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BERMUDA RUN — Rod Guthrie, who came up short in his bid for a position on the Bermuda Run Town Council in the 2023 municipal election, was appointed to fill the vacant seat on the board in last Tuesday night’s meeting.

Guthrie will replace Melinda Szeliga, who resigned from the council in August. After Mike Ernst made a motion to add the item to the agenda, the vote was unanimous in approving Guthrie as the fifth council member.

He placed fourth in the 2023 election with newcomers Rae Nelson and Jeff Tedder claiming council seats to join Ernst and Szeliga, the two incumbents. Christy Schafer was appointed earlier this year to fill the position that became available when former council member Mike Brannon was elected as mayor.

Guthrie, who is an attorney and founding partner with Bennett Guthrie in Winston-Salem, has been a resident of Bermuda Run for over 17 years and has served for many years on the town’s Planning Board.

“I have remained interested in how our delightful small town can manage the growth that comes our way while we protect, and even enhance, the quality of life that makes this an attractive place to live and work,” Guthrie said. “In conversations with neighbors and with current council members, I have been encouraged to stay engaged, so I agreed to apply for the vacancy on the town council.”  

Guthrie said that his goals as a new council member are similar to those he had as chairman of the planning board, including promoting connectivity on both sides of I-40, managing growth using established objectives such as the Comprehensive Plan, and engaging with surrounding communities and residents to address issues such as traffic congestion, housing development and appropriate commercial growth.

“I truly believe the town of Bermuda Run has the opportunity to be a model for small towns, especially those that exist along a major highway corridor,” he said. “To accomplish that, we will need a vision for not just the next year, or five years, but out 10 to 20 years in the future.”

In action items on last Tuesday night’s meeting agenda, the council approved a resolution accepting the street right-of-way of the northern stub off of East Kinderton Way adjacent to the WinMock Barn that connects to the pedestrian bridge going over I-40.

Andrew Meadwell, town manager, said that this is one of the last legal hurdles that the town has been working on to have this connection to the pedestrian bridge and beyond to the Blue Heron Trial.

Brannon said that it has been quite a journey to accomplish what he would call Blue Heron Trail Phase II, which is essentially the connector of the trail from where the current roundabout is — where the flags are located now — ultimately to connect that up to the pedestrian bridge and then down to Twins Way.

“Kudos to our town manager,” Brannon said. “I can’t tell you the number of meetings and conversations we’ve had, but we’re there. And one day we’ll be happy to open up that bridge and have Phase II complete, and then we’ll focus our attention on Phase III.”

Meadwell said that a second piece of the “legal puzzle” occurred on the northern side of the pedestrian bridge where Bermuda Run now has an agreement in place with NC Fusion that allows the town to construct a pathway connecting to Twins Way and all the way over to the existing playground facility.

“We see this as an opportunity when we open up that pedestrian bridge that there needs to be a destination for folks to go,” he said. “So this just made perfect sense for us to do this.”

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

• Heard from Meadwell in the manager’s report about the leaf pickup and asking residents to “use a little bit of patience” as the town is working with a new contractor this year, adding there has been “a bit of a learning curve” with different equipment, but there is a commitment to bring in additional resources. 
• Also heard from Meadwell that The Flags at Blue Heron Trail project is “coming along as well” and that the engraved pavers are expected to be delivered sometime this month or early December.
• Heard that the fourth annual Christmas in Bermuda Run event is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 8, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Town Square on Kinderton Boulevard.
• Received a presentation from Gale Hanser of Davie Respect Initiative, which is a program created to encourage and highlight respect projects or ideas initiated by young adults to make a difference in Davie County. Ambassadors Shaun Lane, Ava Brown and Sylas Johnson shared their experiences with the program.