City Information Web site: www.cityofws.org Apartments get a new lease on life A once-desolate apartment complex has received a new lease on life, thanks to a partnership between the city, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and a Florida company that specializes in resuscitating sub-par rental property. The old Forest Ridge apartment complex on Old Greensboro Road, originally buitt as low-income housing for HUD's Section 8 housing program, is being completely rebuilt with new wiring, plumbing, windows, doors, roofs and landscaping. Now renamed Kensington Village, the complex offers all the amenities that go with today's market-rate apartment communities, including all new appliances, individually controlled heating and air-conditioning, washer/dryer hook-ups, pool, patio and deck, and a new club house with a fitness center, community room/lounge with big-screen television, and business office. The entire complex is guarded by a closed-circuit video security systegi. The project is being headed up by the Finch Group of Boca Raton, Fla. The company has a track record of taking struggling properties and working with HUD to breathe new life into them. The old Forest Ridge apartments had been foreclosed on, and the complex sat vacant. In all, the project is budgeted at $10.75 million. Of this, the Finch Group is putting up $6.7 million. HUD is providing a $3.3 million grant to assist with the turn-around, and the city Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development is contributing $750,000. < The first 36 apartments will be completed this month and are available for rent; the rest will be completed in two phases by the end of the year. When finished, Kensington Village will have 132 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with one or two bathrooms. Rents range from $470 to $725 a month. Floor plans are available at www.kensingtonvillageapts.com Kensington Village offers all the amenities renters are looking for today l?) Winston-Salem Right: Wastewater sludge is dried into small pellets that are sold as a soil additive. Below: The pellets are stored in two silos until they are loaded into trucks. # * J ft) in fit Z * 0 0 * 3 * 0 <2 3 * 0 c 7 (D 5T 5 3 0 (9 n 0 ?* Utilities' new biosolids drier: It's a Triple-Pay When it comes to helping the environment and saving money, the new biosolids drier at the Archie Elledge Wastewater Treatment Plant has scored a triple-pay" for the Utility Commission. First, it is putting to good use the harmful methane gas produced at the plant: second, it is saving the commission the cost of disposing of wastewater sludge: and third, it gives the commission a new source of revenue. The drier removes so much moisture from wastewater sludge that it is reduced to little pellets. The pellets are being sold to PineGro. which in turn markets them as a soil additive to timber farms. The drier is fueled by methane gas produced as a byproduct of the treatment process in the plant's anaerobic digesters. Without the methane, about 1.625 gallons of fossil fuel would have to be burned each day to operate the dryer. But that's not the only savings. Last year, the Utility Commission spent $820,000 to dispose of wastewater sludge, either in liquid form or dehydrated to a semi-dry cake-like material. With this drier, the commission avoids this cost and instead makes about $30,000 a year selling the pelletized biosolids. Six months left to register your boarding house, rooming house, or shared single-family house Owners of boarding houses, rooming houses, and houses shared by more than four unrelated people have six months remaining to register their property with Department of Neighborhood Services. Last year, the Winston-Salem C?ty Council and the Forsyth County Commissioners passed zoning revisions that apply to any rooming house, boarding house, or shared single-family house in Winston Salem or an unincorporated area of Forsyth County and is on land zoned for single-family houses (these districts start with the letters "RS") or on land zoned RSQ (a district for residential buildings ranging from singlo-family houses' to quadraplexes). The revisions require the owners of these buildings, both in Winston-Salem and in the unincorporated areas of Forsyth County, to register with the Winston-Salem Department of Neighborhood Services before Jan 1, 2009, and to bring these houses into compliance with current zoning regulations by Jan. 1, 2012. Owners who do not register by Jan. 1, 2009 will be out of compliance as of Jan. 2, 2009, and will be subject to civil penalties of up to $100 a day or criminal prosecution in Forsyth County. Complete information about registering your property is available at www.cityofws.org/hns, or by calling City Link at 727-8000. Go Inside the WSPD The Police Department is accepting applications for the fall session of the Citizens' Police Academy, which will start Aug. 26, 2008. The Citizens' Police Academy is designed to increase community awareness of the law enforcement profession and the role of the Police Department by informing citizens of the administrative philosophy, internal policies and guidelines, and principles of law and ethical conduct that govern the delivery of police services within our community. The Citizens' Police Academy curriculum is similar to recruit training for new police officers, with a mix of classroom and hands-on training on such topics as department functions, search and seizure laws, use of force, firearms training, crime prevention, criminal investigations, domestic violence, and K-9 and special operations. The Citizens' Police Academy will meet from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday evenings for 12 weeks, starting Aug. 26. Enrollment is open to any citizen 18 years of age or older who resides, works or attends school in Winston-Salem. Anyone interested in attending the Citizens' Police Academy may call the Winston-Salem Police Department for an application at 773-7788, or complete an application online at www.wspd.org. The class is limited to 30 students. Applications must be submitted by Aug. 12. CityLink ? jour link to city sarvlcu 727-8000 < cltgllnktfdtgofuis.org > r<qu?it a ??rvlc? > report a problem > make a suggestion Get prepared with the Warthogs Are you ready for the worst a hurricane can dish out? What about a tornado... or an ice storm? Attend the third annual Emergency Preparedness Night with the Warthogs on Aug. 22 and you'll know what to do. Highlights include the N.C. Highway Patrol's roll-over simulator, the Triad Bloodhound Team, an Air National Guard Blackhawk helicopter and helo aquatic rescue team(scheduled) and the Lewisville Fire Department's "burn stove" that demonstrates how stovetop fires can start. The SORT team will have decontamination demonstrations, the state medical assistance team will set up its mobile hospital and the Salvation Army will set up its mobile canteen. Other displays include the Winston-Salem Fire Department's aerial unit and Rescue One, the Forsyth EMS off-road ambulance, and the Forsyth County Sheriffs Department marine patrol boat. The Warthogs game will be preceded by a 30-minute softball game between local public safety personnel, starting at 6 p.m. And stick around for the fireworks after the Warthogs wrap up their last game they'll ever play at historic , Ernie Shore Field. In all, more than 50 local agencies and businesses will be exhibiting during the game to raise awareness of the need to be prepared for emergencies, says Michelle Brock, an emergency management coordinator with the Office of Emergency Management. "Too many people never prepare for an emergency because they think it won't happen to them," Brock said. For more information about Emergency Preparedness Night with the Warthogs, call Brock at 661-6440. * Need service hours? Help us Rock the Block The organizers of Rock the Block, the city's anriual end-of summer downtown street extravaganza, are looking for volunteers to help staff the event, scheduled this year for Friday evening, Sept. 19. The festival will begin at 6 p.m. and end at midnight. It's a great way for anyone who needs service hours, such as National Honor Society students, to fill their quota. Volunteers are rfefeded to helD _ _ _ v set up Friday afternoon and tear down after the event. During the festival, volunteers are needed to staff the children's area and merchandise and soda stands, and assist at the mechanical bull, the BMX stunt show and the inflatibles. All volunteers will receive a free "Rock the Block Volunteer" T-shirt People interested in volunteering can sign up online at www.rocktheblockws.com.- For more information call 747-7369. WEB WRTCH See It for yourself On June 16, the City Council passed a $396.5 million budget for 2008-2009. The budget keeps the tax rate at 49 cents per $100 worth of property and retains all current levels of city services. The entire budget has been posted on the city's Web site, at www.cityofws.org And while you're there, look also for the Performance Scorecard for 2007-2008. This streamlined and innovative annual report combines traditional effectiveness measures, polling results of city residents, and comparisons with North Carolina's other leading municipalities to give citizens a quick summary of the performance of city departments that deliver services directly to the public. he City of Winston- Salem doe* not discriminate on the basts of race, sex. color, age. national origin, religion or dls^bllltyln Its employment opportunities, programs, services or activities. (TDD number 727-8319) City Page la published through the cooparattve efforts of the City of Winston-Salem and The Chronicle. Question or concarn about cKy government services? Call City Unk at 727-MOO. Mayor: Allen Jotnes City Council: Vivian H. Burke, Mayor Pro Tempore. Northeast Ward: Dan Besae. Southwest Ward: Robert C. Clark, West Ward. Joycalyn V. Johnson. East Ward: Molly Lelght. South Ward; Nelson l. Malloy Jr., North Wand: Wanda Merschel, Northwest Ward: Evelyn A. Tarry. Southeast Ward City Manager: Lae Garrtty

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