Accomplishments and Milestones
2021
JULY Garner Fire-Rescue received its first-ever accreditation from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International at the Center for Public Safety Excellence ( CPSE ). The designation was the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance in the pursuit of continuous improvement that has embedded a culture of quality throughout the organization , Garner Fire-Rescue leadership said . The accreditation is awarded for a five-year cycle and requires approval of annual compliance reports by CPSE to maintain status .
AUGUST Town officials celebrated the official opening of the Garner Recreation Center at the corner of Main and Montague Streets in Downtown Garner . The center , made possible in part by funding from the 2013 Garner Bond Program , has three gymnasiums , an elevated walking track , a multipurpose room and art room .
NOVEMBER Garner voters overwhelmingly approved a $ 69 million bond program that will include bonds for parks and recreation , streets and sidewalks , public safety and facilities ( a fire and EMS station ), and stormwater infrastructure . Of the four bond questions on the ballot , none received less than 75 percent support from voters . Residents can expect to see bond projects in these categories to come to fruition over the next several years . For more information , visit garnerbonds . com .
The Garner Police Department announced that it had received its ninth reaccreditation from the Commission for the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies ( CALEA ). As part of that process , the Police Department was required to submit annual reports , department statistics and have yearly electronic file reviews completed by a CALEA compliance service member to document continued compliance with the standards required for law enforcement accreditation . The Police Department sought its initial CALEA accreditation in March 1994 and has maintained accredited status since as a means of benchmarking its policies and procedures against international best practices for law enforcement agencies ; as a means of ensuring effective service delivery to the Garner community ; and as an ongoing demonstration of commitment to professionalism through voluntary adherence to national standards .
DECEMBER Mainstreet Capital Partners and a fund managed by DRA Advisors announced a joint venture to redevelop INQ 4300 , a 180,017-square-foot building on U . S . 401 in Garner that was formerly a Kmart . Located less than five miles from downtown Raleigh , INQ 4300 will provide users with space for life sciences and offer unparalleled accessibility to Raleigh ’ s life sciences community , investors said . The renovation of the building was expected to be completed later in 2022 .
Lorie Smith was named Garner ’ s first-ever female chief of police . She had been a captain in the department since 2017 and had been serving in the role of interim chief since Oct . 1 , 2021 , following the retirement of previous chief Joe Binns . Before her appointment as interim chief , Smith led the department ’ s Operations Bureau with oversight of the Patrol , Support Services and Criminal Investigations Divisions . Smith joined the Police Department in 1997 as a member of the Patrol Division .
2022
MARCH The Wall That Heals , a three-quarter-size reproduction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial , visited Garner ’ s Lake Benson Park for four days and drew thousands to the park to experience it . Events included a candlelight vigil and a particularly moving welcome-home walk to the park featuring Vietnam veterans . Hundreds of people lined the streets to honor the veterans .
U . S . Rep . Deborah Ross secured over $ 1 million in federal funding to undertake a comprehensive rehabilitation of the Main Street-Rand Mill Road intersection as well as the creation of 50-plus new paved parking spots in Downtown Garner . The project will include a pedestrian plaza and sidewalk and improvements to stormwater drainage to prevent flooding .
garnernc . gov
5