-- The city discussed decorating the city for the holidays.

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