Please provide public input on issues facing Johnston County. I need your help for some research. What would you consider a leading issue facing Johnston County's future? I'll start: 1. Lack of Mass Transportation-due to the increasing cost of everything, I would like the option to take a bus, tram or ride a bike (if we had sidewalks on Hwy 70):neutral:
Keep the bus but give me a train! If there was a train that could take me to the fairgrounds area in Raleigh I would be a happy Camper. Don't know that I would take it everyday, but at least three out of five. If I did this, and a couple of hundred others did too, think of the cost, the lower emissions, and the traffic that would be lighter.
1) Mass transit options, preferrably a train. 2) Unbridled growth. The housing slump has softened this a bit, but it has not eased up on what projects are being allowed. I think much more stringent requirements on developers for road improvements, landscaping, and light pollution are not too much to ask. 3) Economic development in the core of the county. JoCo needs to have a central job market. Essentially lure employers to the Smithfield area and take the burden off of Western JoCo. With access to rail (East-West and North-South), two major interstates and at least one major US highway this shouldn't be hard to do given the labor pool we have to offer. 4) The Mountains to Sea Trail. The pace needs to be picked up on this quickly. It will not be an economic boon for the county, but it will have an effect. More importantly, it is the best opportunity to begin a county parks system using the MST as a greenway connecting everything. The base route follows the neuse river and that covers a lot of ground becuase JoCo is a big county.
Free disposal of trash if dropped off at a designated county area. Wake County does this now, as long as your a resident, you can get rid of your trash for free! It would be nice!
I believe the actual cost in Wake county for this service is payed by the taxpayers. So its really not "free". I don't want to pay for something I may never use. Atleast in JoCo only those who use it have to pay. I think a "pay by the weight" system should be put in.
I don't know how it works honestly; and I don't know how much the tax difference would be between living in Johnston Co. or outside city limits in Wake Co. I am sure that it would be cheaper to pay the small difference in tax, which I'm sure is minuscule when broken down, to haul trash off for free. However, I know there are those that are too lazy or "just don't have enough time," and would still pay for pick up. It would be nice though!
Or maybe the price of gas and their distance would not justify transporting their own garbase, or the type of automobile they drive. Like, I am thinking of getting a sticker for the dump - but I would only want to go every other week or so and where would I store my garbage in the heat during this time - plus I drive minivan... Ick!
The Johnston Co tax rate is higher than Wake. Those in Wake Co either go to the dump or pay for a trash service.
I thought the tax rate was higher here, but I didn't want to say so before knowing for sure, you know how that goes here. Does anyone really know if it is included in taxes? If so, we need better use of ours : ) I know we don't have the problems that they have with schools, but give it a few more years, this growth will soon overcome the schools here too, if it already hasn't!
We need a county-wide Parks and Recreation system. A county-wide system could share $ and resources unlike the current approach of giving tax dollars to private community organizations.
Excellent Bullet Points! We could argue over order but a strong list that a lot of residents would like to see.
No particular order of importance intended. Fact is, we will be lucky if JoCo gets off their butt to do any one of these items.
School Assignment We need to assign our children to the nearest school!!!!!. Especially, when there are 3 or 4 schools closer and not the 17 miles away of his current assignment.
