Roanoke Rapids City Council Tuesday recognized the service of Charles Burnette, who retired from the police department as a captain.
“He served the Roanoke Rapids Police Department for 21 years and he has definitely been an inspiration to younger officers,” Chief Bobby Martin said. “He has also been our comedic relief. He has served the citizens and the Roanoke Rapids Police Department for 21 solid years.”
Martin said Burnette also spent nine years with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety as a correctional officer. “Him leaving is going to take away a lot of years of experience but we feel with his tutelage he has left behind a legacy in that his goal was to mold the young minds of officers and teach them how to survive on the streets, not just in the city of Roanoke Rapids but for other officers who have transferred and gone on to other agencies.”
Burnette received his service weapon, badge and a plaque.
“I just wanted to say that I enjoyed working for the city of Roanoke Rapids,” Burnette said. “I worked for the state before and I wanted to find something a little different, something more fulfilling and I found it with the city of Roanoke Rapids.”
In other matters Tuesday the council:
Approved on a 5-1 vote a rezoning request submitted by Tracy Story of Spartan Rentals. The request was to rezone 1.0104 acres of undeveloped property along Charlotte Street from R-6 residential to B-2 commercial. The property is located behind his Discount Tire business.
Story said he would comply with necessary screenings and buffers to the land planned for mini storage units and would also secure the work needed to solve drainage issues.
Councilwoman Suetta Scarbrough voted against the rezoning.
Unanimously approved a budget amendment of $171,497.
Of that amount, $100,000 is to fund fuel costs and $71,497 is to fund the city’s share of the E911 system cost.
City Manager Kelly Traynham said in a memo to council the budget amendment appropriates additional funds for projected deficits for the remainder of this fiscal year in response to market fluctuations and contract negotiations.
“The budget for fuel expenses was based on reasonable consumption and average costs during the last several years,” she wrote. “However, we are currently experiencing record-breaking highs in fuel costs due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
She said, “The allocation for additional E911 system funds is due to the budget being approved per a proposed cost in an agreement that was later unsuccessfully negotiated between the city and Halifax County.”
