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By Jim Buice

For the Clemmons Courier

After a special called meeting in December and the recent retreat, the Lewisville Town Council continues to work on “information gathering and getting some of those unknowns answered” regarding the future of fire service in the town.

Those were the words of Town Manager Stacy Tolbert, in describing where things stand with what Mayor Mike Horn described as “an inevitable change” in that area involving the town and Forsyth County with the existing contract set to expire June 30, 2025.

Tolbert said she presented the council with information gathered over the last six weeks giving three options – including the benefits, concerns and unknowns for each:

Option 1: To do nothing. The fire service would remain as is.

Option 2: Bring the fire department employees in as town employees and contract them to provide fire service through the nonprofit.

Option 3: Transition to a municipal fire department. 

“There are still numerous unknowns for each option and even outstanding conversations needed with other agencies such as the nonprofit boards for Lewisville and Vienna fire departments, Forsyth County, etc.,” Tolbert said. “During the retreat, no decision was made, and we do not have a time frame for when that decision may be made.

“We’re also working to be sure the players involved, for example the fire department employees, understand all pros and cons of each option. Our top priority is the residents of Lewisville. We will continue to strive to do what’s best for the town.”  

Horn recalled this issue gaining attention several years ago during the retreat in 2022 when he said that one of the topics that really “popped out” was the fire service, including changes throughout the county involving volunteer departments with some mergers and shifting of funding.

“But the most recent shot of the bow by the county was when they withheld funding that comes to our fire department that is collected in our fire district, and I think that really prompted a whole new level of discussion and consideration,” Horn said at the special called meeting in December.

That’s when Darin Needham, the fire chief in Lewisville, shared a PowerPoint presentation titled “Lewisville Fire Protection – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” to the council about the history and current state and future of the department with a goal of gauging the council and town’s role.

Needham concluded his portion of that meeting by saying: “For Lewisville specifically, the thing that we need the most is quite literally a path into that state retirement system. I think the critical piece here is that our contract is valid through June of 2025, and that’s why we really wanted to come and get in on the radar for the town.”

In last Thursday night’s meeting, the council approved a rezoning request from Temple Baptist Church for five parcels covering 7.11 acres at 7035 Franklin Road and the intersection of Lewisville-Vienna Road.

Lynn Cochran, planning director, said that the request, which received unanimous support from the staff and planning board, calls for rezoning from Residential Single Family (RS-20) and General Industrial (GI) to Institutional and Public (IP).

“The church has acquired these for future plans and would simply like to cover the bases when they’re thinking about their long-range goals,” Cochran said. 

In another business agenda item, the council voted 4-2 to amend the charter of the town to implement four-term staggered terms for town council members, and by doing that, calling for a special election for the purpose of submitting to vote an ordinance implementing four-year terms for council members. The mayoral seat will remain a two-year term.

In other highlights from last Thursday night’s meeting, the council:

• Heard a presentation from John Burgiss, Forsyth County tax collector/assessor, on the 2025 revaluation regarding “unprecedented changes in the real estate market in Forsyth County and across North Carolina and the United States in the last four years.” 
• Heard from Tolbert and received council approval amending the annual operating budget for snow and ice removal by $47,550 to bring it back up to its original budgeted amount of $75,000 after January’s snow.
• Was introduced to Caleb Gray, a new deputy in Lewisville who has experience with the City of Winston-Salem and the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.
• Heard that Lewisville’s Public Art Advisory Committee is hosting the “Loving Life in Lewisville” winter art exhibit featuring local artists from K-12 and adults. Guests are invited to experience the exhibit at the Mary Alice Warren Community Center (7632 Warren Park Dr., Lewisville) until April 6, 2025. This is a juried art show of 57 final pieces.