Position Available: Board of Commissioners

Board of Commissioners Position Available

The Board of Commissioners is now accepting Letters of Interest for a vacant seat on the Town Board. Those residents who are interested and reside within Sims city limits, please submit a letter expressing your interest in serving on this board.

You can submit this letter at town hall during office hours or in the drop box; by email: townofsims@embarqmail.com; or by mail: PO Box 161, Sims, NC 27880.

We will be accepting letters until 5pm on Wednesday, August 26, 2020.

*All applicants should be available to attend the Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday, September 14 at 6:30 pm at the Community Center. 

Executive Order 151: COVID 19 Update

Governor Cooper has signed Executive Order No. 151 to extend North Carolina’s Phase 2 of Covid-19 restrictions.  The phase runs through at least Friday, September 11 at 5pm unless changed or canceled. Masks are required while out in public areas.

The bathrooms and playground equipment at the Sims Community Park will remain closed during Phase 2. The walking trail will still be available, but please remember to physically stay at least six feet apart from others.

The Town of Sims will continue its operations to maintain water and sewer utilities. Trash, recycle and yard waste services will continue as normal.  We have resumed our monthly Board of Commissioners Meeting per the posted schedule.  (This meeting will be limited to 10 people inside the building, including board members, staff and public attendees.  We will be adhering to guidelines requiring 6 ft distance between all attendees, and wearing of masks is mandatory.) All other meetings will be rescheduled, as appropriate.

Hurricane Isaias: Wilson County State of Emergency

Wilson County Commissioner Board Chair Rob Boyette signed the County State of Emergency in response to Hurricane Isaias. The document can be found here.

Basically, our area will be impacted in the following ways overnight Monday into Tuesday morning:

• Wind gusts to 50plus MPH

• Potential of trees down

• Rain - 5 plus inches

• potential for localized flash flooding

Due to Covid 19 concerns, Wilson County will not be opening any shelter locations prior to the storm.  We strongly urge citizens who do not feel comfortable in their homes during the storm to seek shelter with family members, friends or at a hotel, prior to the storm.  

Executive Orders 124/142: Utility Payment Plan Option For Customers Needing Assistance- Deadline July 30

Governor Cooper’s Executive Order 124 (EO 124) and EO142 require providers of end-user, residential water and wastewater, among other things, to suspend disconnections of residential service for nonpayment through July 30, 2020, and suspend assessment of all penalties for late payments of monthly service charges incurred from March 31, 2020 through July 30, 2020.

Monthly service charges are billed in town limits on the 29th day of the month at a rate of $15.50 + $2.20 per 1,000 gallons of water and $12.50 + $5.00 per 1,000 gallons of sewer, with a minimum of 1,000 gallons. Charges are $25.50 + $2.90 per 1000 gallons of water and $20.50 + $5.15 per 1000 gallons of sewer for service outside town limits. The executive order applies to bills issued March 31 – July 30, 2020.

Please note that EO 124 does not extinguish or waive your account balances. If you had an existing unpaid account balance as of March 31, 2020, you need to continue to pay toward that account balance. The Town of Sims has continued to bill our normal charges for services provided after March 31, 2020, and you remain legally responsible to pay all amounts due on your account.

EO 142 is currently effective until July 30, 2020. On July 31, 2020, we will resume our normal disconnection and late fee policies. You will, however, have until January 31, 2021, to pay any delinquencies that you incur from March 31, 2020 through July 30, 2020 if you set up a payment plan before July 30.

Recognizing the financial hardship many people now face, and in compliance with EO 124, the town is offering this payment plan to customers who are unable to pay their current account balance in full and/or who will be unable to pay their account balances between now and July 30, 2020.

To the extent you are able, we encourage you to continue to pay the full amount owed on your account to avoid accumulating large account balances.

Click here for a copy of this information, our normal water and sewer policies, and a copy of the payment plan form.

Sanitary Sewer Smoke Testing: July 28- August 10, 2020

Beginning Tuesday, July 28, 2020, the Town of Sims and NC Rural Water Association will be conducting SMOKE TESTING of our community’s sanitary sewer system. While we hope to perform all testing July 28 and 29, we may have delays and need to continue our work through August 10.  Smoke testing locates breaks and defects in the sewer system, as well as places where storm and other surface waters are entering sanitary sewers.

You can expect to see the crew opening manholes in your area. Smoke testing can cause smoke to exit the sewer system through the vent stacks on houses or holes in the ground. While most residents will never see the smoke, the Town of Sims wants you to have as much information as possible about the testing. Smoke testing is a process endorsed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A special non-toxic harmless smoke will be used in these leak tests. The smoke is manufactured for this purpose and, therefore, has little odor, creates no fire hazard, leaves no residuals or stains and has no effect on plants and animals. The "smoke" is not true smoke but rather a specially-formulated mist that is made up mostly of moisture from the atmosphere.

The smoke should not enter your home or business unless you have defective plumbing or dried up drain traps. Should smoke enter your home or business, please contact a member of the smoke testing crew working in the area or call Town Hall at 237-4226. They will be able to provide you with additional information regarding the smoke entering your home or business. Any visible mist indoors will dissipate within a few minutes with adequate ventilation.

If you have any seldom-used drains, they may be dry and thus allow the smoke to enter your building. Please pour a gallon of water in the drain to fill the trap. Drain traps should always be filled with water to prevent sewer gases or odors from entering the building.

You do not need to be present and the crew will not need to enter your building. If your property is not owner-occupied, we ask that you help us by forwarding this important information to anyone living or working there. If you have any questions, please contact Town Hall at 237-4226.

Please click here for FAQs regarding sanitary sewer smoke testing.

COVID 19: Executive Order 151

Governor Cooper has signed Executive Order No. 151 to extend North Carolina’s Phase 2 order regarding Covid-19 restrictions.  The phase runs through at least Friday, August 7 at 5pm unless changed or canceled. Masks are required while out in public areas and inside public buildings.

Click here to read Executive Order 151. For information about wearing masks pursuant to EO 147, please read this information.

The bathrooms and playground equipment at the Sims Community Park will remain closed during Phase 2. The walking trail will still be available, but please remember to physically stay at least six feet apart from others and wear masks, as required.

The Town of Sims will continue its operations to maintain water and sewer utilities. Trash, recycle and yard waste services will continue as normal.  We have resumed our monthly Board of Commissioners Meeting per the posted schedule.  (This meeting will be limited to 10 people inside the building, including board members, staff and public attendees.  We will be adhering to guidelines requiring 6 ft. distance between all attendees, and wearing of masks is mandatory.) All other meetings have yet to resume at this time.

This Executive Order does NOT extend the previous orders regarding utilities, which is set to expire on July 29, 2020. After July 29, the Town of Sims will begin following town policy regarding late fees and disconnection of services for non-payment. Therefore, late fees will resume for any bills not paid by the 28th of the month and disconnection of utility services will resume for accounts more the 60 days overdue. We encourage all residents who have outstanding balances on their utility accounts, with the Town of Sims, to enroll in a 6 month repayment plan. For more information, please contact Town Hall.

Town of Sims is Seeking an Office Assistant for Town Hall

We are looking for a competent Office Assistant to assist the Mayor, Town Clerk, and Finance Officer.

Applications are due by Friday, July 31 at 5pm. For more information about the position, please click here.

For an application, you can pick up a copy at Town Hall during office hours, or access a copy of the application here. Applications should be turned in to Town Hall, either during our office hours via the drive-through window or can be left in one of the drop boxes. One drop box is located in the front of the building to the left of the main entrance and the other is located at the bottom right corner of our drive-through window.

Thank you!

COVID 19: Executive Order 147

Governor Cooper has signed Executive Order No. 147 to extend North Carolina’s “Safer at Home” Order Phase 2 regarding Covid-19 restrictions.  The phase runs through at least Friday, July 17 at 5pm unless changed or canceled. Masks are now required while out in public areas.

Click here to read Executive Order 147 and here for FAQs. For information on what this means for North Carolinians, click here. For information about wearing masks pursuant to EO 147, please read this information.

The bathrooms and playground equipment at the Sims Community Park will remain closed during Phase 2. The walking trail will still be available, but please remember to physically stay at least six feet apart from others.

The Town of Sims will continue its operations to maintain water and sewer utilities. Trash, recycle and yard waste services will continue as normal.  We have resumed our monthly Board of Commissioners Meeting per the posted schedule.  (This meeting will be limited to 10 people inside the building, including board members, staff and public attendees.  We will be adhering to guidelines requiring 6 ft distance between all attendees, and wearing of masks is mandatory.) All other meetings are scheduled to resume in June, but may
change as regulations change.

Trash Services; Update

Trash, recycling and yard waste bins will not be picked up as planned on Thursday, June 25, due to unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, you should continue to use your GFL/ Waste Industries bins until further notice. 

Once we reschedule the pickup day for those bins, we will notify each of you to place them beside the road for pickup.

Until then, trash, recycle and yard waste services will continue as normal on Thursdays. A Plus Disposal will begin emptying your current bins next week, Thursday, July2, until they are exchanged out for new bins.

Transitions can be difficult and we apologize for the inconvenience. 

Change in Trash Services: Collection of Bins

Effective July 1, 2020, the Town of Sims is no longer using GFL (formerly Waste Industries) for its trash services. We will be changing over to A Plus Disposal. This Thursday, June 25 will be the last day for GFL pickup and they will collect all trash, recycle and yard waste bins. We need all residents and business owners to put all of their bins beside the road by 7pm Wednesday, June 24 so they can be counted prior to collection on Thursday. A Plus will distribute new bins once all GFL bins have been collected.

Even if you do not have trash, recycling or yard waste to be emptied this week, we still need you to put your bins beside the road to be collected. Any bins not collected could result in charges for those bins.

Trash, recycling and yard waste services will continue to be picked up on Thursdays and will continue to be billed monthly, appearing on your water bill. There will be no changes in rates to our residents and business owners. Those will dumpsters will be notified separately regarding the collection of the dumpsters.

We thank you for your patience and cooperation while we transition these services. Please call Town Hall if you have any questions at 237-4226.

Covid 19: Executive Order 142 (Utilities Extended)

Executive Order 142 was issued by Governor Cooper on May 30, 2020, and extends for another 60 days the requirements of Executive Order 124 (EO 124) concerning utilities operated by local governments and public authorities. The new order expires at 11:59 p.m. on July 29, 2020.

To find out what this means for our residents in the Town of Sims, click here.

Covid-19: Executive Order 141 (Safer at Home- Phase 2)

Governor Cooper has signed Executive Order No. 141 to modify North Carolina’s “Safer at Home” Order (Phase 2) of lifting Covid-19 restrictions. The phase runs through at least Friday, June 26 unless changed or canceled.

Click here to view Phase 2 Frequently Asked Questions, and click here to view what Phase 2 means to North Carolinians.

The bathrooms and playground equipment at the Sims Community Park will remain closed during Phase 2. The walking trail will still be available, but please remember to physically stay at least six feet apart from others.

The Town of Sims will continue its operations to maintain water and sewer utilities. Trash, recycle and yard waste services will continue as normal.  We have resumed our monthly Board of Commissioners Meeting per the posted schedule.  (This meeting will be limited to 10 people inside the building, including board members, staff and public attendees.  We will be adhering to guidelines requiring 6 ft. distance between all attendees, and wearing of masks is encouraged.)

All other meetings are scheduled to resume in June, but may change as regulations change. Call Town Hall for more information at 252-237-4226.

Covid-19: Executive Order 138 (Phase1)

Gov. Roy Cooper has signed Executive Order No. 138 to modify North Carolina’s Stay at Home Order and transition to Phase 1 of slowly easing certain COVID-19 restrictions, effective Friday, May 8 at 5 p.m. (View FAQs, View What’s New in Phase 1.)

Covid-19: Executive Order 124 (Utilities)

Pursuant to Governor Roy Cooper’s Executive Order No. 124, the Town of Sims will temporarily suspend the disconnection of delinquent residential utility accounts until May 31st, 2020.  During this time, no new late penalties will be assessed. 

Customers who are experiencing a hardship due to COVID-19 or whose account is currently past due are encouraged to call the Town to discuss payment arrangement options. 

We strongly encourage customers to stay as up-to-date with your payments as possible to avoid building up a large balance that will be difficult to pay off later when the Order expires.  All Town provided services will continue to be billed as normal.

Covid-19: Stay at Home Order/ Rumor Control

The Governor’s “Stay at Home” Order went into effect on Monday, March 30, 2020 at 5pm, and will be in effect through April 29, 2020. There seems to be a bit of confusion regarding this order. It is NOT a curfew. Instead, it says all NC residents should stay at home unless performing a permitted or essential activity.

Permitted activities include grocery shopping, going to the pharmacy to pick up medications, picking up takeout food from restaurants, going to the bank, seeking medical attention, going to work (essential workers), etc. For more information regarding the “Stay at Home” Order, please click here.

For the community’s overall health and safety, please stay home as much as possible. If you must go out, please remember to maintain a 6 foot distance from others and wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.

Please click here for a list of essential businesses, which remain open. For more information, please call Town Hall at 237-4226.

Covid-19: Stay at Home Order

Governor Cooper has issued a “Stay at Home” Order via Executive Order No. 121. This will go into effect on March 30, 2020 at 5pm.

Governor Roy Cooper has issued Executive Order No. 121, a statewide Stay at Home Order beginning Monday, March 30 at 5 p.m. until April 29, 2020. The Executive Order directs people to stay at home except to visit essential businesses, to exercise outdoors or to help a family member. Specifically, the order bans gatherings of more than 10 people and directs everyone to physically stay at least six feet apart from others. Read the press release and the FAQ info.

The bathrooms and playground equipment at the Sims Community Park will be closed while the “Stay at Home” order is in effect. The walking trail will still be available, but please remember to physically stay at least six feet apart from others.

The Town of Sims will continue its operations to maintain water and sewer utilities. Trash, recycle and yard waste services will continue as normal. All meetings have been canceled through April 29, 2020, including the Board of Commissioners meeting scheduled for April 13.

For more information about Covid-19 and a list of resources, please refer to our previous post from March 20, 2020. Please call Town Hall for more information: 237-4226.

Covid-19/ Coronavirus

Due to the Covid-19 virus (Coronavirus), on March 16, 2020 Wilson County issued a State of Emergency.  We issued a State of Emergency for the Town of Sims on March 16, 2020 as well stating we will be following Wilson County's State of Emergency plan, per our usual procedure.  This State of Emergency declaration allows the Town to apply for federal funding, etc. if needed.  The documents are posted on the front door at Town Hall.

For the health and safety of our residents and our staff, we have closed the Town Hall lobby to the public.  We will continue to serve you during office hours at our drive through window located at the rear of the building.  You may continue to drop of payments or other documents using our drop boxes located at the front and rear of Town Hall.

We will be updating our Facebook page, as needed, with any changes/updates that impact our town.

Please call Town Hall at 237-4226 if you have any questions and to inquire about the impact of Covid-19 on our regularly scheduled meetings.

_________________

In an effort to provide our residents with reliable, up-to-date information, here is a list of resources to go to for information regarding Covid-19:

Websites:

-www.coronavirus.gov  :US Government Covid-19 information

-www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html  :Center for Disease Control (CDC) Covid-19 information

-www.ncdhhs.gov/coronavirus   :NC Dept of Health and Human Services Covid-19 information

-www.wilson-co.com   :Wilson County government Covid-19 information

-www.townofsimsnc.com   :Town of Sims webpage (documents and handouts available)

Phone:

-800-232-4636  :CDC Covid-19 Information

-211: NC Assistance regarding information food, shelter, energy assistance, housing, parenting resources, health care, employment, etc. as it relates to Covid-19

Handouts:

NCDHHS Covid-19 information for home and business owners

White House/CDC information to slow the spread of Covid-19

Winter Storm Warning Update: February 2020

Winter Storm Warning for Wilson County (and surrounding) from 10 AM this morning through 7 AM tomorrow.

· Potential snow accumulation to 4 inches or more
· Cold temps tonight (low 27) will cause icing on roads, especially bridges, late tonight and tomorrow morning
· Wind chill expected in the teens early morning tomorrow

Please stay safe and be careful if you must travel. Conditions will deteriorate and become hazardous throughout Thursday and into Friday morning.

Latest on Winter Weather Advisory: February 2020

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for our area beginning Thursday afternoon through Thursday night. Chance of snow, wind and hazardous travel conditions can be expected, including slick roads, bridges and overpasses. These travel conditions are expected to last from Thursday afternoon into Friday morning.

Latest on Hurricane Dorian:

Here is the latest on Hurricane Dorian:

• Strengthened to a Category 3 (115 MPH) overnight

• Very little change in track and timing

• potential for downed trees and power lines

• wind gusts 40 to 60 mph

• 4 to 8 inches of rain – isolated higher amounts east of I-95

• Conditions will deteriorate late morning into the afternoon

• Elevated risk for isolated tornadoes (currently tornado warnings on the SE NC coast)
  
  Please stay safe! If you have an emergency during the storm, call 911. We will update this page as updates become available, and as long as we have the ability to do so (dependent upon power outages and communications interruptions).