New West Branch neighborhood near 50% of 305 unit total

The West Branch neighborhood by Lennar on Davidson's east side of town, has likely reached 50% of its planned 305 units.  That's per an informal count conducted by aShortChronicle which tallied more than 153 units either complete or in various phases of construction.  There were also a few "purchased" signs on lots not yet started.  Combined, that puts the neighborhood well on its way.

The neighborhood includes lots of spec homes built by the company, but judging by the number that are occupied, things must be selling pretty well.

When West Branch began home construction in the first quarter of 2018, 305 homes seemed like a lot.  A mere 16 months later, not so much.  At this rate it would not be surprising to see it near completion before the end of 2020.

There have already been impacts to the greenway. aShortChronicle has covered those stories earlier here and here.  Recently, there have also been more impacts where the connecting road up to Hudson Place will go though.   In the below pictures one can see the greenway alignment has changed to cross at grade with the connecting road.

Per the Town Planning Department, this realignment was always part of the master plan.

Within the past couple of weeks the project has also cleared the trees up to Hudson Place for the connecting road.

According to information provided by the Town the work to complete the connection road will take several more weeks of work going into September.

Entire Davidson Board files for re-election!

aShortChronicle has received word that the entire five Davidson Board members along with Mayor Rusty Knox filed for re-election at the Board of Elections on Monday around lunch time.

This answers at least one of the questions from this earlier post.  "Will there be any open seats?"  The answer to that one is now "No".

Mayor Pro Tem Jim Fuller will be seeking his 5th term on the Board.  Commissioners Matthew Fort, Jane Campbell, Autumn Michael, and David Sitton along with Mayor Rusty Knox all will be running for their 2nd terms. 

Congratulations to the current electeds on their decision to run again.

Challengers have until noon on Friday, 7/19, to file.

Filing for the next Davidson Election starts this Friday!

It is hard to believe, but it has been two years since the historic 2017 election here in Davidson.  That contest saw the rise of Save Davidson as a major force on the local scene, catching the old line power structures in town by surprise and resulting in major turnover among elected officials.

Former Commissioners Beth Cashion and Brian Jenest chose not to seek re-election and former Commissioners Stacey Anderson and Rodney Graham lost their bids to return to the dais.  Former Mayor John Woods lost in a three way competition for Mayor against former Commissioner Laurie Venzon and political newcomer Rusty Knox.

Taking their places in a landslide were Commissioners Matthew Fort, David Sitton, Autumn Rierson Michael, and Jane Campbell.  Mayor Rusty Knox cruised to a major victory in the Mayor's race, capturing nearly 57% of the vote.

Commissioner Jim Fuller is the only incumbent from the previous Board.

With only one incumbent, there was a perceived risk among some in the community that a lack of "experience" on the Board would be a detriment to the town.  However, nothing has been proven to be further from the truth.  In less than 2 years in office this Board composed of newcomers has:

• Moved the Beaty Street Park forward
• Purchased the old IB Middle School property for future town needs and preserved a piece of town history
• Confronted policies former that encourage runaway development 
• Moved the Mi-Connection "problem" towards resolution earlier than expected sith the company now up for sale.

These accomplishments and others are reflected in significantly improved Citizen Survey scores in areas like fairness and town direction.  See here for the details on that.

Two years is a short time in politics though, and filing for this year's municipal elections starts this Friday, July 5th, and runs for two weeks ending on July 19th.  See the Board of Elections site details.

Will the old guard make a run at retaking control of the Board?  Will there be any open seats with sitting Commissioners stepping down?  Will the electorate that turned out last time become complacent and sit this one out?  What will be the big issues that drive this election?

This are all questions that will start to be answered on Friday.  Stay tuned here at aShortChronicle for coverage on all of them over the next few months.